| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Course overview
This Urban Planning degree focuses on the built environment and how it’s developed. You'll develop a thorough understanding of planning processes, design awareness and housing policy so you're equipped to pursue a career in town planning.
The course draws on Newcastle’s rich history, including the rise and decline of industry and its more recent cultural renaissance. You will undertake projects that address real-life planning situations and challenges, taking you out into the city and beyond. Study visits in Stage 2 also offer opportunities for international exploration and comparison.
You'll study topics such as design awareness, environmental sustainability and housing policy, and participate in a range of field trips and projects to see planning in action. You can specialise in subjects such as global poverty, the design of urban spaces, the effect of digital tools on democracy and how we plan for mega projects and the unknown.
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Your course and study experience - disclaimers and terms and conditions
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.
View our Academic experience page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2022-23.
See our terms and conditions and student complaints information, which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.
Program Outline
Modules and learning
Modules
The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.
Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage.
Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.
Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability. Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May. To find out more please see our terms and conditions.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
You'll build a firm foundation in urban planning. You'll learn to ‘read’ a city and understand the importance of design and sustainability. You'll also develop knowledge of the political, social and economic forces that shape society and cities.
Modules
| Compulsory Modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| Planning Processes | 10 |
| Design Awareness and Communication | 10 |
| Economics of Development I | 10 |
| Environment and Sustainability | 10 |
| Social Worlds | 20 |
| Understanding Place: Methods and Perspectives | 20 |
| Shaping Towns and Cities | 20 |
| Disciplinary and professional perspectives on planning | 20 |
| Community Building | 0 |
How you'll learn
How you'll be assessed
You'll learn vital research methods as well as develop an understanding of professionalism in the planning sector. You'll have a choice of optional modules to help tailor this year to your personal interests, allowing you to develop specialisms informing your choice of dissertation topic and future career direction.
Modules
| Compulsory Modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| Researching Local Economies | 20 |
| Research Skills | 20 |
| Community Building | 0 |
| Optional Modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| Participation: Theories & Practice | 20 |
| Houses and Homes | 20 |
| Design & Neighbourhood | 20 |
| Understanding Cities | 20 |
| Urban Poverty: A Global Perspective | 20 |
| Digital Civics | 20 |
| Urban Infrastructures: A Lens on the City | 20 |
| Study Visit | 20 |
| Global Course on Institutional Design for Spatial Planning | 20 |
| Erasmus Exchange for Stage 2 | 40 |
| Researching Local Economies (Placement) | 20 |
How you'll learn
How you'll be assessed
You'll study modules concerned with strategic planning, planning politics and development management. A dissertation will give you the chance to study in depth a topic of interest to you, showcasing your knowledge and skills to future employers.
Modules
| Compulsory Modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| Strategies into Action: Planning | 20 |
| Development Management | 20 |
| Planning Theory and Politics | 20 |
| Dissertation | 40 |
| Community Building | 0 |
| Optional Modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| Disasters, Monsters and Mess | 20 |
| Strategies Into Action: Urban Design | 20 |
| Contemporary Planning Issues | 20 |
How you'll learn
How you'll be assessed
Information about these graphs
We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They combine data on the planned delivery and assessments of our courses in 2021-22 with data on the modules chosen by our students in 2020-21.
Teaching time is made up of:
Teaching and assessment
Teaching methods
This programme is vocationally oriented and this is reflected in the methods of tuition we use.
A typical week may involve lectures, seminars, and individual and group project work.
Field trips in the UK and abroad are integral to the programme and form a key part of tuition and assessment.
Our innovative teaching and assessment techniques
involve the use of film, posters and presentations, making learning a creative and dynamic process.
Assessment methods
You'll be assessed through a combination of:
Assessments
Assignments – written or fieldwork
Case studies
Coursework
Dossier
Essays
Examinations – practical or online
Group work
Portfolio submission
Practical sessions
Presentations
Projects
Reflective report/journal
Reports
Seminar tasks/exercises
Skills and experience
Practical skills
You'll develop the skills needed to contribute critically to professional and academic debates on the future of place. As such there is an emphasis on coursework over exams, on independent thinking and synthesis of evidence. Structured group work is an essential element of the course, linked to a strong focus on team working in planning practice.
Field trips
You'll take part in frequent field trips and projects, experiencing first-hand examples of planning in the region and further afield.
As a founder member of the Association of European Schools of Planning, we have strong European links, providing the chance to experience differences in planning approaches beyond the UK, such as the international field trip in Stage 2.
Business skills
You'll undertake projects that address real-life planning situations and challenges, taking you out into the city and beyond. Stage 2 of the course focuses on professional development and skills, and you'll develop an understanding of professionalism in the planning sector.
Research skills
In Stage 2, you’ll learn how to research and understand how a local economy is structured and operates. In Stage 3 you'll complete a dissertation on a planning topic of your choice, developing high-level research and presentation skills.
Chat to a student
Studying Urban Planning in Newcastle is definitely a privilege, especially the high quality of teaching staff and great proximity to the gorgeous Grainger Town. Coupled with vocational training, it creates a perfect atmosphere for breeding future planners
Ryan, MPlan student
