Become a planner or upgrade your credentials with a 100% online masters in urban planning.
The premier qualification for planners is a masters in urban planning. Programs contain introductory, foundation subjects as well as advanced studies. Topics may include urban redevelopment, spatial analysis, planning and environmental laws in Australia, urban design, and community engagement.
The masters course offers rigorous training and is suitable for both (a) people wanting to become urban planners and (b) professionals already in the industry looking to upgrade skills and qualifications. Online courses allow you to study part-time as a working professional.
Develop the Skills You Need to Transform Communities
The quality of plans for urban environments is fundamental to our lifestyles and general standard of living. You can improve the impact and contribution you make in planning with an online master's degree. Students build skills to take on multidisciplinary planning projects.
In Australia, urban planning is of immense importance since over 80% of Australians are either city residents or work in urban areas, or both. The main aspect that attracts such a large number of people to Australian cities has to do with the quality of life. - Archistar
Masters programs are quite comprehensive. Students gain broad perspectives on planning goals, the constraints and challenges involved, and how to bring stakeholders along with you. But you'll also develop specific skills you need as a planner and get plenty of practice in solving planning problems.
Master of Urban Planning Online
Earning qualifications as a planner is convenient and efficient with an accelerated online program. Students work through weekly content together as a virtual class but with no specific time commitments. You complete subjects individually in sequence over 6-7 week study blocks. Assessment is continuous rather than exam based on you can study part-time online while working full-time.
UTS Master of Urban Planning (Online)
The UTS Online Master of Urban Planning provides students with the knowledge and practical skills to become effective planners. The course welcomes candidates with a background in a non-planning field, with the multidisciplinary nature of the learning enabling professionals to change careers. It is also ideal for professionals who aim to strengthen their current skills by engaging with up-to-date, ground-breaking approaches to urban planning. Delivered 100% online, with part-time study, this course enables you to work full-time while attaining the skills to kickstart your career as a planner in Australia.
What You'll Study (Course Structure)
An urban planning online masters is broad in nature since work projects vary and plans must satisfy numerous goals and constraints. Using case studies and simulated projects, you'll study different planning problems and learn to apply tools used in professional practice.
The UTS Online Master of Urban Planning consists of 13 coursework subjects and two major projects. Key study topics include planning processes, design skills, sustainability issues, community engagement, local planning and urban redevelopment.
In managing urban development, planners and urban designers need to understand the positions of others and to communicate effectively. In this subject, you'll learn community participation approaches, and negotiation and conflict resolution skills. Students also gain perspectives of developers and community stakeholders in urban development, learning ethical principles when addressing development proposals.
Key support tools in urban and regional planning are Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA). They feed into development decisions, policy-making as well as services delivery. In this subject, with the help of case studies, students learn about EIA and SIA from both theoretical and professional practice viewpoints. You'll explore how to perform integrated appraisals that consider the social, environmental and economic implications of development. Other topics covered are ecologically sustainable development, community engagement, and using local knowledge and research data.
Students examine how local strategic planning shapes future communities. We contrast strategic planning with statutory planning. Students also consider relationships among local, metropolitan and sub-regional plans, comparing differences across the states and territories. You'll gain a detailed understanding of the key components of strategic plans, which include community visioning, identifying priorities, defining local values, and long-term planning for land use and supporting infrastructure (e.g. transport).
Over two major projects, which count as two subjects towards your degree, you'll learn how to complete challenging planning problem-solving exercises. The skills gained will enable you to effectively design, do and supervise applied research. In consultation with an academic supervisor, you'll produce professional reports.
Contemporary planning and urban design are explored from both theoretical and practical viewpoints in this subject. Principles examined include place-making, community engagement, ecological sustainability, and social and economic equity. We'll discuss how to approach collaborative planning and design. You're encouraged to think critically about your role in shaping the built environment and affecting decision making.
