Urban Planning MSc

Dubai Campus

Start date
January and September
Duration
12 months full-time, 24 months part-time
Campus
Dubai
Course Type
Postgraduate, Taught
Fees

AED 138,456 (full-time)
AED  61,967 (part-time)

Scholarships available for all students up to 40%

The core aim of this programme is to train the next generation of urban planners who will need to adopt a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach in order to address contemporary challenges and solve associated problems faced by urban regions.

 

MSc Urban Planning is accredited by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education

Drawing upon the University's world leading expertise in Planning, Environmental Science, Public Health and Critical Urban Studies, the programme will provide the necessary understanding, skills and knowledge that planners in government, private enterprises, NGOs and communities will need to provide innovative solutions to complex issues that impact upon a diverse range of stakeholders.

The key areas of understanding and skills that students will develop during the programme include:

  • Challenges urban areas face in the delivery of sustainable, inclusive and healthy places and what measures can be put in place to mitigate these
  • Opportunities and threats posed to urban areas by globalising trends, new technologies and the rapid rate of societal change
  • Impact of urban growth on the natural environment such as atmospheric pollution, water quality, plastic pollution etc., and the various approaches that are under development to mitigate related pressures. Within this area as well an understanding of the approaches that urban areas are taking to ensure post-carbon futures
  • Changing living patterns in urban areas, the role and nature of migration, social polarisation, social disadvantage and spatial fragmentation, and how the needs of diverse communities can be met

These themes will be pursued across all modules and together provide an holistic approach to the challenges of contemporary urban planning. To enable this, a wide range of teaching approaches will be utilised such as lectures, seminars, practitioner talks, site visits, field work and studio work – an emphasis will be placed on teaching that engages with the ‘real world’ as much as possible, utilising Dubai as an urban laboratory. Reflecting this, assessments will be authentic and involve living case studies – this will enhance not only understanding and skills but also employability.

Why study this course?

  • We have a number of outstanding scholarships available. Our scholarship options are designed to benefit all our new students.
  • The teaching is based on world leading research undertaken in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, which the programme brings together to provide the skills and understandings that contemporary planners need
  • Dubai is the ideal place to study Urban Planning given its proposed expansion under the Dubai 2040 Urban Masterplan – the key challenges that realising such growth in a sustainable manner are explored in-depth in the programme
  • Brings together planning, critical urban studies, environmental science and environmental health to create a programme which confronts the major challenges that rapidly expanding urban areas must confront both now and in the future
  • The programme will graduate contemporary planners who will be able to be articulate complex environmental urban problems to a broad range of end users as well as been able to plan for their mediation
  • The programme will enable graduates to make genuine impacts on the environmental and sustainability issues that urban areas face – this will open up a wide range of career paths

You will be able to engage with world leading research, including:

  • Sustainable urban development
  • Atmospheric pollution and urban clean air
  • Community planning
  • Urban futures
  • Smart city technology
  • Urban governance
  • Research conducted around the globe

Modules

Core modules 

  • The Planner in Contemporary Societies
  • Sustainable Cities
  • Smart Cities
  • Urban Design and Property Development
  • Urban Lives
  • Planning for Healthy Cities
  • Dissertation

Almost all modules will involve fieldwork, site visits and engagement with diverse communities in Dubai and the wider UAE space.

Fees

AED 138,456 (full-time)
AED 61,967 (part-time)

We have a number of outstanding scholarships available. Our scholarship options are designed to benefit all our new students.

How To Apply

How to apply

To apply for a postgraduate taught programme, you will need to submit your application and supporting documents online. We have put together some helpful information on the taught programme application process and supporting documents on our how to apply page. Please read this information carefully before completing your application.

Apply now

Our Standard Requirements

2:1, or equivalent, in a cognate subject but there is the possibility of entry with a 2:2, or equivalent, with relevant experience.

International Requirements



International Students

English language requirements

Standard English language requirements apply (IELTS: 6.0 overall with no less than 5.5 in any band)


  • IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band
  • TOEFL: 80 overall with no less than 19 in Reading, 19 in Listening, 21 in Speaking and 19 in Writing
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE) including online: Academic 64 with no less than 59 in all four skills
  • Cambridge English (exams taken from 2015): Advanced – minimum overall score of 169, with no less than 162 in any component

All teaching is delivered by leading researchers and practitioners, and you will be taught via a mixture of lectures, seminars, site visits, lab classes and workshops. You will engage with Government agencies, such as the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority which will be based on the campus. There will also be masterclasses from leading global urban development companies (eg, ARUP, Atkins) with the potential for internships, as well as the option of fieldwork in Kathmandu to learn from urban planning in a very different context.

From the outset you will be encouraged to become an independent and self-motivated learner, and we want you to be challenged and to think for yourself.

Full use of Dubai will be made as a ‘living laboratory’ in our teaching, and assignments will engage with real world examples. Teaching will be provided by faculty based in Dubai and by leading experts from the University’s Birmingham campus. Tutorial support will be integral to your learning and your independent dissertation study will be supported through one-to-one supervision and dissertation lab classes.

Our graduates will have a deep understanding as well as highly transferable skills, within the following areas:

  • The challenges urban areas face in the delivery of sustainable, inclusive and healthy places and what measures can be put in place to mitigate these
  • The opportunities and threats posed to urban areas by globalising trends, new technologies and the rapid rate of societal change
  • The impact of urban growth on the natural environment such as atmospheric pollution, water quality, plastic pollution etc., and the various approaches that are under development to mitigate related pressures.
  • The changing living patterns in urban areas, the role and nature of migration, social polarisation, social disadvantage and spatial fragmentation, and how the needs of diverse communities can be met

Course delivery

We offer a combination of evening and weekend classes which are designed to accommodate working professionals and those who choose to study full-time.

Our draft timetable for full-time students is designed to deliver teaching on one, two or three evenings from 18:00-21:00 Monday - Wednesday (day varies per module). Part-time students will study during these hours as per the number of modules they choose to study.

Please note that the example timetable is to be used as a guide and is subject to change. Our term dates are also available online. For further information, please contact the Programme Director, Mohammad Radfar.

View example timetable for Urban Planning MSc (PDF 60Kb)

Assessment Methods

Assessment will take place via essays, presentations, case study reports, urban design plans, and the extended research project.

  • Challenging but authentic – looking at real world problems and all coursework will involve engagement with examples in Dubai
  • Coursework reflects the needs of employers such as government style reports, master plans, etc.
  • All coursework has formative elements
  • Major part of the assessment is the dissertation – individual piece of research, with the full support of your supervisor

Planning as a career is developing beyond its traditional employment pathways in view of the increasing importance of the sustainability agenda and the impacts of urban expansion on the environment and society more broadly. The programme therefore enables the effective training of a new generation of planners who will be able to provide a more holistic, sustainability-focused approach to urban development and the mitigation of existing environmental and societal issues. To enable this, all of the modules take an interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter ensuring that graduates will be able to articulate the science behind critical urban issues, such as atmospheric pollution, and be confident in providing solutions. Therefore, graduates on the programme will be highly sought after not just in traditional planning spheres, such as planning consultancies and government agencies, but also in NGOs, international organisations (eg, World Bank/UN), and in the emerging sustainability sectors within large corporate organisations.

Examples of potential graduate careers include:

  • Government ministries
  • Public sector employment across a range of areas, such as planning, environment, transport, etc.
  • Urban Development firms
  • Consultants such as KMPG, McKinsey, etc.
  • Global organisations such as the UN, World Bank

100% graduate employability on the programme’s Birmingham based MSc in Planning.