course page main image

Planning Built Environments - MA

Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.

The combination of accelerated climate and environmental change, resource pressures and rapidly evolving social, legal and political contexts demand that the planner of the future is better equipped with the science, tools and skills to help shape the high quality multi-functional places we increasingly need....

  • Level Postgraduate Taught
  • Study mode Full Time/Part Time

This course is:

Open to International Students

Overview

The combination of accelerated climate and environmental change, resource pressures and rapidly evolving social, legal and political contexts demand that the planner of the future is better equipped with the science, tools and skills to help shape the high quality multi-functional places we increasingly need. The MA Planning Built Environments course applies theory through practice-based learning, on a campus surrounded by exciting new developments, with excellent industry links.

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

On this course, you will learn to identify and evaluate the processes, tools and outcomes of planning that lead to more sustainable places across the built environment.

You will learn how to critically assess planning theory and practice and respond to the growing demand for planning practitioners, strategists and consultants to address contemporary and future planning and development challenges within their environmental context.

This built environment course will also enable you to understand the development process and the wider linkages with other built environment professions as well as develop the skills required to assess, analyse and offer practical sustainable solutions to spatial planning problems.

You will experience applied and autonomous learning through the use of real problems and case study materials and develop your problem-solving abilities, practical competencies, critical appraisal and written and oral communication skills.

This course also encourages inter-disciplinary working amongst graduates and professionals from a variety of backgrounds employed within a planning and environment context.

Accredited By

  • Royal Town Planning Institute
  • The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

The Planning Built Environments Masters at Birmingham City University has provided me with all the skills I need for a successful career in planning. The modules were highly practical, meaning I felt confident transitioning from university to the workplace. I was enrolled on the course with a placement option, and felt I was given excellent support in finding a role at a planning consultancy. The placement has resulted in a job offer and I would therefore highly recommend the course to any aspiring young planner.

Laura Gaffney, MA Planning Built Environment graduate 2022

Why Choose Us?

  • Double-accredited course - Fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) under their Planning and Development pathway.
  • Cross-sector research and practice expertise – The course integrates our expertise across sustainability, real estate and planning with input from external experts in planning research and practice to address key challenges and opportunities across the built environments.
  • Interdisciplinary approach to teaching - Content and assignments provide the foundations for urban and spatial planning careers by exploring the environmental, economic, social, political and administrative contexts to planning policies and processes and how to negotiate multiple benefits in development.
  • Strong local and industry links - Some sessions include in-person and online contributions from experienced practitioners and research experts throughout the programme. Assessments are mostly based on live planning issues and/or local development sites that we can visit.
  • Study at the heart of Birmingham’s regeneration - Your base at the University’s City Centre campus is at the heart of the city’s redevelopment activities.
  • This course is flexible and can be studied part-time. Hear from one of our graduates, Jenny Powell, about how she studied part-time and managed the return to studying at university.

OPEN DAY

Join us for a virtual Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail. Booking isn't open yet for this event, register your interest and we’ll email you as soon as booking goes live.

Next Event: 5 February 2025

Register your interest

Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

Essential Requirements
Essential

A good honours degree (normally at least a Second Class Honours degree or equivalent).

Desirable

Practical experience is favoured.

Additional information for EU/International students
Essential

You must have an equivalent qualification and have a minimum overall IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent, with a minimum score of 5.5 in all four skills.

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MA

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 12 months
  • £9,190 in 2025/26
  • Full Time
  • 18 months with Professional Placement*
  • £10,110 in 2025/26
  • £1022 per 20 credits
  • Year 1 - 60 credits
  • Year 2 - 120 credits

Fees for Part-time students

This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MA

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 12 months
  • £18,600 in 2025/26
  • Full Time
  • 18 months with Professional Placement*
  • £20,460 in 2025/26

Access to computer equipment 

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms. 

Printing 

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment. 

Access to Microsoft Office 365 

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation. 

Key software 

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research. 

Key subscriptions 

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library. 

Specialist software 

You will be able to access free licences for specialist software such as Sketch-Up.  

Excess printing (optional) 

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet. 

Personal stationery and study materials (optional) 

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. 

Placement expenses (optional) 

If you choose to undertake a placement, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst living or working away from home. 

Field trips (optional) 

This course includes the option of additional trips that may enhance your experience, at extra cost. These tend to be local and either be in walking distance or accessible by local transport (bus day pass for local travel currently is £4.80) 

Personal equipment (optional) 

Whilst not essential, it is advised you own a computer or laptop capable of running Microsoft Office, and Sketch-Up)   

Memberships (optional) 

Students are expected to join the accrediting bodies (RTPI and RICS) as student members; both are free for the duration of their studies 

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

How to apply

Please use the links above to apply online. If you can't access our Online Form for any reason, please complete ourpdf application form.

Professional Placement option*

The Professional Placement option will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.  Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement.  The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study.  You will also benefit from support sessions delivered by Careers+ as well as advice and guidance from your School. 

Placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process, therefore the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the ‘with Professional Placement’ course.  All students who do not find a suitable placement or do not pass the competitive selection process will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Personal statement

You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.

If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.

Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.

Course in Depth

Module

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):

Professional Placement

In order to qualify for the award of MA Planning Built Environments with Professional Placement, a student must successfully complete all of the Level 7 modules listed above as well as the following Level 6 module:

Download course specification

Download now

This course seeks to shape you as a highly competent professional who can continue to develop not only yourself but also the broader sector.

Practice and research-informed learning, teaching and assessment strategies emphasise problem solving, team working and wider appreciation, with functional and procedural planning knowledge framed within this broader context.

The course includes problem-based enquiry and learning using the environment as an integrative setting; it encourages the demonstration of key competencies within a professional, vocational context driven by engagement with practice and to prepare you for a future in which the ability to envision positive change and work as part of interdisciplinary teams will be key skills.

Broadly speaking, the teaching strategy moves from staff-led during the early stages of the course to student-led towards the end. The early part of the course is intended to provide you with the basic knowledge and skills to understand how the spatial planning system operates and the need to embed the environmental services lens in processes in order to connect planning across different sectors, land uses and scales. This is achieved through staff-led lectures, seminars and workshops.

Later stages of the course are designed to develop your critical and reflective capabilities and make the links between the various spatial dimensions of planning, and between spatial and non-spatial policy intervention. The emphasis is on interactive learning, including student-led workshops, role-plays and simulations to achieve deeper learning and understanding.

We use visiting lecturers, field study visits and research informed teaching to engage you with practice and topical issues. The sharing of appropriate modules across courses helps to enrich your educational experience, and expose you to the perspectives, values and attitudes of students from other disciplines.

The assessment strategy for each module reflects the learning outcomes with six of the seven modules being coursework-based and one module exam-based. Assessments will test your ability to assimilate basic information and understanding of key concepts.

Furthermore, the use of theories, concepts, policies and legislative provisions to address current planning challenges help test higher-order problem-solving skills through a variety of formative and assessed coursework methods including essays, evaluations, verbal presentations, posters, planning reports, design presentations, group work, role play scenarios or exams.

This course is accredited by the following organisation:

Royal Town Planning Institute
Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)

This course is accredited by the professional planning body, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

The course is designed as a fast track to a professional qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Successful completion of this course will lead to Professional Membership after the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC).

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
RICS

This course is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and is specifically designed to meet the competencies required by its specialist Environmental Surveying pathway.

Employability

Birmingham City University programmes aim to provide graduates with a set of attributes which prepare them for their future careers. The BCU Graduate:

  • is professional and work ready
  • is a creative problem solver
  • is enterprising
  • has a global outlook.

The University has introduced the Birmingham City University Graduate+ programme, which is an extra-curricular awards framework that is designed to augment the subject based skills that you develop through your programme with broader employability skills and techniques that will enhance your employment options when you leave university.

BCU staff have links with planning authorities and consultancies, which provide good links to employment. We are frequently approached by employers looking for good quality graduates, so we can help our students move into appropriate employment quickly after their course.

Most of our students find/have jobs in district/county council planning departments or private planning consultancies or housing firms. Those who study part-time, sponsored by their employer on a day-release arrangement, frequently get promoted during or shortly after completing the course. Several alumni having gained recognition and prizes from the RTPI (e.g. regional and national young planner; research excellence awards; commendation for APC) with employers in the region and further afar keen to recruit BCU Planning graduates.

Recent changes to the programme introduced a new module on ‘Sustainability in Planning Practice’. This will help those relatively new to planning to become familiar with the nuts and bolts of planning and gain confidence so that students can enter planning practice well prepared. The module covers a wide range of planning tasks, their legal and regulatory context and frequently encountered sustainability challenges; those already in planning can learn more about the breadth of planning jobs/tasks.

We no longer offer a Valuation module (but cover Viability as part of other modules) because many students felt it was Maths-heavy and more than needed for planners.

International

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

Facilities & Staff


Our Facilities

The facility our students value most is not actually on campus, but is the location of the campus in the heart of Birmingham’s Eastside opposite the new High Speed 2 station construction, and minutes from dozens of fascinating live projects within the city centre.

Birmingham as it changes constantly on our doorstep really is our ‘living lab’. By simply looking out the window of our classrooms you’ll be able to witness live projects as they’re happening around us. You’ll constantly be inspired by dozens of fascinating case studies just from walking from the station to the campus.

The facilities on offer to our students reflect the work environment you will enter as you start your career. Learn more about what we have to offer below.

Software

Recognising the rapidly evolving digital built environment we are constantly reviewing software to best fit with the professions of the future.

Autodesk Accredited Centre Status, we use the latest integrated building modelling software across undergraduate courses, seeing Architectural Technology, Building Surveying, Construction Management, and Quantity Surveying students engaging in cross discipline information management projects modelling real life experience. Accredited Centre status allowing all students licence to download this software, and making available additional qualifications and certification to those demonstrating expertise and dedication to exploring their own and the limits of the Autodesk environment.

At course level, students engage with the latest and most appropriate software for their future professions. Real Estate students with CoStar, the leading industry database supporting valuations. Quantity Surveyors using Blue Beam, Revu and QS Pro, and along these Quantity Surveyors and Construction Managers use Synchro and Navisworks for 4D and CostX for 5D work. For Building Surveying and Architectural Technology routes, visualisation is important where Enscape, V-Ray Lumion and Sketch-up are available.

Built Environment Space in Millennium Point

The Built Environment Space in Millennium Point is available to all students with a huge resource of software-equipped laptops for loan on campus. For off campus working, much of the software we use comes with free student licences and all students will have access to the Windows Virtual Desktop, allowing access to our range of software from anywhere where the internet is available.

The Studio Space that we've created in Millennium Point is an open workspace where students can work on their design projects. We have all student work and examples that will change every week or month depending on what stage of a project we're at. And it's an open space for working on projects.

This is where our Architectural Technology students and our Building Surveying students in particular, spend a lot of their time.

Concrete and Hydraulics Labs

Our dedicated Civil Engineering facilities include a Hydraulics & Structures lab Concrete & Geotechnics lab as well as a bending rig.

The swollen concrete lab and hydraulics lab are the heart of our Civil Engineering course, where we have a range of test equipment. This is where our students can carry out experimental work as part of their course, either as part modules or using those labs to work on their final year project.


Built Environment facilities

Our staff

Claudia Carter

Professor in Environmental Governance and Planning

Claudia is a Professor in the field of interdisciplinary environmental research and environmental governance. Her research relates to climate change and sustainability adopting social-ecological systems thinking/approaches. Her main areas of interest are the opportunities and barriers to 'low-impact' living and the emergence of...

More about Claudia

Professor Silvia Gullino

Professor of City Making

Silvia is a Professor of City Making and a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI). With an interdisciplinary background in Architecture and Urban Planning, her academic ethos centres on understanding cities as complex socio-economic, physical, environmental, and political systems. Addressing urban challenges for lasting...

More about Silvia

Dr Miguel Hincapie-Trivino

Lecturer in Urban Planning and Sustainability

Miguel is a Lecturer in Urban Planning and Sustainability at the University’s Built Environment Department. He teaches across various undergraduate and postgraduate courses on subjects related to sustainable urban design, development projects and digital cities. His research focuses on understanding the role of social actors and public institutions...

More about Miguel

Chris Berry

Lecturer in Real Estate

I joined the Birmingham City University teaching team in 2022 and I teach undergraduates and postgraduates across various property-related subjects. I am a University of Nottingham Geography graduate and former alumni of the same course I teach on here at the BCU!

More about Chris

Professor Peter Larkham

Professor of Planning

Peter Larkham is Professor of Planning at the University’s College of the Built Environment. He teaches planning-related issues such as conservation and urban design on the College’s BSc and MSc courses and leads its Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.

More about Peter

Wil Vincent

Assistant Lecturer

Wil Vincent is an Assistant Lecturer in the Built Environment, having graduated from both our undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Planning at Birmingham City University. He is Programme Leader for the Faculty’s Generalist Degree programmes, offering remedial support to student to maximise their chance for successes on their degree programme....

More about Wil

Amanda Mundell

Senior Lecturer

Amanda is a Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University and teaches on post-graduate and undergraduate programmes. Her teaching experience is supported by 2:1 law degree (specialising in Planning and Environmental Law), a post-graduate professional qualification (Legal Practice Course), along with 15 years relevant practical experience with a...

More about Amanda

Nicki Schiessel Harvey

Senior Lecturer in Built Environment & Director of Student Recruitment

Nicki Schiessel believes firmly that knowledge must be made applicable to everyday practice, and draws on four years' consultancy with Atkins Environment carrying out EIAs, sustainability appraisals and socio-economic assessments. Nicki is interested in the implications for decision-making of changing values in different environments,...

More about Nicki