MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies

Why did you choose the course/LSE? 

I chose LSE because it's one of the best institutions for social science in the world. I chose RUPS because I want to work at the city-level and enjoy thinking about how we can create welcoming spaces by considering both physical design and policy.

What has been the highlight of your LSE experience?

Seeing an amazing series of speakers over the past year including Kimberlé Crenshaw, Raghuram Rajan, and Nancy Pelosi. 

How are you planning to use your degree for your future career?

I want to work at the city-level, either for an agency or for an urban-focused firm or affordable housing developer back in the U.S. 

Sum up your experience in 3 words:

Intensive, stimulating, rewarding. 

Why did you choose the course/LSE?

I have always been interested in human geography and the combination of an interdisciplinary programme that also offers a concrete career path was attractive.

What has been the highlight of your LSE experience?

It has been immersing myself in extra-curricular activities. Myself and some friends on my course helped to organise a conference about urban technology that was well attended.

How are you planning to use your degree for your future career?

I am hoping to start a career in planning development management or property consultancy more generally.

Sum up your experience in 3 words

Challenging, perspective, communication

Being part of the double masters degree in Urban Policy with Sciences Po and the LSE was an amazing experience. The very different approaches of those schools are complementary, Sciences Po being more French focused and technical when the LSE gives us a broader and more global view on urban issues, and allows students to go deeper into some specific urban issues. Besides the high-quality and expertise of the professors in both institutions, what really makes the richness of this programme are the classmates, especially at LSE - I was myself part of the Regional and Urban Planning programme.

We all come from different countries and different backgrounds, have all sorts of professional experience, and LSE masters students, who usually have worked before getting into the programme, really know why they are here and bring very valuable inputs to the discussion sessions. This specificity surely makes each year different from the other, but also consolidate strong friendship and academic links that will last way beyond the year at LSE, both with other students and with professors, who used to give a lot of their time to students even outside the class time. 

Since graduating from the LSE in Regional and Urban Planning, I have worked for the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community in London, a charity set-up by HRH The Prince of Wales to promote a return of traditional values to architecture and urbanism across the world. Holding dual-qualifications in landscape architecture and urban planning, I have been involved on a number of projects ranging from a 4,000 home new town in Bahrain, to an urban infill site in North London. The position allows me to use my background in physical design together with the education gained from the LSE in policy and economics. All in all, I couldn’t be happier with the doors LSE opened for me.

Victoria was appointed the Massachusetts Permit Ombudsman by the Governor Deveal Patrick. She is the Director of the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office and Chair of the Interagency Permitting Board. Victoria administers the MassWorks Infrastructure Grants and leads regional planning initiatives on land use, zoning and public infrastructure in support of new housing development and job creation.

Why did you choose the course/LSE? I wanted to study urban and regional planning and thought that the LSE and London would be a great environment to do so. The MSc was founded by Peter Hall and has a strong interdisciplinary approach to understanding cities and regions from an economic, social and environmental perspective. Moreover, it is in the Geography and Environment department so you have a chance to meet people from different backgrounds and with diverse interests, which I think is very enriching.       

What was the highlight of your LSE experience? The programme was well structured and had a good mix of theory and practice through London-based and international case studies. All courses I took were excellent and delivered by engaged professors. Another highlight was my programme’s cohort: the fact that we were all from different places and had completely different experiences made the discussions particularly valuable. Finally, I enjoyed spending three months on my dissertation: working on my own research was an amazing experience.

How has your degree been useful for your career? LSE has an excellent academic reputation in London but also internationally, which is helpful when applying for jobs. Also, the many public lectures and events given by world leaders at the LSE enabled me not only to have an up-to-date knowledge of my field but also be aware of all other subjects and ideas being discussed on a global level. What I found great about my degree is that it opens up many different career paths. I worked in a transport planning consultancy in London before going back to the LSE as a Research officer in the geography department. 

Sum up your LSE experience in 3 words: Knowledge exchange, diversity, critical thinking.

Since graduating from the dual degree in Urban Policy from Sciences Po and LSE, I have been working for Groupe Huit, a french consulting firm working with national and local governments, together with International Development Agencies, on urban development projects in developing countries. My background has led me to work primarily on governance issues on various projects in Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Nigeria, and Mongolia.

Being part of the RUPS programme was a wonderful opportunity to experience a complementary approach to urban planning and development, and benefit from a system providing enough flexibility to explore more in-depth urban issues close to my heart. I gained specific skills (such as CBA analysis) that I apply today in my professional life, and the writing of a case study based dissertation was a truly enriching experience. All this in a stimulating working environment, with very supportive and committed professors.

Morten has had an amazing career since graduation. He worked as a programme manager for the UNEP/Grid-Arendal in Norway. He then became a political advisor to the Minster of the Environment and International Development during the period of the revision of the Norwegian Planning and Building Act. He led the Norwegian delegation at the World Urban Forum in Nanjing. He now works for Ramboll consultancy.

After two and a half years with DTZ London, Kamill assumed a new role as a senior appraiser at VR Wert, the appraisal arm of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Financial Services Network, in early 2010, where he responsible for the coordination of international valuation projects and appraisal work in the UK, U.S. and France.

After ten years abroad, spent in the SF Bay Area and then London, Kamill is now back in Germany, based in Hamburg. He completed his RICS accreditation (MRICS) and is a member of the Urban Land Institute to keep informed on development matters, which still form part of his appraisal work and are a continuation of some of the topics studied in the RUPS programme.