Urban Planning BA Honours

Clearing - How to apply

What is Clearing?

Each year, universities may have spaces left on their courses after the application window has closed in June.

UCAS Clearing is your opportunity to snap up one of these places, even if you didn't apply to the university prior to the June deadline.

It also gives you a second chance to go to university if you didn't get the grades you needed for your firm and insurance offers.

How do I get in touch?

Our Clearing entry requirements may differ from those advertised; contacting our friendly advisers is the best way to find out if you’re eligible for a place.

You can get in touch through live chat or our hotlines. Call us on 0800 073 5050, or if you’re an international student calling from outside the UK, call: +44 191 222 5000.

Not available in Clearing

This course is not available in Clearing 2024.

This means there are no spaces available for Clearing 2024. If you can't find vacancies in your original course or subject area, try exploring other subjects in a related field.

Search our courses in Clearing

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 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.

Download information about this course as a PDF

Your course and study experience - disclaimers and terms and conditions  
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.

View our Academic experience page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2024-25.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information, which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

Quality and ranking

Professional accreditation and recognition

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body.

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions

You'll build a firm foundation in urban planning. You'll learn to ‘read’ a city and understand the importance of design and sustainability. You'll also develop knowledge of the political, social and economic forces that shape society and cities.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Planning Processes	10
Design Awareness and Communication	10
Economics of Development I	10
Environment and Sustainability	10
Social Worlds	20
Understanding Place: Methods and Perspectives	20
Shaping Towns and Cities	20
Planning for a Better World	20

You'll learn vital research methods as well as develop an understanding of professionalism in the planning sector. You'll have a choice of optional modules to help tailor this year to your personal interests, allowing you to develop specialisms informing your choice of dissertation topic and future career direction.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Researching Local Economies	20
Research Skills	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Participation: Theories & Practice	20
Houses and Homes	20
Design & Neighbourhood	20
Understanding Cities	20
Digital Civics	20
Urban Infrastructures: A Lens on the City	20
Global Course on Institutional Design for Spatial Planning	20
Study Abroad for Stage 2	40
Researching Local Economies (Placement)	20

You'll study modules concerned with strategic planning, planning politics and development management. A dissertation will give you the chance to study in depth a topic of interest to you, showcasing your knowledge and skills to future employers.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Strategies into Action: Planning	20
Development Management	20
Planning Theory and Politics	20
Dissertation	40

Optional Modules	Credits
Chinese Cultural History and Urban Development	20
Disasters, Monsters and Mess	20
Strategies Into Action: Urban Design	20

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2023-24.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

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.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Assessments

• 

  Assignments – written or fieldwork

• 

  Case studies

• 

  Coursework

• 

  Dossier

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Group work

• 

  Portfolio submission

• 

  Practical sessions

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Projects

• 

  Reflective report/journal

• 

  Reports

• 

  Seminar tasks/exercises

Skills and experience

Practical skills

You'll develop the skills needed to contribute critically to professional and academic debates on the future of place. As such there is an emphasis on coursework over exams, on independent thinking and synthesis of evidence. Structured group work is an essential element of the course, linked to a strong focus on team working in planning practice.

Field trips

You'll take part in frequent field trips and projects, experiencing first-hand examples of planning in the region and further afield.

As a founder member of the Association of European Schools of Planning, we have strong European links, providing the chance to experience differences in planning approaches beyond the UK, such as the international field trip in Stage 2.

Business skills

You'll undertake projects that address real-life planning situations and challenges, taking you out into the city and beyond. Stage 2 of the course focuses on professional development and skills, and you'll develop an understanding of professionalism in the planning sector.

Research skills

In Stage 2, you’ll learn how to research and understand how a local economy is structured and operates. In Stage 3 you'll complete a dissertation on a planning topic of your choice, developing high-level research and presentation skills.

Opportunities

Study abroad

In Stage 2 you can choose to spend a whole semester studying in Europe as part of a study abroad exchange.

Find out more about study abroad

Facilities and environment

Facilities

As a planning student at Newcastle you'll be part of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

Our School has world-renowned expertise in:

• urban planning
• architecture
• landscape architecture
• urban design
• digital architecture

Planning students are based in the Henry Daysh Building, reopening from major refurbishment in January 2020, and have access to a dedicated planning studio with computing facilities and social space.

Find out more about our facilities

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have when starting university.

We also have a dedicated Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator (Student Support), who can offer you support if you are experiencing issues that may be affecting your performance at University. They can also offer advice about other University services that may benefit you depending on your circumstances.

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.

Becoming a Chartered Town Planner

To become a Chartered Town Planner you need to fulfil the RTPI educational requirements and then complete two years' experience in planning practice.

• our four-year MPlan degree offers an RTPI-accredited route to Chartered Town Planner status
• our three-year BA Honours degree provides the foundation for this but requires an additional year of master's-level study

This three-year degree satisfies the core spatial planning requirements for RTPI membership, but not the specialist teaching requirements to achieve Chartered Town Planner status directly.

If you decide, during your BA degree, that you would like to become a Chartered Town Planner, you can apply to transfer onto our MPlan degree until the end of Semester 1 of Stage 3 as both courses follow the same programme.

Or you can study a specialist master’s qualification, should you decide to return to planning later in your career.

Make a difference

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Careers support

We are committed to developing your employability and have a dedicated careers adviser to offer advice and guidance throughout your degree.

If you choose to change your degree to the Masters of Planning (MPlan) degree during your studies, we will help you to secure placement opportunities in a range of planning environments to which you can apply. This experience is a crucial element of reflective study used to inform Stage 4.

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2025 entry (per year)

The 2025 home fees have not yet been confirmed (see ‘Home Fee Students’ information below).

Qualification: BA Honours
Home students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (per year) Not set
International students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (per year) 25600

Home Fee Students

Home students starting in 2024 entry
£9,250 is the maximum fee that we are currently permitted to charge for home fee-paying students. This is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Home students starting in 2025 entry
The 2025 home fees have not yet been confirmed. In November 2024 the government increased the maximum fee level to £9,535 for 2025/26. We expect to confirm our Undergraduate Home fees for 2025/26 in December 2024.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

International Fee Students

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages