Urban planning degree accreditation explained

What is professional accreditation?

At its simplest, accreditation is a formal endorsement of a qualification, recognising its focus and relevancy in the given profession, as well as the quality of tuition provided. In some cases, as with accreditation at the UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning, there are further benefits to be had in terms of career progression and professional qualifications. 

When a course is professionally accredited by a ‘Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body’, it signifies that the learning objectives and outcomes on that path of study meet the essential standards for developing the expected knowledge and skills required to work in the relevant sector, such as town and city planning, or chartered surveying. 

At the Bartlett School of Planning, the learning outcomes of all our core modules on accredited courses are scrutinised by our accreditors and mapped against their own framework of expected learning benchmarks for people working in the field. The stamp of approval given by the professional bodies is regularly and rigorously re-qualified, to ensure what you learn still meets the requirements of a professional.

What does accreditation mean for you?

Membership of an internationally recognised professional body opens career opportunities. It demonstrates to employers you have the right level of professional skills for their roles, and also allows you to work in work in different countries without requalifying. With an accredited degree, the professional pathway to gain full membership of internationally recognised professional bodies is sped up. Fully chartered status for both Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) professionals requires years of working in industry, developing all the knowledge and skills to be able to evidence your high level of expertise. 

By successfully completing an accredited degree, you can prove that you have already covered much of the ground required to achieve this level of professional excellence. As part of your full membership application, you will still need to spend time working in industry to build up your professional experience, but the foundational knowledge and skills gained in your degree(s) will count for a lot. 

Fully accredited graduates can expect to take around 1-2 years of working in industry to meet the requirements of fully chartered status. Without accreditation, it takes typically 5-7 years in industry to be eligible.

Is your course at The Bartlett School of Planning accredited?

Most urban planning degrees at The Bartlett School of Planning carry professional accreditation from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and/or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and one degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM).

How does accreditation work on your course?

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accreditation

For courses carrying RICS accreditation, RICS wholly accredit the courses as part of their Planning & Development pathway. See this webpage for the full list of pathways leading to a RICS professional qualification.

By completing and passing all modules within the specified course, the RICS accreditation requirements have been met. Students completing these degrees are eligible to apply for fully chartered membership of RICS. Successful professional membership is subject to completion of the RICS Assessment of Professional Competency (APC); typically a minimum period of work experience building toward a final assessment.

Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accreditation

There are two types of RTPI accreditation that can lead to Licentiate ‘fast-tracked’ Membership of the RTPI:
1.    Combined (full) accreditation or
2.    Spatial (partial) accreditation followed by Specialist (partial) accreditation

Upon successfully completing a degree with full (combined) accreditation, all the learning objectives set by the RTPI have been met and students are able to apply for Licentiate Membership of the RTPI. This level of membership supports a fast-tracked application route to being a full Chartered Town Planner. 

For students completing a degree with partial (spatial or specialist) accreditation, both types of partial accreditation (spatial + specialist) must be achieved to proceed to Licentiate Membership. Most commonly, this will be an accredited undergraduate degree followed by an accredited postgraduate degree.

For students on the Spatial Planning Degree Apprenticeship MSc, completion of the programme, including the final End point Assessment (EPA) which is run by the RTPI, leads to fully chartered town planner status.

Joint Board of Moderators accreditation

The JBM is a collaborative board made up of the following five professional bodies, with the goal of supporting strong connections and standards from Higher Education into the engineering profession.

• The Institution of Civil Engineers
• The Institution of Structural Engineers
• The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation
• The Institute of Highway Engineers
• The Permanent Way Institution

Our Infrastructure Planning, Appraisal and Development MSc carries ‘further learning’ accreditation from the Joint Board of Moderators. Completion of this, when combined with another partially or fully accredited programme, meets the requirements to register on the Chartered Engineer (CEng) pathway with the Engineering Council (EngC) – the UK’s engineering regulatory body. 

Useful links

It's never to early to connect. Find out more about RTPI Student membership and RICS Student membership. If you have any questions you can also email us at bsp.pgt@ucl.ac.uk.

RICS Links

• RICS accreditation explained by RICS
• Benefits of a RICS membership

RTPI Links

• Chartered Town Planner Route
• RTPI Licentiate Assessment of Professional Competence

Find your future degree