Town planning graduates and lecturers group shot at graduation

Town Planning MSc and Chartered Apprenticeship graduates 2024

It was a proud moment for the MSc Town Planning and MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship) course team when its students graduated in February this year.

We were delighted that so many could attend the Graduation Ceremony at the Brighton Centre. This year the majority of graduates were from the MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship), a growing number since the route was first offered in September 2019, following its national Trailblazer status.

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Urban model with building and roads

Fellowship for Senior Lecturer


Andrew Coleman, Senior Lecturer on the MSc Town Planning and Chartered Apprenticeship Degree, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is a leading membership organisation and a Chartered Institute responsible for maintaining professional standards and accrediting world class planning courses nationally and internationally. The organisation champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities. Fellowship is one of the highest professional attainments available to a planner and Fellows must have made a major personal contribution to the planning profession for the benefit of the public.

Andrew Coleman headshot

Andrew Coleman’s research reflects a deep specialism in environmentalism and how to manage the risk of flooding through the planning system. He has contributed to government, government agency and research organisation projects and gained a wide range of experience, from working in private and public sectors, including in academia, as well as practising internationally, in Trinidad and Tobago. He is co-author of guidance on delivering better water management through the planning system and also a board member of the University of Brighton’s Centre for Earth Observation Science.

Speaking about the Fellowship Andrew Coleman said, “I am very honoured to be elected as Fellow of the RTPI. Ever since joining the RTPI, I have retained a profound belief that planning can deliver a better present and future for people and the environment.

“Pursuing this objective is becoming even more urgent given the climate and biodiversity crises facing the world. In my current teaching, research, RTPI and environmental activist roles, I am dedicated to equipping current and future planners with the tools to meet these challenges and my election as a Fellow demonstrates the importance that the RTPI places on addressing these issues.”

RTPI awards for research excellence logo

Graduate finalist in prestigious town planning awards

Congratulations to Town Planning graduate Laura Hemsley for reaching the finals of the prestigious Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Research Excellence (Student Award).

Now in their ninth year, the awards continue to recognise and promote high quality, impactful spatial planning research. Laura was nominated for her masters dissertation, ‘The Effectiveness of Strategic Planning Arrangements in Mineral Planning’.

We caught up with her to find out more about her dissertation, the support from her lecturers and what it meant to be nominated for the award.

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Group of people looking at greenery

Discussing solutions to current challenges at the Planning for Water conference

It’s not often these days that you hear people say ‘money is not the problem’, but that was one of the more surprising contributions at a recent Planning for Water  conference hosted by the Centre for Aquatic Environments and the Royal Town Planning Institute SE region at the University.

The 19th June conference brought together almost 70 town planners, engineers, developers, academics, charities, water companies and government officials to discuss solutions to some of the current challenges that water quality, water scarcity, climate change and the biodiversity crisis present to the building sector.

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Welcoming our first cohort of Global Fellows

The Global Fellowship Scheme provides prestigious awards to enable world-leading researchers and scholars from around the globe to spend between one and three months at the University of Brighton. During this time, they will be able to engage in productive research and build lasting collaborations.

Global Fellows will work in partnerships with University of Brighton colleagues on a joint grant application, produce a co-authored output or co-produced artefact, and share research skills and experience with researchers within our Centres of Research and Knowledge Exchange Excellence and postgraduate students.

We are looking forward to welcoming Professor Alexies Dagnino, University of Valparaiso, Chile in June, who will be collaborating with Dr Melanie Flint.

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Laura Hemsley headshot

Gain skills and expertise for your career on our Town Planning postgraduate degree

Laura Hemsley graduated with distinction from our Town Planning MSc and is now working as a Town Planner at Jacobs. We caught up with Laura and found out more about what drew her to postgraduate study on our Town Planning MSc and what she loved about the course.

What were you doing before your postgraduate studies at Brighton?

I had just graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc Degree (1st Hons) in Geological Sciences.

What made you choose Town Planning at the University of Brighton?

It is RTPI and RICS Accredited – this significantly drew me to the course as it meant once I had finished the course, I could immediately apply for a Licentiate membership – which is for graduates who have completed a fully Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)I accredited qualification. Becoming a Licentiate member of the RTPI is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Town Planner via the Licentiate Assessment of Professional Competence (L-APC).

The University of Brighton offered the option module of ‘Environmental Placement’ which was the best module choice on offer as it allowed students (i.e. me) to work within either a local planning authority or the private planning sector for three months (i.e. I worked within the private planning sector). This was extremely valuable as I was able to understand planning framework and legalisation policy, planning applications in a real-life examples, which gave me the expertise and skills for a future job in planning.

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Graduate Ashlie at work in a hospital

Graduate stories: Physician Associate in Emergency Medicine

My name is Ashlie and I’m a Physician Associate in Emergency Medicine at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals. I did Biological Sciences at University of Brighton, and I then completed my master’s degree in Physician Associate Studies at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in 2021. In between these two courses, I worked full time as a Healthcare Assistant, to save for my master’s course and to gain more experience in the field.

What do you do as a PA in hospital?
I love working in a hospital as there are lots of opportunities to undertake practical skills such as blood tests and suturing to name a couple of examples! Continue reading “Graduate stories: Physician Associate in Emergency Medicine”

Group of people about to get on a boat

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority boat trip

MRes Ecology and Conservation student Sarah George, really enjoyed the day spent on the Sussex IFCA boat (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority), as part of the Ecotoxicology module.

“The boat trip with the IFCA was a real education and I’m so grateful for this opportunity.  I have not previously experienced aquatic sampling and just being able to be part of the process and see how things were done was fantastic – even down to the clear sequential labelling of samples and being able to visualise how large a sample actually was (much smaller than I’d thought).

