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Housing and City Planning MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Shelter is one of the most basic human needs, yet few governments have adequately addressed the development of sufficient housing that is the right type, of the right quality, and in the right locations. This urban planning master's course provides critical perspectives on the role of planning policy and practice in development, the financing and management of housing projects, and strategies to reduce the environmental impact of housing. Housing and City Planning MSc is designed for urban professionals and graduates seeking to specialise in housing development. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£18,400
£9,200
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

An upper second-class honours Bachelor's degree (or higher) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of equivalent standing is required. Admissions tutors may, at their discretion, consider applications from students who have not achieved this but hold professional qualifications (e.g. RTPI) or can demonstrate substantial work experience in the field of housing development, planning for housing, or housing design. (Applicants will still be expected to meet the minimum UCL requirement of a 2:2, however.)

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Housing development needs to be both accessible and affordable while satisfying our basic human needs. Thoughtful design can ensure these developments also contribute to achieving social and environmental goals. The Housing and City Planning MSc provides a comprehensive perspective on housing development, offering critical insights from planning, design, and project management viewpoints. By the end of your degree, you will be equipped to work within regulatory contexts and develop realistic housing proposals that are feasible in terms of policy compliance and financing. Our multidisciplinary education integrates aspects of urban planning, housing studies, real estate, urban design, and more under three overarching themes: planning for housing, economics and management, and sustainability.


During your studies you will:

  • Build a solid understanding of UK policy and practice while exploring comparative perspectives from international case studies and global housing debates.
  • Acquire the knowledge and skills to identify new housing market opportunities and to structure a development financing package that maximises the developer’s objectives.
  • Learn about sustainable housing principles, exploring environmental aspects in both the design of new housing and housing retrofit projects.
  • Gain experience delivering housing-led development proposals in a project-based module focused on a London regeneration area.
  • Deepen your understanding of real housing challenges and solutions during a residential field trip.
  • Pursue your own interests, choosing specialist elective modules in, for example, areas such as Infrastructure Planning; Investigating Urban Transformation in Historic Cities; Planning for Housing; Planning for Sustainability, Climate Change and Inclusion; Planning for Urban Design; Planning for Urban Design; Smart City Theory and Practice; Sustainable Development Themes and Goals; or Urban Regeneration.
  • Earn a degree fully accredited by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) with a requisite bachelor's degree.

Who this course is for

This course is for urban professionals and graduates from the fields of planning, property, architecture and project management from around the world looking to build their career in housing development or planning.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

World-class, research-led education
You will be taught by academic experts at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning who are actively involved in shaping the theories and debates in housing and city planning. Our faculty, The Bartlett, has been ranked #1 for Built Environment studies in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024). The Bartlett is also where the UK’s most ‘World Leading’ and ‘Internationally Excellent’ built environment research is undertaken (REF 2021).

Immerse yourself in London
As a constantly evolving city, London is the perfect place to immerse yourself in housing and city planning. With numerous developments and regeneration projects across the city, London provides a rich context for your studies. Beyond your degree, London has been named the best city for students in the (QS Best Student Cities 2025).

Build your career in planning
Through hands-on teaching, field trips, and site visits, you will acquire the skills and knowledge needed to excel in your future career. From enrolment, through to three years after graduating you can also access UCL’s Careers Service to support you in finding the right path for your career ambitions.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

95% of graduates from The Bartlett School of Planning are in employment or further study within 15 months of further study (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-2021). Graduates of the Housing and City Planning MSc have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment, they are now working in careers in: 

  • Real estate and development
  • Housing associations
  • Local and central government
  • Consultancy
  • Academia
  • Research institutions involved in the housing sector, urban, regional and environmental planning.

Employers of our graduates include Savills, Capita, Clarion Housing Group, Peabody Trust, Lendlease and more.

Learn more about careers in planning and our alumni’s careers ►

Alumni experience

“The critical perspectives, research experience, and opportunities to explore my specific interests during the course provided an excellent grounding for my current work.” – Madeleine Pauker, Housing and City Planning graduate

Employability

You will gain many of the skills required to build your career in housing and city planning. These include:

  • Professional report-writing 
  • Presentation skills including to development sector representatives
  • Team-work and project leadership skills
  • Exposure to specialist software including PHPP

Working with dedicated specialists in UCL's Careers Service and our careers specialists in The Bartlett School of Planning you will be supported in exploring your options, gaining valuable skills and experience, demonstrating your hands-on experience and guiding you through the job application process. 

