BSc(Hons) Urban Planning

This course is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a spatial degree and has high levels of student satisfaction and employability.

Why Urban Planning?

Simply put, planning is all about making places 'better'. It's about improving their attractiveness, making them healthier and fairer, and making them more resilient to change. It's about helping to deliver a zero-carbon world and solving problems and dealing with change. Its about the here and now, as well as what goes where and when in the future.

Planners are the agents of change. Not only are they expected to protect the places that we treasure, they also need to plan for the new homes, jobs and infrastructure that we need. As a planner, you'll need to work collaboratively and creatively, creating the places that can showcase the latest thinking in such things as energy, transport and sustainable design.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accredits this course. Visit their Planning Your World resource that showcases a selection of planners and the wide-ranging work that they do.

Why UWE Bristol?

This BSc(Hons) Urban Planning degree will encourage you to consider the contemporary challenges affecting place and society today.

You will learn how to design and deliver development and change, and find out about the individuals and groups you will need to work with to carry out successful projects. You'll examine current issues such as the impact of driverless cars, and develop the knowledge and skillset you will need to be a future-facing, visionary practitioner.

Accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, the course will enhance your employability through opportunities to work on live project briefs across the city and meet active practitioners. You'll also undertake inspiring field work showcasing the differences that planners have brought about.

You'll be able to work with real-life clients through a professional experience module included in year two, while you can also opt to apply your learning through a year-long placement. Where possible, you can also experience global planning practice through our study exchanges, and develop wide-ranging skills that extend from design to the financial appraisal of a project.

Where can it take me?

Planning is a global career with opportunities across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

You could also go on to a career in an area linked to the environment such as housing, tourism, economic development, regeneration, and environmental protection.

Careers / Further study

There is a projected shortage of planners so there will be a range of opportunities in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

You could choose a career in an area linked to the environment such as housing, tourism, economic development, regeneration, and environmental protection. You could also go into research and teaching.

Many of our students progress to become professional members of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). The quickest route for this requires further study. Options for this at the UWE Bristol Planning School include MSc Urban Planning or MSc Planning and Urban Leadership. Both of these programmes can be studied in full and part-time modes to fit around your individual circumstances.

Planning and Urban Leadership can be studied online giving you complete flexibility. After completing this study, you then need to take a programme of work experience under the RTPI's Assessment of Professional Competence. You can then become a Chartered Planner and use the letters 'MRTPI' after your name.

You can also achieve chartered membership by undertaking a longer period of work experience that will require you to work to becoming an Associate and then a Chartered member of the institute.

Past students have gone on to work for local authorities, planning research centres and private sector companies including Turley Associates, Terence O'Rourke, Crest Nicholson, Persimmon and Savills.

Get inspired

Our award-winning careers service will develop your employment potential through career coaching and find you graduate jobs, placements and global opportunities.

We can also help find local volunteering and community opportunities, provide support for entrepreneurial activity and get you access to employer events.

Visit our employability pages to learn more about careers, employers and what our students are doing six months after graduating.