Simple things like rinsing the filter with clean water rather than seawater make so much more sense when you’re there as you can visualise how this would alter the sample you’d just collected.  Setting up and operating the sediment grab is something you can only really appreciate by doing it, the idea is simple but actually getting it to work needs hands on experience.   Again, being able to see how the sediment varied from site to site and even from one side of the boat to the other, told a really strong story.

Continue reading “Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority boat trip”
photo of Mark Walker, Town Planning MSc graduate

Mark’s route into town planning

Graduating from our Town Planning MSc has led Mark Walker to embark on a brand new career. He tells us more about his route into a town planning career.

  • What were you doing before your postgraduate studies at Brighton?

I was the News Editor and Director of Communications at Latest TV, a terrestrial television station based in Brighton and covering the South Coast of the UK. Before then, I worked for a local newspaper and I have also previously worked in the House of Commons for a Member of Parliament, in the European Parliament for two Members of the Parliament and was then a Director of Policy and Advocacy for a major Healthcare Public Affairs Consultancy. I am now working as a Planning Officer at Adur and Worthing Councils, having gained employment in the planning sector very quickly after finishing my course.

  • What made you choose the University of Brighton and this course?

Firstly, the City of Brighton and Hove is a great location for a University and for a place of study. I was born in Brighton and love the area and already knew that the University of Brighton was the perfect place for the MSc. Furthermore, the MSc Town Planning course is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has an excellent record in regards to employment opportunities after graduating from the course.

  • Can you describe your course and experience of studying here?

The course was a mixture of learning about the theory behind town planning, exploring contemporary planning issues, such as the impact of climate change on development, and also gaining practical experience through the Environment Placement module. I found the course very rewarding, even though it was conducted largely online via Microsoft Teams, and the Course Leader, Georgia Wrighton, as well as Dr Helen Walker and Andrew Coleman, adapted very well to the changing circumstances which we all found ourselves in. The support staff were also very good and it was clear from the start of the course that help was always available if needed.

  • Was it what you expected, can you explain?

Yes, the course was conducted as I expected given I had heard good things about the course from previous graduates and I had already been given excellent customer service from University of Brighton staff in my communication leading up to the start of the course. Also, given the difficulties with studying for the course during the Covid-19 pandemic, it ran very smoothly on the whole and the course staff adapted very well to the changing circumstances.

  • What were the highlights of your course?

The highlights of the course were the Environment Placement module, where I was lucky enough to gain work experience as a Planning Assistant at Adur and Worthing Councils, as well as the Planning Theory module, where it was fascinating to learn about the theoretical concepts behind the Town Planning academic discipline. Another highlight was the Dissertation module, given I focused on a local topic close to my heart; rethinking utopia in urban coastal communities. The chance to influence planning policy at Peacehaven Town Council was also very memorable and to work as a team with fellow students.

  • What are you doing now you have graduated?

I am currently working as a Planning Officer at Adur and Worthing Councils, starting in March, 2022. I am enjoying it a lot, particularly working on the Adur Local Plan.

  • What was it about this industry that first interested you?

One of my passions and interests is politics, particularly British and European politics, and, arguably, planning does involve a certain degree of political involvement in order for it to function at a local government level. With my former work for Latest TV as a News Editor, I also became aware of a lot of planning related issues which I wanted to explore further. With the Covid-19 pandemic I also decided I wanted a career change which incorporated the skills I gained during my previous work experience in politics and the news media.

  • What do you recommend about it?

The structure of the course blends theory and contemporary planning issues with the chance to gain valuable practical work experience also, so that is a big bonus. The fact that the course was accredited by the RTPI and RICS was also very important for me.

  • What would you recommend about your course?

The tutoring is excellent, the structure of the course well designed and it all happens at a great local in the City of Brighton and Hove.

  • How important are the knowledge and skills gained on your course to your job and why?

The skills I gained were very important, particularly the analytical skills in sifting through the different sources of knowledge and statistical information relating to planning applications whilst at Adur and Worthing Councils and the modules relating the Sustainable Urbanism in Coastal Communities and Comparative Practice in Property and Planning are essential to my current job as Planning Officer also.

  • What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of applying for this course / this university?

I would definitely go ahead and get a place on the course! It is well worth it!

  • How do you feel now you have graduated?

I feel very happy and think that undertaking the course was a very good career move, given that I was lucky enough to find a full time job in the planning sector very quickly so soon afterwards.

  • What are your plans for the future?

I am now working as a Planning Officer for Adur and Worthing Councils and I plan to work there to learn as much as I can at a local authority level, including with sustainability appraisals, day to day planning applications, the development of local plans and changes in national planning policy.

  • Did your course help you to decide on or plan your career / decide to apply for your job? If yes, how did it help?

Yes, the fact that I gained valuable work experience at Adur and Worthing Councils during the course was a key factor in me applying for the Planning Officer position at the same employer after I completed the course. It helped because I already knew people who worked at Adur and Worthing LPA and, perhaps more importantly, I already understood many of the key planning policies.

Watch this vide of course leader Georgia Wrighton chatting to Mark about the course on Latest TV.

graduates throwing hats in the air

Our first Town Planning Chartered Apprenticeship graduates

It was a proud moment for the MSc Town Planning and MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship) course team when 22 of its students graduated in February this year.

We were delighted that so many could attend the Graduation Ceremony at the Brighton Centre, one of the first to be held ‘in person’. This was an especially poignant and moving ceremony for staff, given the success the students had achieved during a very challenging time of remote teaching and lockdowns in the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year also saw the first cohort of MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship) students graduate since the route was offered in September 2019, following its Trailblazer status.

The dual Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accreditation of the course, the only one of its kind on the south coast, will equip the students for rewarding and successful careers in town planning, and we wish the students all the very best for the future