Study at Cardiff | Postgraduate

Transport and Planning (MSc)

Course Aims

The course aims to develop in students the capability to make an effective contribution at the highest level to the planning, policy making and management of transport in both the UK and overseas.

Special Features

• This MSc is professionally recognised by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). This means that all graduating students are exempt from the qualifying examinations of the Institute.
• Also recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a 'specialist' masters, allowing those who have completed a three year RTPI recognised undergraduate spatial planning degree to complete the RTPI's educational requirements for membership.
• Offers students an opportunity to study the subject of transport at a postgraduate level within a School which specialises in regional and land use planning.

Course Description

The MSc Transport and Planning is unique in offering students an opportunity to study different aspects of transport (planning, policy, operation and management) as well as other areas of urban planning in general. Course learning outcomes include:

1. Explain and demonstrate the principles and practice of transport scheme appraisal and evaluation;
2. Understand and be able to use statistical and modelling methods for analyzing travel behaviour and a range of transport options;
3. Critically appraise a range of transport policies for promoting greater sustainability at national, regional and local levels;
4. Design transport policies at the local level that respond to the economic, social, health and environmental challenges of the society.

Relevant concepts, ideas and policy cases are introduced in core modules including Principles of Transport Economics, Sustainable Transport and Transport and the City. In Transport and the City, students formulate a set of transport policies in a city context on the basis of the theories and principles they learned from other modules.

Course Structure

The course is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 comprises a teaching programme of core and option modules over two semesters. The core modules provide the necessary analytical, economic and planning framework, while the selection of option modules provides the opportunity to study particular aspects of transport and related topics in depth.
• Part 2 comprises an individual dissertation on a topic related to transport, selected in consultation with members of staff. Students have discretion to select topics over a wide area, including, for students from overseas, issues arising in their country of origin.

Available Modules

The following list relates to the modules for the academic year 2012/13. Please note that these may be subject to change.

Core Modules

• Principles of Transport Economics
• Researching Transport
• Sustainable Transport
• Tools for Transport Analysis
• Transport and the City

Option Modules

• Environmental Behaviours: Citizens, Consumers and Communities
• Environmental Management
• Local Food and Sustainable Development
• Space and Place: International Planning Practice
• Spatial Planning

For further details and up-to-date information on the course and modules, please see the course listing on the School's website.

Skills Acquired

Computer-based Statistical Analysis; GIS; Understanding and using transport models; Understanding and using simulation models; Professional presentation skills (written and verbal); Project management with live projects.

Careers Prospects

The course offers the knowledge and expertise for a career in major transport planning and engineering consultancies, local authorities and transport operators.

Our Alumni collectively represent the variety of potential careers and jobs that our current (and future) students may embark on.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should normally hold a first or second class Honours degree in an appropriate subject. This MSc is suitable for graduates in geography, planning, transport, engineering, science and social science. Applicants with good degrees in other disciplines and/or mature students with a relevant professional background (e.g. MILT, MCIT, MRTPI, CEng) or qualifications will also be considered.

A minimum standard in English language of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent will be required for students whose first language is not English. Pre-course English Language tuition is available.

Study Visits:

For students enrolled on this degree there will be a Field Study Visit as a compulsory part of a module you will be studying. The School normally covers 33% of the cost of this trip with individual students being responsible for paying the remaining 67% by a deadline prior to departure. You will receive details of locations, costs, travel arrangements and accommodation towards the end of your first semester. Depending on the location of the FSV the cost charged to individual students can range from approximately £110 (for UK trips) to £350 (for European City trips).

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Funding

Cardiff School of Planning and Geography is able to offer a reduction in tuition fees of £500 (or £250 reduction in each year of a part-time course) to all Cardiff University alumni.

For other funding opportunities available through the School, please visit their Tuition Fees and Funding webpage.

The fees quoted here are those before bursaries have been deducted.

Next intake: September 2013

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