Program Overview

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MPRE Planning and Real Estate with Professional Placement

Overview

The Master of Planning and Real Estate with Professional Placement is a five-year enhanced undergraduate degree, which gives you real-world experience and key employability skills, and is fully accredited by both the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Duration and Year of Entry

• Duration: 5 years
• Year of entry: 2026

UCAS Course Code and Institution Code

• UCAS course code: 1G24
• Institution code: M20

Key Features

• Industrial experience
• Typical A-level offer: ABB
• Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
• UK refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
• Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL

Entry Requirements

A-level

• ABB
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

A-level Contextual Offer

• BBC
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

UK Refugee/Care-Experienced Offer

• BBC
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

International Baccalaureate

• 34 points overall. 6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects
• Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

GCSE/IGCSE

• Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 4 or C in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Other Entry Requirements

• Other entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.
• • Scottish requirements
  • Welsh Baccalaureate
  • Foundation year
  • Pearson BTEC qualifications
  • OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications
  • Access to HE Diploma
  • T Level
  • Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

Fees and Funding

Fees

• Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

Additional Expenses

• This course has normally included an overseas field trip in year 5, which is an optional part of the course. Please note there is a student contribution towards the cost of the trip depending on the location.

Policy on Additional Costs

• All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application.

Scholarships/Sponsorships

• We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.
• You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies.

Application and Selection

How to Apply

• Apply through UCAS

Home-Schooled Applicants

• If you are a student who has followed a non-standard educational route, e.g. you have been educated at home; your application will be considered against the standard entry criteria of the course for which you are applying.

Non-Standard Educational Routes

• Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.

How Your Application is Considered

• Academic attainment but the personal statement and potentially work experience/volunteering can be assessed in conjunction with this assessment.

Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, Interests

• Work experience or volunteering in a planning, environment, urban design or real estate would be beneficial but is not required, as opportunities are embedded within the programmes to gain work experience.

Returning to Education

• Return-to-learn students are those who have had a substantial period away from any formal learning.

Overseas (Non-UK) Applicants

• Students from the UK, EU and International locations can apply for the programme. Placements in Year 3 though can only be undertaken with UK based organisations.

Deferrals

• Deferrals are accepted onto all programmes in PEM.

Policy for Applicants Who Resit Their Qualifications

• We will consider applicants who have re-sat individual modules.

Re-Applications

• If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.

Transfers

• We accept transfer into Year 1 of the programme from cognisant disciplines.

Course Details

Course Description

• The Master of Planning and Real Estate with Professional Placement is a five-year enhanced undergraduate degree, which gives you real-world experience and key employability skills, and is fully accredited by both the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Special Features

• Accreditation
  • This course is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
  • The course is also fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) under two pathways; ‘Planning & Development' and ‘Commercial Property and Valuation'.
• International Fieldwork
  • This course normally includes a field trip to a European country during your second year, where you can put what you have learnt so far into practice.
• Local Fieldwork
  • Conduct fieldwork on a local scale, exploring the city of Manchester - and its surrounding areas - to supplement your studies and assessments.
• Study Abroad
  • Apply to spend one semester studying abroad at one of our exchange partners in Europe, the US, South East Asia, or Australia.
• Year in Practice
  • Normally spend 12 months working within the dynamic world of planning, urban design or real estate development, putting into practice the skills you learn on the degree and helping you to gain your professional accreditation.

Teaching and Learning

• Important Notice: Factors Affecting Fieldwork and Placements
  • The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork and placements.
  • However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority.

Coursework and Assessment

• We place strong emphasis on coursework and continuous assessment.
• Coursework takes a variety of forms - from essays and reports, to posters, oral presentations and project demonstrations (sometimes to practising professionals).

Course Content for Year 1

• Year 1 provides a broad introduction to the fundamentals of planning and real estate, including introducing core principles and practices that underpin urban development, real estate and urban economics, placemaking and sustainable communities.

Course Content for Year 2

• In Year 2, you will begin to specialise your knowledge and skills.
• This includes understanding policies, regulations and processes that guide development, introducing core principles on urban design and understanding how to value properties.

Course Content for Year 3

• In Year 3 you will normally embark on a 12-month paid work placement with an organisation specialising in planning and/or real estate in the UK, allowing you to apply, in practice, the conceptual, practical, digital and communication skills you have learnt in the first two years of your degree.

Course Content for Year 4

• In Year 4 you will develop your planning and real estate specialism further.
• This will include learning the fundamental components of planning and property law, exploring specific aspects of urban development such as housing provision and acquiring specific insights into the ethical perspectives of planning, vital for your move into the profession.

Course Content for Year 5

• In Year 5 you transition into the integrated Masters, where all the content is taught at master's level.
• This is your professional specialism year, and is currently required by the RTPI to receive full accreditation, serving as a fast-track to a future career in planning.

Facilities

• You can develop your digital planning skills in our computer suites with specialist design and spatial analysis software.

Careers

Career Opportunities

• Our MPRE graduates are sought by a wide range of employers.
• A popular graduate route is employment in planning, real estate or multi-sectoral consultancies, where students work to meet client needs on a wide range of areas from:
  • developing planning applications for large-scale developments;
  • designing and delivering large-scale infrastructure projects;
  • providing advice or developing policies on placemaking;
  • sustainable development or urban design.

Accrediting Organisations

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