PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MSc Modernity Space and Place
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
MSc
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
2000 onwards
(e.g. from 2008 intake onwards)
Awarding institution/body:
University College London
Teaching institution:
University College London
Faculty:
Social and Historical Sciences
Parent Department:
Geography
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/
(if applicable)
Method of study:
Full time
Full-time/Part-time/Other
Criteria for admission to the
programme:
http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/admissions-andteaching/postgraduates/msc-in-modernity-space-and-place/
Length of the programme:
Full time, 1 year
(please note any periods spent away from UCL, such
as study abroad or placements in industry)
Level on Framework for Higher
Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
(see Guidance notes)
Relevant subject benchmark statement
(SBS)
M
No relevant postgraduate benchmark
(see Guidance notes)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
(see guidance notes)
http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/admissions-andteaching/postgraduates/msc-in-modernity-space-and-place/
Board of Examiners:
i) Name of Board of Examiners:
MSc Modernity Space and Place
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):





Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit:
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
to engage at an advanced level with the most innovative ideas on modern culture, society and polity being
produced within and beyond human geography
to develop a broad but advanced understanding of the significance of space and place to past, present and
future experiences of being modern
to employ this understanding in the analysis of key, specific dilemmas facing modern societies and individuals
to provide the advanced social research skills necessary for such analyses, and for the undertaking of a
substantial research dissertation
to equip students with the knowledge and skills for careers in academia, public and private research, and other
commercial and professional fields where an advanced understanding of modern culture, society and polity is an
advantage (e.g. the media, advertising and marketing, organisational development, consultancy, consumer
services, government and social services).
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding,
qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:
 key conceptual debates and
developments in the social sciences
and humanities, and how they have
been taken up and worked through by
human geographers;
 important theories concerned with
different conceptualisations of space
and place, especially at urban and
global scales;
 debates about public and private
space, how space is gendered, and
how public/private dualisms have
been discussed in modern western
thought.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Students take three core modules which together
advance critical thinking on cultural, social and historical
geographies of modernity. These courses are term
length modules, organised around an integrated
programme of 2-hour seminar classes, complemented
by extensive guided reading, independent student
research and coursework preparation. All seminars are
directed by full members of the academic staff of the
department. Seminars include student-led discussions
based around pre-circulated readings. Students are
encouraged to follow up discussions with staff and
discuss coursework through an office hours system, and
through participation in the weekly departmental seminar
in Human Geography.
Assessment:
Each module is assessed through one course paper of
up to 3000 words. Papers are intended to demonstrate
student understanding of key concepts and theoretical
debates, through reviews of literature and theory and
analyses of the work of key theorists.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
 apply knowledge of critical concepts
and theories in the context of major
substantive issues in modern
societies, such as urban
development, the role of
consumption, or the nature of
multicultural cities;
 analyse how representations of the
modern world are constructed and
operationalised, for example, in the
context of modern and postmodern
urbanism, in different perspectives on
nature in cities, or in the construction
of modern identities.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Optional modules in term 2 offer students the opportunity
to engage critically with literatures on substantive
aspects of modern societies. Students choose from a
range of modules offered by the M.Sc. in Modernity,
Space and Place, and selected modules from the M.Sc.
in Environment, Science and Society and the MSc in
Globalisation, with an opportunity to choose modules
from outside Geography with the approval of the course
convenor. Departmental modules are delivered through
term long modules, integrating seminar classes
complemented by extensive guided reading,
independent student research and coursework.
Additional advice on coursework is provided through
office-hours meetings between staff and students. Some
modules include gallery or museum visits, field work,
and/or discussions of video materials, films, and webbased material.
Assessment:
Optional modules are assessed through course papers
of up to 3000 words in length which develop and
demonstrate student understanding of key learning
outcomes from each course. Assessment formats are
primarily traditional essay questions, but may also
include reviews of exhibitions or other media.
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
 develop an advanced expertise in
social scientific research practices,
including the design, methodology,
ethics and management of social
research;
 utilise humanities research practices
appropriate to cultural geography,
including forms of textual and visual
analysis;
 demonstrate an ability to interpret and
employ methods of spatial analysis,
e.g. through an elementary use of
Geographical Information Science.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The social science methods course delivers teaching on
the principles and opportunities for practical engagement
with a range of social science methodologies. Outline
lectures provide students with an overview of the key
philosophical and epistemological traditions underpinning
research in the social sciences and to a range of social
science research skills and methods. In practicals,
students work in smaller ‘break-out’ groups on a range of
practical tasks (e.g. the use of search engines, on-line
data bases, statistical analysis, computerised mapping
systems etc.) designed by the lecturer to provide
students with hands-on experience of those skills and to
foster further skills in communication and group working.
Students have the opportunity to gain hands-on
experience of specific skills (informal interviewing,
participant observation) and confidence in deploying
those skills in the field. Specialist workshops enable a
deeper engagement with the epistemological issues and
practical skills surrounding core social science research
methods, with students working in small groups and in
close liaison with the workshop team on a number of
practical exercises (for example, the design of research
proposals, questionnaire design, interviewing, qualitative
analysis).
Assessment:
Practical skills are assessed through a 3000-word
assignment on qualitative methods (including a choice of
essay questions, construction of a field diary, or analysis
of an interview transcript). Quantitative methods and
advanced spatial analysis are assessed through a dataanalysis assignment and through successful completion
of web-based tutorials.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills (able to):
 Complete a substantial individual
research project which demonstrates
assimilation of transferable research
skills in research design, information
collection and management,
computing, communication and
presentation, project management
and critical thinking
 For students wishing to progress to
doctoral work, the dissertation gives
experience of developing and
completing an advanced piece of
research and independent thought, as
well as the practical research skills of
time management and working with a
supervisor. For those wishing to
pursue careers outside of the
academy (e.g. in the media,
advertising and marketing,
organisational development,
consultancy, consumer services,
government or social services) the
dissertation provides a high level of
competence in project initiation and
management, research skills, and
written and oral presentation.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The dissertation is the final element of the MSc, and
through the successful design, implementation and
completion of the project, each student is required to
demonstrate their understanding of the MSc themes,
transferable skills in project and research design,
information collection and management, critical thinking
and analysis, computing, communication and
presentation. During Term 2, and following guidance
through the social science methods course (see above)
and through meeting with the course convener and/or
other relevant staff, students submit an initial proposal in
the form of a research application, on the basis of which
they are allocated a dissertation supervisor. Students
then work on the detailed formulation and
implementation of their research proposal with their
allocated supervisor, who guides the research process,
providing guidance on project and time management,
research design and data analysis, and provides
feedback on written drafts of chapters. Students also
receive feedback and guidance from their peers and
from the Human Geography staff as a whole through the
presentation of their research plans at a Modernity,
Space and Place Dissertation Day early in Term 3.
Assessment:
Students submit a 15,000 word dissertation which
comprises an argument drawn from the appropriate
theoretical literature; a methodological design applicable
to the topic and achievable within the four-month period;
presentation of results; analysis of findings; conclusions
and policy recommendations where appropriate. The
oral presentation, provides an independent check on the
originality of the students’ work and counts for 10% of
the final dissertation assessment.
The following reference points were used in designing the programme:
 the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-A1.aspx);
 the relevant Subject Benchmark Statements
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-A2.aspx);
 the programme specifications for UCL degree programmes in relevant subjects (where applicable);
 UCL teaching and learning policies;
 staff research.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes
full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the learning outcomes,
content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each course unit/module can be found in the
departmental course handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed annually by
UCL and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Programme Organiser(s)
Name(s):
Dr Richard Dennis
Date of Production:
28 April 2008
Date of Review:
July 2014
Date approved by Head of
Department:
1/5/08
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
Teaching Committee
7/5/08