BSc Urban Planning and Development with a Professional Placement Year

What could be more exciting than the challenge and responsibility of shaping the places in which we live, work, and play?

Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a spatial qualification, this programme focuses on the social, economic and environmental challenges of creating better places in which to live.

Planning impacts our everyday reality in so many ways, influencing the homes in which we live and the quality and availability of opportunities which can support our health, wealth and well-being. It can affect our public and community spaces and our professional and leisure spaces, as well as how we travel and move between them. You will examine how and why places, such as cities, towns, and the countryside, change and how they can be improved through planning practice and research.

This programme opens a wide range of exciting career opportunities in planning, development and surveying. Graduates have an excellent track record securing employment in these sectors as well as transport, economic development, environment policy, housing and urban regeneration.

With modules that involve practitioners, you will also have the opportunity to understand how your learning applies to the real world and consider the ways in which you can develop your professional profile and employability.

Fieldwork and experiential learning are key facets in the development of undergraduate knowledge and skills within the discipline Planning. This programme provides a range of opportunities for students to develop this knowledge and skill set, including in-module 1 or 1/2-day field visits; group data collection and analysis assessments; and dedicated Year 2 and Final Year field study modules.

Increasing competitiveness in the graduate job market makes professional and practical experience invaluable in helping you to kickstart your career. The professional placement year allows you to put your lecture-based learning and skills into practice in a private or public sector organisation. It’s also an opportunity to build your professional profile, develop your network and identify your professional ambition.

This degree carries partial (spatial) RTPI accreditation. For full RTPI accreditation, once you have completed your spatial-accredited undergraduate degree, you need to complete a RTPI specialist-accredited Master’s degree.