Spatial Planning - Bolton Street

Course Title: Master of Science in Spatial Planning

What is... Spatial Planning?

This part-time course provides an opportunity for practitioners and qualified individuals to become professional planners by attending an accredited part-time planning course. Through a modular delivery of lectures, tutorials and seminars over a period of 2.5 years, including the successful completion of a dissertation, students can obtain a highly recognised planning qualification.



The course is presented within the School of Transport Engineering, Environment and Planning in TU Dublin Bolton Street. An intake of 10-15 students is envisaged, of different disciplines and backgrounds, all with some professional experience, usually in the built environment. The course provides scope for a considerable degree of inter-disciplinary learning both within the student group as well as between lecturers and students.



The group environment fosters a creative atmosphere of interactive problem-based learning. Students are set real-life challenges often involving actual problems facing planning agencies, who also get involved in tuition and assessment. The teaching faculty is made up of committed TU Dublin personnel in addition to practising professionals, considered some of Ireland’s leading experts in their respective disciplines.



Students and staff engage directly with agencies and community/industry in project work on a routine basis. A high level of industry involvement is ensured in guest lectures, programme development, project work, feedback and critique, etc.



The Spatial Planning Graduate Network, an alumni network organised by graduates of the course and the programme chairperson, runs a CPD and forum programme which directly involves and is linked to the current course.



Students undertake a range of modules covering all areas of the social and environmental sciences. They gain practical knowledge of core planning practices; including planning law, transport and urban development, spatial planning systems in Ireland and other jurisdictions, development management, infrastructure planning, area planning, environmental assessment and urban design. The completion of a dissertation allows students to explore a specific and relevant planning issue on an in-depth basis.



Schedule

The course is presented on a part-time basis through a five-semester cycle. During each of the first four semesters, over a two-year period, lectures will be delivered in a blended format.



This will include weekly lectures online and face to face lectures taking place over 8 full Friday’s and Saturdays per year. Attendance will be required for one additional weekend seminar per semester. During the fifth and final semester, students work primarily on their dissertation.



Total course attendance over the 2½ years will therefore amount to two years of online weekly delivery (usually two evenings per week) and 16 to 18 weekend face to face lectures, tutorials, and weekend seminars with some exam periods. Written examinations will be held at the end of years one and two.

Year One

Semester 1

• Cultural Heritage & Urbanism [Mandatory]

• History & Theory of Planning [Mandatory]

• Planning Law & Institutions II [Mandatory]

• Planning Practice - Logbooks [Mandatory]

• Research Techniques [Mandatory]

• Rural Environment & Planning [Mandatory]

• Socio-economic Environment [Mandatory]

• Technology & Infrastructure [Mandatory]

• Urban Design [Mandatory]

• Prior Learning [Elective]



Semester 2

• Rural Environment & Planning [Mandatory]

• History & Theory of Planning [Mandatory]

• Planning Law & Institutions II [Mandatory]

• Socio-economic Environment [Mandatory]

• Research Techniques [Mandatory]

• Technology & Infrastructure [Mandatory]

• Cultural Heritage & Urbanism [Mandatory]

• Planning Practice - Logbooks [Mandatory]

• Urban Design [Mandatory]



Year Two

Semester 1

• Local Area Plan [Mandatory]

• National & Regional Planning [Mandatory]

• Planning Practice - Logbooks [Mandatory]

• Planning Techniques [Mandatory]

• Transport & Urban Development [Mandatory]



Semester 2

• Local Area Plan [Mandatory]

• National & Regional Planning [Mandatory]

• Planning Practice - Logbooks [Mandatory]

• Planning Techniques [Mandatory]

• Transport & Urban Development [Mandatory]



Year Three

Semester 1

• Planning Practice - Logbooks [Mandatory]

• Dissertation [Mandatory]

Minimum Entry Requirements?

In order to be admitted to the course, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Have an appropriate honours (2.2 grade or higher) bachelor degree.

• Have five years relevant experience in an area generally related to planning.

• Have an ability to undertake practice during the course that is relevant to planning (see attached note on "Planning Practice Logbook Requirement" for details).



See also: Spatial Planning Practice Logbook



Prospective students are expected to address the above matters in their written application as well as in an interview. Acceptance onto the course is by interview. A Selection Interview Panel is convened, usually in early-June, to decide on course intake for the following September.

Applications will open in February 2025



Please note due to the great demand for our courses early applications are assessed when received and dealt with promptly. Therefore it is advisable to make early applications for an early response. If you do not yet have your final degree results this will not hinder your application as we are happy to issue conditional offer letters in such circumstances.



Non-EU Students

Non-EU students, not resident in Ireland, are not eligible to apply for part time programs that are delivered on-campus. Applications for part time courses that require on-campus attendance will not be processed and the application fee will not be refunded.

Assessment is by examination and coursework, however a large portion of the programme is assessed by practical project-work, undertaken both individually and in teams. Projects undertaken include:


•Local Area Plan Project

•Urban Design Project

•Strategic Environmental Assessment Project

•Other module assessment projects (often incorporating field work)

•Planning Practice Logbook requirement

•Research Dissertation (undertaken in final semester)

2.5 years, Part Time

Method of Delivery Blended

Commencement Date: September 2025

What are my career opportunities?

The course is accredited by the Irish Planning Institute and the Royal Town Planning Institute, the two established and internationally recognised accreditation bodies for spatial planning in Ireland.



Many graduates use their knowledge to supplement their existing professional practice. Equally, many others use the programme to reskill into planning positions within local authorities, agencies, government bodies or private practice. Others still, use the course to develop practice in new and emerging areas of planning, which like any contemporary profession is an evolving field.