Programme Overview:
- Duration:
- 1 Years / 2 Years
- Attendance:
- Full Time
- Mode of Delivery:
- Face-to-Face
- Next Intake:
- 2023/2024 September
- Contact Name:
- Katie O'Neill
- Contact Number:
- +353 (0)1716 1781
- Fees:
- Fee Information
In today’s complex and rapidly changing world, with the threats posed by climate change, economic crisis and rapid urban growth, planners face the challenge of creating places that combine environmental quality with a vibrant economy, quality of life and distributive justice. This two-year professional planning degree develops the requisite conceptual knowledge and practical skills required by planners in this increasingly complex environment. You will develop an understanding of the administrative, legal and policy frameworks in which spatial planning operates and the social, political, economic and environmental challenges facing planning. In addition students develop practical skills for plan and policy making, including environmental assessment, retail assessment, public participation methods, development and project management, and GIS. Students will also engage with understanding the role of planning in public policy and sustainability.
The UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy has an established international track record as a leading research centre in spatial planning and is in the Top 150 QS World University Rankings by subject area. The School is a member of the Association of European Schools of Planning and has an exchange programme with the University of Illinois in Chicago.
* Please note this programme is currently undergoing a structural review and will be changing to a 1 year full time programme. Further information will be available in due course on this page or to find out more information please email eamarketing@ucd.ie.
The current 1 year version of this programme (W178) is only available to UCD internal students progressing from UCD’s Planning, Geography and Environmental Policy degree or UCD's City Planning & Environmental Policy degree. At this time all other eligible applicants should apply for the 2 year Master of Regional and Urban Planning programme (W032).
Curricular information is subject to change
Full Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes
The Master of Regional and Urban Planning programme is a two-year professional planning programme, providing graduates with the requisite skills and knowledge to begin a career as a professional planner, with specialisation in either development and design or environmental planning. The MRUP is aimed at providing an integrated and inclusive understanding of the challenges required to create places that combine environmental quality, with a vibrant economy, good quality of life and distributive justice. The programme is underpinned by a critical and questioning approach aimed at equipping our students with intellectual confidence and the professional and ethical judgement to make decisions, which promote and ensure sustainable spatial development and manage environmental change. The programme fosters a learning environment that draws on the research and expertise of our academic staff, combined with insights from innovative practitioners in the planning, development and environmental field. Uniquely, we can draw on our location in Dublin and Ireland to reflect on the challenges of a rapidly developing vibrant city and modern economy set in an unsurpassed natural environment. The MRUP utilises a mix of lectures, hands on computer lab based work, group projects in a studio setting, regular student presentations, independent research and academic and professional writing, to provide graduates with the requisite skills and knowledge needed in the rapidly changing global environment facing planning. Also there is potential in year 2 (based on competitive selection process) for 1 semester exchange with the Master in Urban Planning Program at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Graduates of the MRUP are to be found working as professional planners in the public and private sector, as GIS consultants, as policy advisors, property development consultants, and as community & rural development coordinators. Our graduates have found employment with: national and international planning agencies, government departments, local authorities including urban and rural authorities in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand; transportation agencies including the National Transport Authority; planning consultancy firms including Tom Philips and Associates, John Spain Associates and Future Analytics consulting; urban regeneration companies, large house builders including Glenveagh Properties; wind and solar energy companies including Eirgrid and ABO Wind, and environmental NGOs including An Taisce.
This section links to general module information, for a more detailed description including module selection rules click here.
MRUP Regional & Urban Planning (W032) Full Time
nonEU Year 2 - € 20500 aa
EU Year 1 - € 8610
nonEU Year 1 - € 21520
EU Year 2 - € 8200 aa
MRUP Regional & Urban Planning (W178) Full Time
EU Year 1 - € 9810
nonEU Year 1 - € 27720
EU Year 2 - € 9340 aa
nonEU Year 2 - € 26400 aa
aaSecond Year Fee applies to Students in 2nd Year in 2023 and who were a 1st Year Student on the programme in 2022/23
***Fees are subject to change
Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see www.ucd.ie/global/scholarships/
The Master of Regional and Urban Planning (MRUP) is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and these qualifications are recognised internationally.
Graduate Profile - Hannah Breshears, Tom Phillips & Associates
"I completed the Master of Regional and Urban Planning in UCD in 2016. I was working for an architecture firm in the US at the time and looking for a way to transition into the European job market. As an international student, I found the ancillary courses in Irish planning law, European property markets and comparative planning from the MRUP program to be particularly helpful, as they gave me the foundation I needed to engage with an unfamiliar industry and understand some of the cultural context at play in Irish policy making. The program also provided excellent opportunities to network with professional planners in Ireland, which gave our class a helpful snapshot of the various career paths available in the area. I completed an internship with a large private planning consultancy in Dublin that was offered by one of the UCD guest lecturers over the summer and accepted a permanent position there shortly after graduation. My job has evolved somewhat since then, and I now lead the research efforts at the firm as a Geospatial Analyst, a position which combines traditional town planning expertise with more technical data management skills (using GIS software and other related BIM tools)."
The following entry routes are available:
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised