The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has secured Scottish Government funding to offer ten new Future Planners bursaries of £5,000, up from £2,000 last year, to a selection of students who choose to enrol on an RTPI fully accredited Planning Masters in Scotland for this coming academic year.

Bursaries of £5,000 will be awarded to students on successful enrolment at one of the RTPI's Accredited Planning Schools in Scotland to assist with students' course fees and living costs for the academic year 2024-25.

Previous research by the RTPI Scotland found that planning in Scotland is the most reduced and lowest funded local authority department on a national scale. The Institute has reported that the planning workforce is at the lowest level in five years at 1205 members of staff in local authorities, as of 2022/23, highlighting the urgent need to provide greater resources to Scotland's planning system.


The aim of the bursary is to attract diverse talent from a variety of planning-related disciplines and underrepresented backgrounds to study a fully accredited Planning Masters in Scotland and to increase the number of qualified planners.

Applications will open on Monday June 24th, and will close on Friday 09th August 2024. Provision of bursaries to successful applicants will be made by the end of September. Applicants can find further information on the RTPI's website.

Dr. Caroline Brown, Director of RTPI Scotland, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to pursue their studies and contribute to the future of planning in Scotland.

"We're grateful to the Scottish Government for their support in making this possible and look forward to welcoming the successful applicants into the planning profession."