Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering, Master of Science (Technology)
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Description
As a student of the Master’s Programme in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering (SPT), you will gain the skills you need in working for smarter, more livable and more sustainable cities and regions. You will be ready to face critically and creatively the dynamic challenges brought about by constantly changing nature of physical and social environments. You will also be able to seize the opportunities provided by the emergence of new technologies. You will learn a variety of planning and analysis methods, along with planning and management strategies for shaping land use and transportation systems.
Our interactive teaching methods give you hands-on experience in a range of themes and methodologies. Our studio courses encourage you to exercise systemic thinking, creative problem-solving, ethical reflection, and communication skills.
Language of instruction
In the Master’s Programme in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering the language of instruction is English. More information and guidelines on the languages of the degree and instruction at Aalto University is available at the university's webpage.
Tuition fees and scholarships
The tuition fee for this programme is 17 000 euros per academic year. Citizens of European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland do not pay tuition fees. Citizens of other countries must pay tuition fees.
Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.
More information on tuition fees and scholarships at Aalto University is available at the Scholarships and Tuition Fees webpage.
Structure of studies
Master of Science (Technology) degree is 120 ECTS credits.
Common studies (35 credits) consist of six compulsory courses that form the foundation of your spatial planning and transportation engineering studies. Courses cover subjects such as the foundations of land-use planning systems and transportation systems, planning theory and land-use and transport policy. In addition, you will participate in the planning studio, engaging in hands-on planning work. From there on, you build your individual profile of expertise through advanced and elective studies.
Advanced studies (25 credits) may be chosen among nine main courses, providing knowledge and skills in areas such as participatory planning, urban and regional policymaking, transport modelling and traffic flow theories and management methods and urban experience.
You are free to choose your elective studies (30 credits) to support your profile. We will be happy to provide you guidance and support.
The structure of our programme enables you to study the major courses that the programme provides, i.e. common and advanced courses, during the first study year. This leaves the second study year for elective courses and Master’s thesis work. The programme structure also makes it easy for you to take a semester of student exchange during the second year. Alternatively, you can deepen your expertise by choosing elective courses from our selection of advanced courses, or broaden your expertise by choosing courses from Aalto University’s other Master’s Programmes and from other universities.
The choice of elective studies is entirely yours: the most important thing is that your elective studies complement your major studies and provide you with the expertise that you personally feel important and inspiring for your professional development.
The Master’s thesis (30 credits) is a piece of applied research you conduct independently. Its key goal is to solve a problem relevant to the field of study, based on existing scientific knowledge in compliance with the principles of responsible conduct of research. The Master's thesis should be written on a topic related to the advanced studies of the programme, and the topic should be agreed upon between the student and the supervising professor or lecturer. A Master's thesis may be, for example, a research and development project carried out for a public or private partner outside the university, or it can be connected with an ongoing research project of the Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Research Group. Completing a Master's thesis usually takes six months of full-time work.
For more information on degree structure and the programme, visit our website.
Specialisations
Specialisation is built mainly through advanced studies, where students may choose courses.
Internationalisation
At Aalto University, you can participate in student exchange, and part of your studies can be completed abroad. There is also a good number of international staff members and students in the Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Research Group.
Furthermore, a student of Aalto University has many other opportunities to make their studies more international, such as:
- by studying on a summer course or a school abroad
- by acting as a international tutor (kv-ISO) for exchange students at Aalto University and by taking part in the AYY Student Guilds' international activities
- by doing their thesis at a university abroad
- by completing courses from the Unite! -alliance universities via virtual exchange.
Webinar | Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering
Watch the programme webinar recording from 26 Nov 2019.
Further study opportunities
After graduating from the Master’s Programme in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering you have an opportunity for continuing to studies leading to a doctoral degree in the Aalto University Doctoral Programme in Engineering, within which you can further specialise in the fields covered by our programme. The Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Research Group is an internationally renowned and inspiring research environment. You can also apply to doctoral programmes in other universities in Finland or abroad.
Career opportunities
As a graduate of this programme, you will become a professional working for the sustainable future of cities and regions. You will be able to improve the quality of life of people, including the future generations, through sustainable environmental planning.
Our graduates can specialise in various professional roles in both public and private sectors, including:
- urban, regional and/or transportation planner
- transportation and traffic engineer
- land use and/or transport policy-maker
- transportation and traffic modeller
- intelligent transport systems engineer
- public participation planner
- urban and regional manager
- consultant
- researcher
- citizen advocate
Research focus
Deeply rooted in understanding the complexities of contemporary societal challenges reflected in our everyday environments, the Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Research Group covers both practice- and science-based approaches to engineering. To account for wicked problems and grand challenges related to our future, this group is engaged in a wide spectrum of research topics in the area of sustainable cities and regions, systems design and planning.
