Regional and Urban Planning Studies

The MPhil/ PhD programme in Regional and Urban Planning Studies, organised by the Director of Planning Studies Dr Andy Thornley, is oriented towards an interdisciplinary social science approach to the study of regional and urban planning processes. We encourage applications from students who wish to pursue such an approach and who normally have already achieved MSc level. Applicants should submit a short research proposal with their application to allow us to assess the suitability of the proposed research and the availability of appropriate supervision. Research students benefit from the strong interest at the LSE in urban and regional issues and supervisors and students of the Regional and Urban Planning Studies programme are involved in the urban research centre LSE London.

On registration, which takes place in October each year, students are allocated a supervisor and an appropriate research programme is agreed. Some aspects of this programme are compulsory for all students and others will depend upon past academic experience and the intended research project. Students are expected to fulfil the research training aspects of the programme in their first year (or equivalent for part-time students). At the end of this year a meeting will take place to check the satisfactory completion of this training programme, adequate progress on the research project and consider the upgrade to PhD. Full time students would be expected to complete their PhD in three or four years.

The MPhil/ PhD programme contains four dimensions: research methods and skills, development of substantive knowledge, awareness of current research in the field and the development of the individual student's research.

Students are expected to acquire a basic knowledge in both quantitative and qualitative skills and attend the appropriate Methodology Institute courses.

In discussion with their supervisors students will identify certain subject-specific courses to attend in their first year. These may be chosen to develop an interdisciplinary knowledge or to explore an area that relates to their research proposal. Such courses are likely to be found within the MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies or other Masters programmes.

All students are required to attend GY504 Doctoral Seminar in Regional and Urban Planning Studies throughout their period of registration. This seminar forms the core of the PhD programme bringing together all PhD students and supervisors in informal research workshops to discuss their work, current debates and contemporary research in the field. There are a number of other courses that students are encouraged to attend in which visiting speakers report on their research such as GY450 Seminar in Regional and Urban Planning Problems; EC450 Seminar in Urban and Transport Economics and GY502 Staff-Graduate Student Seminar.

The final part of the programme relates to the development of the student's own research project. The main focus for this is the regular tutorial with a supervisor. However this is supplemented by other courses. At the start of their programme all students should attend the Methodology Institute course MI512 Information Skills for Research. During each year students are required to make presentations of their progress to the GY504 Doctoral Seminar in Regional and Urban Planning Studies and to attend MI5A1, MI5A2 and MI5A3 at the appropriate point in their thesis preparation. 

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