Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Sheffield offers a four-year integrated master's degree in Urban Planning, accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). This program equips students with the skills, knowledge, and qualification to enter planning and related professions.

Course Description

The MPlan Urban Planning course provides a comprehensive understanding of urban planning, including the social, economic, and environmental aspects of planning. The program covers a range of topics, including urban design, planning law, and development management. Students will develop practical skills through fieldwork, site visits, and project-based learning.

Modules

The course consists of a range of core and optional modules, including:

• The Making of Urban Places
• Development, Planning and the State
• Cities, People and Urban Design
• Planning and the Environment
• Contemporary Urban Challenges
• Urban and Regional Economics
• Urban Design and Place-making
• Urban Analytics
• Sustainable Cities
• Real Estate, Planning and Development
• Planning, Policy and Governance
• Shaping Future Cities
• Planning Theory
• Plan-making and Development
• Planning Law and Development Management
• Urban Infrastructures and Place-Making
• Planning, Policy and Housing Challenges

Optional modules include:

• Urban Theory
• Territory, Power and Policy
• Who Gets What? Social Justice and the Environment
• The Urban Climate Emergency
• Urban Regeneration
• Urban Heritage and Conservation
• Advanced Spatial Analysis
• Urban Informality
• Cities of Diversity
• Extended Reality Design and Place-making

Learning and Assessment

The program uses a combination of lectures, seminars, and practice-based activities to deliver the curriculum. Assessment methods include coursework, exams, and project-based evaluations.

Entry Requirements

The standard entry requirements for the course are:

• A Levels: ABB
• International Baccalaureate: 33
• BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD
• GCSE Maths: grade 4/C
• English language requirements: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C or IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component

Graduate Careers

Graduates from the program have gone on to work in planning and related professions, including housing, transport planning, real estate, development control, forward planning, regeneration, urban design, heritage, and conservation.

Fees and Funding

The tuition fees for the course are:

• Home students: £9,535 (2025 annual tuition fee)
• Overseas students: £23,810 (2025 annual tuition fee) The university offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support students, including automatic scholarships worth up to £10,000 for overseas fee-paying students.

Placements and Study Abroad

The program offers optional placement and study abroad opportunities, allowing students to gain practical experience and explore different cultures.

University Rankings

The University of Sheffield is ranked as a world top-100 university (QS World University Rankings 2026) and has a strong reputation for research excellence (92% of research rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, Research Excellence Framework 2021). The university is also recognized for its excellent student experience, with a number one ranking in the UK for student experience (The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026).