Where can a Masters in Transport Planning get you?

Ben at the Callidus offices in Cardiff

UK universities provide a wide range of Masters courses of relevance to transport planning - many of which are approved for the Transport Planning Professional qualification. This depends on a complete match between the TPP competences and the course content. This is audited on a regular basis and thus subject to regular updates. One of those institutions is Cardiff University and the full list of providers can be found on the TPS website.

Over the next few months TPS will be showcasing former MSc students to demonstrate how university courses have shaped their professional development. What is clear is that transport planners and professionals are a diverse group and that there is no such thing as a typical transport planning career path. First in the spotlight is Ben Jones, now Senior Transport Planner at Callidus but how did he get there?

Ben was awarded the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund (RJRF) bursary in 2022 to study for an MSc in Transport and Planning at Cardiff University for 1-year full time. Ben’s academic journey started in 2014, combining part-time study for a Higher National Certificate in Civil Engineering at the University of South Wales with full-time employment, graduating in 2017. Ben also studied for a BSc (Hons) in Urban Planning and Development at Cardiff University for 3 years full time, graduating in 2022. Most recently Ben graduated with merit from an MSc in Transport and Planning in July 2024.

Ben recounts that “as a mature student, my professional journey has not been typical. I have demonstrated 15 years of continuous commitment towards my ambition of becoming a professional transport planner. After 15 years of work experience in the highways and transportation industry, the best career advice I have ever been given is that you’re never too late to go back to university and gain the relevant academic qualifications. I am now a Senior Transport Planner at Callidus Transport and Engineering Ltd running the Cardiff office since November 2023”.

Ben is grateful to the trustees of the RJRF who were willing to support a mature student, awarding him a bursary that allowed him to pursue his post graduate studies. “Receiving this bursary allowed me to study to the best of my ability, it supported networking and professional development opportunities, helped to alleviate stress and to address some of the additional challenges that I face with my disability”.

As is typical of a taught Masters, Ben concluded his studies by conducting an original piece of applied research with a dissertation based on a newly implemented clean air zone, ‘Bristol Clean Air Zone: Perceptions of Stakeholders and Residents’.