Welcome 2025 Students

Start Date

Welcome Week will take place between Monday 15 September and Friday 19 September 2025. During Welcome Week your course team will schedule activities for you to find out important information about your course, meet your lecturers and other students, and find your way around.

Teaching on your course begins from Monday 22 September 2025. Please check your timetable for details.

You will be able to see your timetable on iCity using your BCU login details as soon as they are released. You should have received your BCU login details when you were invited to enrol.

You can also download the University Assistant app and sign up with your course details for updates on Welcome Week.

• Download app on iOS
• Download app on Google Play

International Students

We expect all international students to engage with the University from Monday 15 September 2025.

The final deadline to arrive in the UK to complete enrolment will be week 4 (w/c 13 October 2025).

Please check the guidelines on entering the UK from your country or territory before planning your journey.

Timetables

Course Leader

Miguel Hincapie-Trivino

Welcome Message

Welcome to MA Planning Built Environments! This course has been designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills and tools to start understanding and fitting the disparate pieces of the built and natural environment jigsaw together; improving the ways in which policy and decisions are made regarding all aspects of place-making. The course builds on applied academic research and contemporary planning practice, stressing the importance of both the process and outcomes of planning interventions that are made in the public interest.

The course uses real life assignments and learning; helping you to learn how to apply the principles you learn. The course design and delivery uses expertise across our sustainability, real estate and planning teams and external experts in planning research and practice to address key challenges and opportunities across the built (including historic) environments. Here natural, political and social sciences converge to equip you to understand the different opportunities and challenges when dealing with complex planning problems in city, urban fringe and rural domains.

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 kind of high quality multi-functional places we increasingly need. This course is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and we are also seeking accreditation by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It offers a clear pathway to RTPI chartered status and prepares you for a career as an interdisciplinary and challenge-focused professional. In order to provide this interdisciplinary education, the course follows a 3 x 3 x 3 model in terms of structure. Three modules are bespoke to planning; three modules are interdisciplinary and are shared with other built environment courses and three modules are specialised relating to the dissertation, allowing you to specialise in an area that most interests you.

You will be assigned a personal tutor when you start the course who will be your first port of call if you need help. You will have a dissertation supervisor assigned to you early on to begin supporting you with this challenging assignment. Each module assessment is made clear at the start of the module, and the module tutor will provide class time to discuss the assessment and provide guidance. You will need to work hard to excel on this challenging but rewarding course, but we do everything we can to support you to get on well with your learning and plan your time effectively.

We look forward to welcoming you onto the course!

Course Location

Your course will mainly be taught in:

Millennium Point, City Centre Campus (Room numbers start with MP)

Preparing for Welcome Week

Before you arrive on campus, please take a look at your course Moodle page where you will find lots of useful information to prepare you for Welcome Week, including your required pre-arrival activity.

Supporting your transition

During Welcome Week, you’ll get to meet our Student Ambassadors as soon as you walk onto campus. They’ll be there to support you with finding your Student Support Centre, collecting your ID card and guiding you in the right direction, and for a friendly hello!

First day on Campus

We look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham City University!

You must have your ID card visible at all times when on campus, so if you have received yours before your first day, ensure you bring this with you. If you enrolled late you will need to collect one on campus during your first few days. Please remember that your ID card is for your use only. You must never let anyone else use it.

To complete your enrolment, you will need the following:

• Passport (or other form of photo ID if you are a UK/EU student)
• Original qualification documents if applicable (you will be emailed a list of the documents we need to see once you have completed your online enrolment)
• Visa (international students only)

What else? The rest is up to you! You will find a shop, café, pub, computer access and water fountains on campus, but we do recommend you bring the following on the first day:

• Laptop, if you have one
• Notepad and pen
• Reusable water bottle
• Snack
• Money

And remember, the weather in Birmingham can be changeable!