Urban Planning, Design and Management BSc

London, Bloomsbury
Urban Planning, Design and Management BSc (2024)

Urban planning is about the future-oriented planning and management of urban, social and economic change in the built and natural environment. UCL’s Urban Planning, Design and Management BSc teaches you the skills to work in traditional planning careers as well as a range of related professional and specialist areas. This degree is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
Duration
3 academic years
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
£9,250
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
£34,400
Programme starts
September 2025
Application deadline
29 Jan 2025
UCAS course code
K421

Entry requirements

Grades
AAB
Subjects
Geography, Economics, Government and Politics, History, Business, Psychology, Design subjects, English Literature and Religious Studies preferred.
GCSEs
English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 4.

Contextual offer information

Contextual offers are typically one to two grades lower than the standard offer. Grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.

Points
36
Subjects
A total of 17 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5.

Contextual offer

Contextual offers are typically one to two grade boundaries (equivalent to A levels) lower than the standard offer. IB Diploma grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.

UK applicants qualifications

For entry requirements with other UK qualifications accepted by UCL, choose your qualification from the list below:

Equivalent qualification

Pass in Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit, all from Level 3 units.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (QCF) or BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (RQF - teaching from 2016) with Distinction, Distinction, Distinction.

D3,D3,M1 in three Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects

A,A,B at Advanced Highers (or A,A at Advanced Higher and B,B,B at Higher)

Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.

Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.

Successful completion of the WBQ Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate plus 2 GCE A levels at grades ABB.

International applications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

Access and widening participation

UCL is committed to widening access to higher education. If you are eligible for Access UCL you do not need to do anything in addition to the standard UCAS application. Your application will be automatically flagged when we receive it.

Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates

The Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPC) prepare international students for a UCL undergraduate degree who don’t have the qualifications to enter directly. These intensive one-year foundation courses are taught on our central London campus.

Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.

For more information see: ucl.ac.uk/upc.

English language requirements

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.

A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.

Course overview

The built environment around us shapes how we live our daily lives. Future oriented city planning is required to ensure cities meet the changing needs of their communities, whilst addressing major challenges such as climate change, regeneration and public health.

Urban Planning, Design and Management BSc is designed to train a new generation of urban practitioners with the skills and creativity to understand, manage and deliver urban change. Taught at The Bartlett School of Planning, as a student you will learn from leading academic experts how urban planning and design transforms our towns and cities. You will gain an understanding of how economic, social and environmental dimensions impact our urban environments, building specialist knowledge from modules about spatial planning, urban design, transport, climate change, rural planning, urban regeneration, and real estate development.

During your degree you will gain hand-on experience putting the knowledge you have gained in the classroom into practice. You will have the opportunity to participate in field work, site visits and project work, engaging in live examples of urban planning, design and regeneration challenges. We offer a voluntary 2-week work experience placement with one of our partner organisations. The placement is supported by careers workshops to help you find the career path that’s right for you and take the next steps towards it. You will also have the opportunity to take your practice overseas by choosing to study abroad for a term in your second year, taking advantage of our long-established links with many universities in Europe, as well as a growing list in the USA, Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

What this course will give you

During your degree, you will learn theories, methodologies, skills, and techniques from social sciences, urban planning and urban design disciplines, used widely across the built environment professions, and learn to use industry-relevant software applications in urban design, graphic design, communication, GIS. You will put theory into practice by gaining hands-on experience in understanding, managing and delivering urban change through fieldwork, site visits and project work.

You will also have the opportunity to undertake a two-week voluntary work experience, drawing from a pool of our long-standing partnerships with industry and professionals. To explore further possibilities for your future career, you can expand your practice to another city by taking advantage of our long-established links with many universities in Europe as well as a growing list in the USA, Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

Once you fulfil the learning requirements to apply for professional membership with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, or, with an additional year of study, you can be eligible for professional membership with the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Becoming a student of the Bartlett School of Planning means you will study at the UK’s #1 Planning school (The Guardian University Guide 2024), benefitting from research-led education from leading practitioners in the field, and you will study in London, the world’s best city for students (QS Best Student Cities 2024) and a constantly evolving urban environment to immerse yourself in your urban planning and design studies. You also have the option to study abroad, subject to academic performance in Year 1, and an opportunity to take advantage of our long-established links with many universities in Europe as well as a growing list in the USA, Australia and the Asia-Pacific. You will also have the option to study abroad. 

