Our Post Graduate Courses in Place Management and Leadership
The Institute of Place Management (IPM) working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, currently offers the only courses in Place Management and Leadership in the world. IPM is the internationally recognised professional body representing the place management industry. We are now recruiting for our latest cohort of students on our bespoke Place Management courses.
From January 2022, we will be commencing the postgraduate course, which reflects contemporary challenges facing places today.
If you are interested in joining the course in 2022, we have hosted a number of webinars explaining the course. If you have not attended one of these please click here to catch up.
Our courses are designed around the needs of practising place managers, leaders and professionals to provide a flexible programme of study, combining a series of residential workshops in Manchester, supported by online learning and assessment. All the assessments are coursework based, there are no exams. All courses are studied in part-time mode only, to enable students to balance work and study commitments.
Our Place Management and leadership courses provide place management practitioners with invaluable insight, the opportunity to learn about new approaches in the sector, and to strengthen underpinning knowledge through exposure to academic research. The aim of our qualifications is to develop confident, respected place managers, capable of strategic thinking and transformative but inclusive place management.
Our courses are taught using a blended approach consisting of face-to-face delivery at the Manchester Metropolitan University campus and weekly support provided through online evening sessions. Although the in-person residentials are not compulsory, they offer the opportunity to network with fellow students on the course and attend study visits.
Please note that our postgraduate courses starting in 2022 will cost £9,252 for the full Master degree, this fee will increase to £12,000 in 2023.
Schedule and Units of study
Each unit runs for 15 weeks (from the start date) and includes 2 assignments. Online classes will be hosted every week on a Wednesday from 5-7pm, this will be accompanied by weekly recommended reading for students to complete. Each unit will also include a two day residential on campus at Manchester Metropolitan University, please see the details for each unit below.
Place Management and Leadership (30 Credits)
Start date: 19th January 2022, Residential date 24th-25th March at Manchester Metropolitan University
Covering the leadership qualities required for effective place management, governance and partnership development.
Place Marketing, Branding and Communication (30 Credits)
Start Date: 12th May 2022, Residential date 12th-13th May at Manchester Metropolitan University
Providing academic insight into how places are marketed and brandied, including new elements which focus on digital place-based communications.
Place and Economic Development (30 Credits)
Start Date: 14th September 2022, residential date 3rd-4th November at Manchester Metropolitan University
Focusing on a critical understanding of local and place-based economies within a global context, together with insights into place-making and development.
January 2023 - Research Methods (30 Credits)
Covering place-based data collection, analysis, and communication. For students doing the full MSc, this unit will help prepare you for the dissertation.
January 2023-2024 - Dissertation in Place Management and Leadership (60 Credits)
Students will complete an independent practice-based research project. The dissertation will be an academically informed, practice-based piece of research that will help them address a research problem in their organisation or place, with one-to-one academic support.
There are three different qualifications you can study, all options are flexible and take different lengths of time to complete.
- Post Graduate Certificate (2 units = 60 credits), Completion in 6 months
- Post Graduate Diploma (4 units = 120 credits), Completion in 18 months
- MSc (6 units = 120 credits + 60 credit dissertation), Completion in 24 months
In addition, prospective students applying for the full MSc, who have experienced place managers, can apply for advanced standing on the course. IPM members with 5 years of experience, who can demonstrate significant impact on the sector, or who may have existing relevant postgraduate qualifications, can qualify for the Advanced Standing route. Through this pathway, prospective students are entitled to unit exemptions, to fast track their qualification, meaning the full MSc can be completed within 12 months.
Recent graduate Steph would recommend the course to any place professional considering studying the course:
“I would thoroughly recommend the MSc to any place manager who wants to broaden their knowledge and understanding of place. I felt that although I had plenty of experience from my previous work and my years as town manager getting the MSc has given me the confidence that I have the knowledge and expertise and I look forward to developing them further through my membership of the IPM.”
If you are interested in joining the course in 2022, please click here to complete our short form.
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.