Our research themes are:
- Everyday human behaviour and values in the living environment
- New planning and policy-making methods and processes
- Development and governance of urban technologies and services
Co-operation with other parties
Through elective studies, the students of our programme can include in their degrees studies from all disciplines taught in Aalto University. The programme also works in close co-operation with the University of Helsinki. We encourage our students to select courses for instance from the Urban Studies and Planning Programme which is a joint programme of University of Helsinki and Aalto University, and combines courses covering fields such as architecture, urban studies, urban sociology, urban ecology, urban ecosystem studies, urban geography and urban economics. For those interested in sustainable urban mobility and related new mobility technologies, we recommend taking courses in the international Master’s programme in Urban Mobility, in which we are involved.
Spatial Planning and Transportation -programme co-operates actively with key actors in the fields of land use planning and transportation engineering, including cities in the Helsinki Capital Region (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa) and beyond, Helsinki Region Transport, Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, key ministries, business and non-governmental organisations. Our collaborators provide real-life planning and engineering problems for our courses as well as for thesis work.
Get to know us
Find out more about the field of study, the programme and what comes after from our students and alumni.
Alumn Emily Johnson works with community engagement, a topic that led her to choose Master’s Programme in Aalto
Emily Johnson chose Aalto University after finding out that the Master’s programme director at the time specialized in her exact area of interest. In her Master’s studies she wanted to pursue skills to involve the community in the designing and planning process. Since graduating she has worked in a company that provides a community engagement platform made for planners.
Studying transportation engineering was Henri Miettinen’s goal years before university
Studying in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering Master’s programme has gave Henri better insights on how cities should be planned as a whole rather than only focusing on transportation engineering.
Three days of intense negotiations
Negotiation is an everyday skill, which becomes especially important in planning where multitude of stakeholders with diverse interests collaborate towards shaping the cities of tomorrow. A three-day intensive course Negotiation in Planning gathered future planning professionals together to learn what negotiation is about.
Chat with Aalto students
Are you wondering what it is like to study at Aalto? Come chat with our students and alumni about all things Aalto on Unibuddy chat platform.
Evaluation criteria for the programme 2025
Applicants meeting Aalto’s general eligibility criteria for master's studies are evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria decided in advance for each study option. The applications to Master’s Programme in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering (SPT) are evaluated based on the following criteria:
| What is evaluated? | Grades of the previous degree/CGPA |
| What we look for in an applicant? | Grades need to be very good or excellent. The applicant's success in his/her previous studies (those that give basis for applying to the programme) will be evaluated based on the grade point average (GPA). Applicants are required to have a GPA equivalent to a minimum of 3.0 (on a scale 1.0 - 5.0, 1.0 being the minimum passing grade). |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Transcript(s) of records |
| What is evaluated? | Content and quantity in relation to the applied study-option-specific requirements |
| What we look for in an applicant? | BSc or equivalent degree in a relevant field. Content suits very well or excellent to the study option. Given the multidisciplinary nature of our programme, we particularly value the diversity of backgrounds of our students |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Transcript(s) of records, degree certificate(s) |
| What is evaluated? | Recognition and quality of the applicant's previous institution |
| What we look for in an applicant? | The applicant's previous institution (where the degree giving basis to apply was completed) will be evaluated based on the recognition and quality of the institution. |
| Method of demonstrating competence | International and national rankings of higher education institutions |
| What is evaluated? | Applicant’s further applicability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies |
| What we look for in an applicant? |
The applicant should be motivated to study and commit to full-time studies with a plan to complete a master’s degree in two years. Motivation should be clearly related to the programme.
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| Method of demonstrating competence | Motivation letter |
| What is evaluated? | The applicant's other relevant achievements or experiences are evaluated |
| What we look for in an applicant? | The applicant’s curriculum vitae is evaluated if documented in the application: -work experience in a field related to the study option -publications or posters -competitions in a field related to the study option -non-formal education -voluntary work in a field related to the study option |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Curriculum vitae, other relevant documents |
Your study background can be in urban and land use planning or transportation engineering but also a variety of studies in other fields related to planning and transportation engineering could prepare you for the programme. These studies can include, for example, architecture, geoinformatics, environmental studies, social studies, economics and geography.
Programme-specific documents required
The documents requested from all applicants are listed here Applying to master's programmes. In addition, applicants to this master's programme are requested to provide the following study-option-specific documents:
- Motivation letter - mandatory
- max 1 page
- should be written in English
Motivation letter is an important part of your application. It gives you an opportunity to
present relevant pieces of information that cannot be provided elsewhere in the application.
Examples of questions to consider when writing the motivation letter:
- Why are you applying for this master’s programme?
- What do you expect to gain from studies in this master’s programme?
- How will your previous education, work experience, knowledge and skills
support your success in your master’s degree studies? - Describe your professional goals. How do you think the master’s
programme you are applying for would support the development of your
professional profile? - What kind of career are you planning?
- Why do you want to study at Aalto University and in Finland?
If you have already completed or are currently enrolled in a master’s degree in a related field, please explain in your motivation letter why you are applying for this master’s degree. Applicants with another master’s degree in a closely related field will only be admitted to the SPT programme in exceptional circumstances with well-justified reasons.
Programme director
Contact information
Päivi Kauppinen
Planning officer (content and studies of the programme)
Aalto University Admission Services
For enquiries regarding the application process, obligatory application documents or English language proficiency, please contact Admission Services at