Course length
The Planning, Growth and Regeneration course runs from the beginning of October to the end of July.
Course structure
The structure if the course is modular. To complete the course students are required to complete four modules in each of the first two terms and to submit a compulsory dissertation of between 10,000 to 12,000 words in the third term. In all cases students on this course must take a research methods module as well as other compulsory modules. In addition to those, students may choose from a selection of other modules on offer in the Department. These options include modules on environmental economics, legal issues in land use and real estate finance. Assessment of each module is by way of a written examination paper, project or essay work, or a combination of these methods.
In addition, all students are expected to attend the Department’s Research Management Programme that supports the development of projects for the dissertation as well as covering issues of data collection and ethics.
Course teaching
Tuition in the programme is based around classroom lectures, case studies and field trips to ensure students can apply the theoretical concepts taught. There are normally two one-hour lectures per week, per module. These lectures may be supplemented and/or replaced by seminars and/or workshops.
In addition, students are welcome to attend any undergraduate lectures in the Department; and they may be advised by their module co-ordinator or their supervisor to attend a specified series of lectures as a part of the course, or to familiarise themselves with a particular topic by way of background. Students are advised to take advantage of all that is going on in the Department: this includes lectures, departmental seminars, special meetings and social functions.
Supervisions
Depending on the modules taken, students may have group supervisions supplementary to lectures.
In addition to those, all PGR students will be assigned to supervisors during the Michaelmas Term after initial dissertation summaries are submitted. The Department seeks to allocate a supervisor able to provide guidance on the chosen research topic and who has similar disciplinary interests to the candidate. The University’s recommendation is that formal supervision meetings should take place minimum of twice a term. However, in the Department’s experience much greater frequency is usually required, particularly because the timeframe for completion of the MPhil dissertation is short.