MSc Transport and Urban Planning

• Takes an integrated and cross-disciplinary approach to critically examine, understand and address the grand challenges cities and their transport systems face today and in the future.
• Study a unique programme that transcends the traditional disciplinary boundaries typically encountered in both academic and professional settings.
• Gain the skills necessary for flexible career options in transport planning, urban planning and development.
• Manchester serves as a living laboratory, showcasing numerous examples of how transport and urban land use planning intersect.

The MSc Transport and Urban Planning is a unique course that brings together two interconnected disciplines, breaking intellectual discourse and practice boundaries typically encountered in both academic and professional settings. It takes an integrated and cross-disciplinary approach to critically examine, understand and address the grand challenges cities and their transport systems face today and in the future. The programme is research-led and practice-oriented and designed to equip you with knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to make a significant contribution to tackling the global challenge of creating towns and cities with better and fairer accessibility and more equitable and sustainable mobility.

You will be exposed to the latest thinking and debates in sustainable place-making, sustainable transport and mobility and complex systems analysis, and build a solid foundation to effectively function as transport and planning practitioners in various international contexts, for public, private and third sector organisations. With the transdisciplinary view of transport and spatial planning, and the strong global perspective you will develop, you will be able to work in project teams dealing with complex urban systems interventions in different planning and socio-economic contexts, and at multiple scales (neighbourhood, city, regional and global). You will develop the ability to think critically and enact solutions to help create more sustainable, efficient, and liveable urban environments with equitable transport systems.

This course is aimed at candidates interested in interdisciplinary work. Prospective students may come from diverse backgrounds, including transport planning, engineering, urban planning, or geography. The programme is well-suited for graduates aiming to pursue careers in either the transport planning or urban planning sectors, both within the UK and internationally, and across public, private, or civil society organizations.

The course is taught by world-leading researchers, including but not limited to:

• Ransford Antwi Acheampong (Dr.) : Future transport and mobility with a focus on Urban impacts of new and emerging transport technologies and associated mobility services; Transport integration (policy and technical dimensions); Transport service co-location and mobility hubs planning; Urban forms and transport systems interactions; Transport decarbonization and sustainability.
• Nuno Pinto (Dr.) : Decision support in urban planning, Urban simulation, Integrated urban and transport planning, Quantitative methods in urban planning, Big data in urban planning, Urban planning and planning policies, Urban design.
• Helen Zheng (Dr.) : Spatial planning; Geospatial data analytics; Social statistics; Machine Learning; Travel behaviour; Transport Decarbonization; Participatory methods.

As a student on this programme, you will experience the longstanding practice-oriented ethos of teaching and learning across all programmes in the Department of Planning, Property and Environmental Management (PPEM). The MSc is built on a sequential engagement with theories and concepts, methods and tools, and case studies that will converge towards an integrated, project-based approach to transport and spatial planning. The programme combines structured lectures, seminars, workshops and fieldtrips (daily and residential), and leverage online learning resources to offer as much flexibility as possible for students to self-direct their learning.

Full entry requirements

For the latest information on demonstrating your English proficiency for those whose first language is not English, please, see our language requirements .

This programme also accepts successful completion of the 6- and 10-week pre-sessional English language course. We accept the following qualifications which must be valid on the start date of the Master's course.

Pre-sessional 6-week course requirement:

IELTS UKVI or Academic 6.0 Overall with 6.0 in Writitng, no more than one sub-skill at 5.5 and no other sub-skill below 5.5

TOEFL iBT 80 Overall with 20 in Writing, 20 in Speaking, and no other sub-skill below 18

Pearson PTE Academic UKVI or Academic 65 Overall with 65 in Writing, no more than one sub-skill at 59 and no other sub-skill below 59.

Pre-sessional 10-week course requirement:

IELTS UKVI or Academic 5.5 Overall with no sub-skill below 59

TOEFL iBT 72 Overall with 20 in Speaking and no other sub-skill below 18

Pearson PTE Academic UKVI or Academic 59 Overall with no sub-skill below 59

Career opportunities