Teaching and learning

In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Upon successful completion of 360 credits, you will be awarded a BSc (Hons) in Urban Planning, Design and Management.

Modules

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Whilst studying this accredited degree full-time, each year you will take eight compulsory modules giving you an in-depth knowledge of how to understand, manage and deliver urban change. You will have the option to apply to study abroad for a term in your second year. In the third term of the third year, a voluntary two-week work experience placement is offered, drawing from our pool of employers.

Your learning

Our teaching is very interactive and hands-on. Alongside lectures, seminars and tutorials we include field visits, group project work, and laboratory and design work sessions to enrich your learning experience.

Students go on extended field trips during their undergraduate degree, in the first and third years. In addition, many modules include fieldwork, site visits or day trips as part of the learning experience.

In the third term of the third year, a voluntary two-week work experience placement is offered, drawing from our pool of employers.

Students study eight modules in each of the three years. Each module typically requires a total of 150 hours of study, including lectures, seminars, workshops, groupwork and private study. Each module has 2 - 4 hours contact time with academic staff per week.

Assessment

Methods of assessment include a combination of individual and group work, essays, examinations, project work, urban design and plan-making projects and other skill-based practical work such as graphic communication skills, presentations, and film-making. Assignments are spread across term 1 and term 2 of each year. Examinations take place in term 3.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team.

The foundation of your career

Graduates find work in a vast range of positions in planning, urban design, economic development, housing, transport, and regeneration as well as other diverse sectors where their analytical, negotiating, and problem-solving skills are valued.

Our students go on to work in the private, public, and third sector including planning, urban design, and infrastructure development consultancy firms, property development companies, local government, civil service, and national and international non-governmental organisations. Graduates have found employment in international world leading planning consultancies such as ARUP, AECOM, Turley Associates, Lichfields, as well as in many local authorities in London and the UK.

Due to the nature of our BSc programmes as a route for eligible membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute and Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, many of our graduates also go on to further study.

(HESA Graduate Outcomes surveys 2017-2021)

Employability

The programme enables you to acquire highly transferable knowledge and skills such as data collection, analysis and presentation, graphic skills, GIS, the ability to resolve problems and conflicts, negotiation and mediation, team work and leadership, managing work tasks, preparing and writing professional reports, as well as written, graphic and oral presentation skills.

Accreditation

This BSc, if followed by an appropriate Graduate Diploma or MSc programme, leads to eligibility for professional membership of the the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). After graduation you are eligible to apply for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) which leads to full professional membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), mapped to the Planning and Development Pathway. 

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) £9,250
Tuition fees (2024/25) £34,400

The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2024/25 academic year. The UK fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2024/25 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.

Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.

Additional costs

Students will be expected to pay for travel to site visits within London (zones 1 to 3). For up-to-date costs visit the TfL website. If an overnight field trip is scheduled to take place outside the UK, non-UK nationals are responsible for the costs of securing a visa where needed. Students will also be expected to cover the costs of travel to and from the two-week voluntary work experience, with costs depending on where the student is working.

If you are selected for the (voluntary) study abroad programme in Term 2, you will pay normal UCL tuition fees but will be responsible for the additional costs of travel, visa application and accommodation associated with this. These vary widely depending on the destination institution. Students are offered information and guidance to support decision-making prior to committing to this opportunity.

This course does not have any other additional costs beyond purchasing books or stationery, printing or photocopying.

A guide including rough estimates for these and other living expenses is included on the UCL Fees and funding pages. If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).

Funding your studies

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue undergraduate studies. Please see the Bartlett Promise Undergraduate Scholarship page for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.

Scholarships

The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.

Next steps

Your application

What we look for in an applicant is sincere interest in the degree subject and an intellectual curiosity towards cities, society, economy, environment. In your application you can mention any relevant work shadowing, reading around the subject, hobbies, volunteering, or career aspirations. We don’t require particular subjects, but A level subjects should demonstrate interest in cities, social sciences, geography, politics, environmental studies, art, design.

How to apply

Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.

Selection

For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application.

We will consider applications from people with non-standard qualifications, including mature students with relevant study or work experience. Please use the query form on the admissions queries page if you need further advice about the acceptability of non-standard qualifications.

We aim to invite offer-holders living in or near the UK to an applicant open day, either in-person or online.

Got questions? Get in touch

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