Overview

Our programmes draw extensively on the wealth of urban issues and projects which London provides, whilst students benefit from our strong international outlook and student exchanges with North American, European, Asian and Australian universities. Class sizes are conducive to the range of teaching styles and methods of assessment, including individual, group and project-based workshops, seminars, lectures, tutorials, site visits and field trips, which make our programmes so distinctive. Our close links with policy-makers and professionals also means that we are able to incorporate direct practitioner involvement in our teaching and learning environments.

Programme Objectives

The three Undergraduate Programmes deliver an academic and vocational education which:

• provides students with a coherent understanding of urbanism and the built environment;
• enables them to combine a sound theoretical foundation with an awareness of practice;
• provides knowledge about the various roles and responsibilities of urban professionals in society.

Accreditation

The BSc Urban Planning, Design and Management (UPDM) and the BSc in Planning and Real Estate (PRE) are fully accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It also offers an opportunity for you to follow a professional degree accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) if taken as part of the 3+1 professional route which concludes with a 9-month Postgraduate Diploma or a 12-month MSc programme. Those who complete this four-year route are eligible for RTPI membership - typically after a two-year period of work experience. The Bartlett accredited specialized MSc programmes are: MSc Sustainable Urbanism, MSc Planning Design and Development, and MSc Mega Infrastructure Planning, Appraisal and Delivery.

The BSc in Urban Studies (US) graduates can still pursue RICS and RTPI accreditation through completing a one-year 'stand-alone' MSc programme which is RTPI/RICS-accredited. Four such programmes are offered by the Bartlett - MSc Spatial Planning, MSc International Planning, MSc Urban Regeneration, and MSc International Real Estate and Planning.

Contact Details

Programme Director: Dr Elisabete Cidre
BSc Admission Tutor: Dr Martine Spinks
BSc Administrator: Judith Hillmore

Structure

The three BSc programmes share three streams of courses integrating theory with practice. The Urban Laboratory stream emphasises the importance of hands-on project work and allows students to put into practice knowledge gained in the other streams through design, regeneration and planning-problem related project work. An Urban Lab in each of the three years focuses on particular skills and techniques required to successfully addressing the project work. The Understanding Urban Change and Managing Urban Change streams further inform the Urban Laboratory and focus respectively on the theory of changing cities and on their management and planning, including the practice-based activities associated with professional life.

Understanding Urban Change begins by placing settlements in their historical context, and examining why urban areas have developed in the way they have - in spatial and non-spatial ways, and at different scales of development. Early studies also focus on how contemporary cities are continuing to change. The fundamentals of environmental sustainability, economics, sociology, politics and development processes are then examined in depth in years two and three.

Managing Urban Change emphasises the importance of management theory and practice in contemporary professional life. A series of courses present basic management principles, introduce the fundamentals of planning systems, and examine relationships of the different professionals working in the built environment. In the second and third years of this work stream, students attend courses on organisational change and urban project management, followed by more specialist courses either on transport policy and planning or in the critical issues of property valuation, investment and appraisal.

Urban Planning, Design and Management (UPDM) and Urban Studies (US) students can move between the two programmes up until the beginning of the third year, opening up study and career opportunities suited to their growing knowledge and choice of focus.

Below is a diagrammatic representation of the programme structure.

Content

Further details of the modules referred to below can be found on the Undergraduate Modules page.

BSc Year 1

BSc Urban Planning Design and Management (UPDM) / BSc Urban Studies (US) / BSc Planning and Real Estate (PRE): 4 compulsory course units (cu) are required.

BSc Year 2

BSc Urban Planning Design and Management (UPDM) / BSc Planning and Real Estate (PRE): 4 compulsory course units (cu) are required.

BSc Urban Studies (US): 2.5 compulsory course units (cu) plus 1.5 elective course units from all UG modules are required (the compulsory course unit modules are marked *).

BSc Year 3

BSc Urban Planning Design and Management (UPDM) / BSc Planning and Real Estate (PRE): 4 compulsory course units (cu) are required.

BSc Urban Studies (US): 2 compulsory course units (cu) plus 2 elective course units are required (the compulsory course unit modules are marked *).

Field trips

Field work is included in some units and takes a range of forms - from short, specific site visits to a one-week long overseas field trip. The longer visits are accompanied by staff but students may also need to make independent site visits for their own study. On all visits, particularly the ones that students take independently, awareness of security issues is important. It is therefore best to avoid making visits alone. Furthermore, do not enter construction sites except under the conditions set out in the Code of Practice in the Bartlett Course Guide for BSc / Diploma students.

Study abroad

Students may spend up to one year in various partner universities in Europe, North America and Asia. The most active exchange links include the University of Pennsylvania, University of Melbourne and University of Hong Kong. Further details on can be found on the study abroad page.

Staff

Programme Director

Dr Elisabete Cidre
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Staff teaching on the programme currently include:

Dr Sonia Arbaci
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Professor Matthew Carmona
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Dr Claire Colomb
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Professor Harry Dimitriou
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Professor Nick Gallent
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Dr Nikos Karadimitriou
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Dr Claudio de Magalhães
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Dr Stephen Marshall
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Professor Janice Morphet
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Dr HaeRan Shin
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Dr Jung Won Sonn
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Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones
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Dr Jo Williams
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Dr Filipa Wunderlich
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Applying

Application procedures, fees, funding and scholarships

For information, please see the faculty admissions information here.

Programme-specific information follows below.

Undergraduate studies in the Bartlett School of Planning

There are approximately 35-50 planning students in each year of the BSc programmes. While this is the typical class size, some BSc year one courses (shared with others in the faculty) can increase to 100.

Students seeking professional RTPI accreditation and wishing to transfer to the Bartlett School of Planning from planning courses at other universities (by entering BSc years two or three or the MSc/Diploma) should write to the Bartlett at the earliest opportunity so that arrangements can be made to compare curricula and seek the view of the RTPI and RICS on the acceptability of the transfer.

Entry qualifications

For entry to the BSc the normal requirements are GCSE in English and Maths, plus three A-levels which may be in any subjects except General Studies. The Bartlett welcomes people with other qualifications and mature students who have relevant study or experience.

Short-listed applicants residing in or close to the UK are invited to meet students and staff and to participate in one of a number of open days spread throughout the autumn and spring terms.

Opportunities

Recent records indicate that a third of those completing the 3+1 route take up employment in UK local planning authorities. A further third of the graduates enter consultancy work, while the remainder take up employment in a wide range of retail, utility, transport and development companies or in non-profit agencies. A minority continue in higher degree studies and research. Some students take a year out and gain experience in professional practice between their BSc graduation and MSc/Diploma year. Others gain valuable professional practice experience during their summer breaks, for which study in London provides unrivalled opportunities.