Our accredited Urban Planning degree allows you to explore the forces that shape our cities and neighbourhoods and help lead the debate about their future.

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.

Professional accreditation

This degree is partially accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a spatial qualification.

This means it satisfies the standards set by the planning profession.

BA Urban Planning and MPlan students are able to opt-in to free student membership of the RTPI at the start of their degree.

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.

Your future

Our graduates do exceptionally well in the job market, both regionally and nationally, with many going on to pursue accredited Town Planner status.

Our graduates have also gone on to become teachers, accountants, solicitors, academics, business managers and officers in the armed forces.