Urban Planning and Development with a Professional Placement Year (BSc)
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2025-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
This four-year Planning degree focuses on the social, economic, and environmental challenges of creating better places to live. It covers topics such as homes, public spaces, transportation, and planning practice. Students develop technical skills using GIS and Edina digimap mapping, and gain practical experience through an optional placement year. The program is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and recognized by the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Program Outline
Outline:
Program Content:
- Focuses on the social, economic, and environmental challenges of creating better places to live.
- Examines how and why places change and how they can be improved through planning practice and research.
- Covers topics such as:
- Homes and the built environment
- Public and community spaces
- Professional and leisure spaces
- Transportation and movement
- Develops technical and practical skills using software like GIS (Geographic Information System) & Edina digimap mapping.
Program Structure:
- Four-year program with a sandwich year option.
- Full-time mode of study.
- Year 1: Introduction to key building blocks of planning and development, practical and applied projects.
- Year 2: Builds on year 1 knowledge, applies skills to practical planning and development issues. Introduces plans, policies, and development management, environmental planning, market-based planning, and planning law. Introduces concept of optional placement year and field study visit.
- Year 3: Optional Placement Year. Paid or unpaid. Gain valuable practical experience.
- Year 4: Reflect on learning, specialize in specific sub-field of planning. Final year research project and option for field study visit.
Individual Modules:
Year 1:
- Society, Diversity and Planning
- Urban Economies
- Property, Urban Development and Regeneration
- Making Knowledge: Evidence and Practice
- Key Issues in Urban Planning
- Designing Places and Plans
Year 2:
Core Modules:
- Site Planning and Development Valuation
- Developing Research Methods
Optional Modules:
- Spaces of Production: Economic Geography
- Regulating Development: Planning Law and Policy
- Community Engagement, Mediation and Negotiation Skills
- Sustainable development: Concepts, Practices and Challenges
- Development and the Global South
- Heritage, Regeneration and Inequality
- Landscape, Leisure, and Identity
- Cymdeithas Gyfoes yng Nghymru / Contemporary Society in Wales
Year 3:
Core Modules:
- Professional Placement in Planning Practice
Year 4:
Core Modules:
- Planning Theory and Practice
- Research Project
- Sustainable Transport
Optional Modules:
- Cities and Social Justice
- Mobilities: Travel, Tourism and Communication
- Infrastructure Development: Swift, Smart and Sustainable?
- Climate Change & Environmental Governance
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Geography and Planning
- Digital Planning
- Politics of Urban Design
- Economi Wleidyddol Cymru: o 'Oes y glo' i 'Oes y clo'
Assessment:
- Essays
- Examinations
- Presentations
- Portfolios
- Creative assignments
- Placement year assessments: Professional Development Plan, written report and presentation, worklog, and employer report.
Teaching:
- Small group teaching to encourage interaction and positive learning environment.
- 15 hours of guided study per week.
- Supportive learning environment.
- Skills development in critical thinking, analysis, research, teamwork, and time management.
- Resources available through Learning Central website: multimedia material, presentations, handouts, bibliographies, links, exercises, and discussion circles.
Careers:
- Diverse career opportunities in planning, development, surveying, transport, economic development, environment policy, housing, and urban regeneration.
- Graduates hold key positions in public, private, and third sector organizations.
- National and local government, business consultancies, sustainable energy centers, environmental agencies, housing strategy companies, construction, and surveying firms.
- Specific planning career pathways: surveying, design, development, transport, economic development, and urban regeneration.
- Practice in local planning authorities, local and national government, neighborhood planning organizations, transport organizations, private planning consultancies, private developers, and environmental organizations in the UK, mainland Europe, and internationally.
- Placement year experience highly valued by employers, provides competitive advantage.
Other:
- Field study visits:
- Year 1: Local to Cardiff city region.
- Year 2 and 4: Optional residential visits, UK and overseas destinations.
- Course accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and recognized by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a spatial qualification.
- For full RTPI accreditation, complete a RTPI specialist-accredited Master's degree after your undergraduate degree.
- Additional costs for field study visits and placement year living expenses.
Fees for home status
We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year. The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year. Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.
Costs for sandwich years
During a sandwich year (e.g. year in industry, placement year or year abroad) a lower fee will apply.
Additional costs
The School does not cover subsistence costs related to the placement year (rent, food, travel, etc.). Further, as noted the placement itself may be paid or unpaid. The year 2 residential field study experience is fully subsidised. The final year field study visits are currently subsidised (approximately two thirds of the cost) by the School, but you will be responsible for the remaining costs. You should expect to cover the costs of local travel and subsistence on all field study visits.
