• Professional accreditation
• Course aims and objectives
• Study Mode and Course Length
• Entry requirements
• Funding
• Course Director

• The MSc and Pg Diploma courses are accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute,( last accredited 1999).
• Students who successfully complete the courses, on a full or part-time basis, are eligible to become corporate members of the Institute once they have gained practical experience. There is no requirement to sit further examinations.
• Students who register for the Diploma and qualify will be awarded the Msc.
• The course is also recognised by the C.I.B.

• The MSc and postgraduate Diploma courses have inter-related academic and vocational objectives.
• The main aim of the courses is to produce graduates who have the aptitude, commitment, knowledge and skills to enable them to gain employment as town and country planners or in related environmental professions
• The aim is achieved through developing both student's knowledge of planning and the skills required. These are reinforced through practical exercises which enable the student to gain direct experience of planning tasks and to understand more fully how planning operates in contemporary society. The course diagram illustrates this process and outlines the key areas of knowledge and the skills which are developed. The range of specialist subjects allows students to develop their interests in specific aspects of planning in greater depth.
• Compulsory classes examine the economic, political and social context within which planning operates. These are followed by classes which consider planning legislation and practice in the United Kingdom and Europe. Students are then given the opportunity to study a number of Specialised Subjects in greater depth.
• Students undertake a range of practical projects throughout the course; to synthesise the lecture classes and help develop a range of practical planning skills. Full-time students undertake a four week work placement during their first year; arranged by the Department, the placement gives students the opportunity to gain first hand experience of planning practice in a public or private agency involved in environmental planning.
• Glasgow is an excellent location for the course because of the range of urban and regional planning policies that have been developed to improve the conditions of the city region and its people.

• Both the MSc and the Pg Diploma are offered on a full, part-time basis and modular basis from 2000/2001.
• The full time courses are taught over two academic years, the part-time over three academic years.
• Attendance on a field trip is compulsory for students on both courses. The Department normally organises a study tour to a European location for one week during the teaching year around Easter time; recent locations have included Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dortmund and Montpellier. The aim of the trip is to give students experience of planning in another country and to make comparisons with practice in the United Kingdom.
• Part-time study involves attendance on one day and evening a week for maximum of 30 days in each academic year. In addition field trip attendance is compulsory. The part-time years attend the Department as follows : 1st year on Thursdays 2nd year on Tuesdays 3rd year on Mondays The courses are timetabled for two 12 week semesters in each academic year. The first semester runs from late September to December, the second semester from late January/February to May, with a break, normally of 3 weeks, for the Easter vacation. With the exception of the field trip, classes are not normally timetabled for the vacation although students are expected to make use of the time for independent student learning and do other preparatory work outside formal teaching periods.
• Both MSc and Diploma students are required to produce a dissertation. This is to contain original research and a synthesis of existing research and has a guideline length of 12000-15000 words. Both dissertation and assignment are to be on a planning related topic and are expected to contain recommendations of relevance to environmental planning.
• The regulations for the courses allow Pg Diploma students to be awarded the MSc if they achieve the required academic standard. Likewise students who fail to perform at MSc standard may be required to transfer to the Pg Diploma course. No student may be awarded both the Pg Diploma and the MSc.

Details on entry requirements for Honours graduates in Geography and Planning from the University of Strathclyde, special arrangements may be in place whereby the accredited curriculum is reduced to 12 months full-time [two years part-time].

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• The full-time MSc course is approved by the Economic and Social Research Council for open competition awards. These cover course fees and maintenance allowances. To be eligible students must have, or expect to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree. Applications are made to the Council via the Department which nominates the applicant to be put forward.
• The University awards a number of studentships each year on a competitive basis. The Department nominates suitable applicants, who need to have, or to expect to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree.
• The Department is normally able to offer limited funding to students, in return for which they are expected to work for a number of hours in the Department.
• Part-time students are normally funded by their employers.

For further information, please contact the Course Director, Dr Dory Reeves

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