Networking

You will have the opportunity to network with Housing and City Planning MSc alumni through informal events, such as alumni drinks, and formally organised guest lectures. Through The Bartlett School of Planning and UCL’s dedicated Careers Network you will also have the chance to participate in various events and training tailored to the industry, such as alumni and industry insight panels, career taster sessions, masterclasses, careers fairs and more.

Accreditation

The Housing and City Planning MSc is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has specialist accreditation from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as the final-year of study in a 3+1 integrated route. 

Learn more about urban planning degree accreditation ►

Teaching and learning

The course is delivered through a variety of teaching and learning methods, including lectures, seminars, tutorials, project work, and field study visits, culminating in an individual dissertation research project. Group work is designed to develop a broad range of planning and design-relevant skills and knowledge. The Housing and City Planning MSc is a principles- and theory-driven program, providing students with both a conceptual understanding and the practical skills needed to address challenges in planning for the delivery of new and retrofitted housing.

Throughout your degree you will undertake a variety of assessments including essays, group projects, problem-sheets, individual projects, classroom tasks and the dissertation.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 12 hours per week. Outside of lectures full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

Modules

Full-time study takes place over 1 year. You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits consisting of six core modules (90 credits), elective modules (30 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).

In term 1, you will undertake the following core modules:

  • Planning for Housing: Process, which provides an overview of how planning systems deliver new housing. 
  • Sustainable Residential Design and Retrofit, exploring sustainability in new housing and the refitting of existing housing.
  • Management Housing Development Projects, which focuses on the principles and practicalities of delivering new housing developments.

Term 2, includes the core modules: 

  • Planning for Housing: Project, in which you develop housing project proposals in small groups.
  • The Economics and Finance of Housing Projects, where you learn about how to make new developments viable.
  • Critical Debates in Housing and City Planning, a seminar-based module that explores important topics relating to residential development and retrofit.

Towards the end of term 2, you will begin developing your dissertation topic proposals. You will be allocated a supervisor under whose guidance you will develop your own individual piece of original research in term 3.

Part-time study takes place over 2 years. You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits consisting of six core modules (90 credits), elective modules (30 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).

In your first year you will undertake four 15 credit taught modules:

  • Planning for Housing: Process, which provides an overview of how planning systems deliver new housing. 
  • Planning for Housing: Project, in which you develop housing project proposals in small groups.
  • Management Housing Development Projects, which focuses on the principles and practicalities of delivering new housing developments. 
  • The Economics and Finance of Housing Projects, where you learn about how to make new developments viable.

In your second year you will the two remaining 15 credit core modules:

  • Sustainable Residential Design and Retrofit, exploring sustainability in new housing and the refitting of existing housing.
  • Critical Debates in Housing and City Planning, a seminar-based module that explores important topics relating to residential development and retrofit.

You will also take your chosen elective module(s) worth 30 credits and complete your dissertation. Although part-time study roughly equates to one day of teaching per week, modules often take place on different days. Students should therefore be aware of this and discuss with their employer if necessary. 

Modular/flexible study takes place over up to 5 years. You will discuss the structure of the modules you take during each year with the programme director dependent how long you wish to study for. Typically, students begin with the module ‘Planning for Housing: Process’ in the first year and conclude with the dissertation in the last year.

Compulsory modules









Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Housing and City Planning.

Fieldwork

The degree includes a residential field trip during which themes relevant to the course are explored in different place contexts. This is an opportunity to consider housing and city planning issues in real world settings, whilst networking as a course community. 

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £18,400 £9,200
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

This course includes one field trip. Travel and accommodation (including breakfast) for the trip will be covered by UCL, however students will need to cover the costs for visas, other daily meals and any other personal expenses. The exact costs will depend on the location and prevailing exchange rates; however, it is estimated that students would need to budget between £200 and £300.

During the course we will also attend site visits across London. Students will need to pay for their own transport to sites. Based on visits last year you should expect to budget up to £60 across the year to access sites by public transport. Sites are always within the TFL travel zones, and full-time students should be able to benefit from a student Oyster card for slightly discounted travel rates.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the UK Master's scholarship and Sub-Saharan Africa Master's scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

We have given an overview of other funding options you may be eligible for on The Bartlett School of Planning and The Bartlett Faculty websites.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship

Deadline: 28 March 2025
Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Bartlett Promise UK Master's Scholarship

Deadline: 31 May 2025
Value: Tuition fees plus £15,864 maintenance/yr (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of Housing and City Planning
  • why you want to study Housing and City Planning at graduate level
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree and how this programme meets these needs

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

To support you in the application process we’ve written a guide on writing an urban planning personal statement.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Bartlett School of Planning
Bartlett School of Planning

bsp.pgt@ucl.ac.uk

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