In this subject, you'll become familiar with environmental planning controls and legislation in Australian states and territories. You'll compare planning systems, the legal processes behind making plans, how to apply planning controls to development, and the nature of environmental controls across jurisdictions. Topics include pollution, contaminated land management, heritage, biodiversity, specialist courts and ethical professional practice. Students will develop a detailed understanding of one state's planning and environmental legislation. You'll consider how existing legislation supports or impedes desirable planning and design outcomes.
Students are introduced to the planning framework and see the impact on development decisions. Through assignments, you'll learn how to analyse demographics and markets. You'll also explore development feasibility in a scenario project. The future proofing of projects will be considered in the context of planning, design and development processes. One of the learning outcomes from this subject is the ability to evaluate the feasibility of a development project.
In this subject, you'll explore environmental, economic and social sustainability in urban development. Using case studies from Australia and abroad, we'll define some sustainable practices. You'll also consider what constitutes urban resilience and urban ecology, and contemplate sustainability challenges for global cities. Adjustments for climate change are also considered, such as options for energy efficiency and the energy mix.
Urban planners and designers require analytical skills to ascertain the nature of issues, produce scenarios, and evaluate the impacts of certain strategies. We have well-established analytic methods for projecting urban change associated with demographics, economics and travel. Valuable data comes from people via surveys, focus groups and other methods. Along with census data, big data is being generated from new sources such as transit turnstiles, social media and Smart City initiatives. You'll explore data sources and data analytics methods applied to planning and change.
This subject covers the principles and practice of urban design. You'll explore place and good urban design, with consideration of different scales. Students will review major urban design ideas and movements. You'll also examine how to use development control plans. The course emphasises real-life processes using case studies, applied workshops and design projects. To help further your communication skills, students are introduced to Sketch-Up.
In this subject, you'll examine the economic principles that underpin urban economic planning and investment in transport infrastructure. You'll also look at urban consolidation and challenges with housing affordability and disadvantage. The course features interactive lectures with practitioners and policy experts. Students also study real-world cases where planning and infrastructure investment have unlocked development capacity.
Redevelopment of large urban sites requires consideration of design, transport and integrated land use integration. In this course, you'll explore urban redevelopment goals and how to plan large-scale redevelopment. Students evaluate real-world redevelopment projects. You'll work on a particular site, analysing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to produce a masterplan proposal.
Geographic information systems (GIS) are used by planners for spatial analysis. This course will build your skills in using ArcGIS software to handle spatial data, produce thematic maps, statistically analyse spatial relationships, and inform development decisions and policy. Data may include demographic, economic, topographic and environmental. You'll learn how to use data for site analysis, market analysis, master planning, development feasibility testing and to solve economic and social planning problems.
This project-based subject will develop your skills for planning large urban development on a Greenfield site. You'll gain a strong understanding of structure planning goals and methods. For the site project, students analyse constraints and opportunities using research on the existing community profile and social characteristics, environmental conditions and ecology, infrastructure and services, land use and density controls, transport networks and planning policies. You'll develop a structure plan, proposing land use zones, transport networks, urban facilities and social infrastructure.
Career Opportunities
Embarking on an urban planner career can carry some risk because the job market is not especially deep. So, do your due diligence. However, jobs for urban and regional planners are projected to grow strongly, expanding by a forecast 18.6% over the five years to 2027.
Planning jobs include the design of new suburbs, coastal development, creating energy-efficient housing, and introducing new public transport services. You may work as a consultant or employee for local councils, state planning authorities, other government agencies, property developers and other private companies.
Planners balance many objectives and constraints in managing a project. These include aesthetics, functionality, social value, the environment, budgets, and regulatory compliance.
Generally speaking, the safest path is to study urban and regional planning after (i) you've gained qualifications and experience in a complementary field and (ii) can see job opportunities emerging for you based on talent. Complementary fields include architecture, engineering, business and environmental consulting.
Entry Requirements
The basic entry requirement for a Master of Urban Planning is a university degree achieved with solid grades. For those lacking this, you can gain entry based on professional experience and non-degree postgraduate qualifications.
A Graduate Certificate course embedded in a master's program may provide an alternative pathway for those who don't automatically qualify for entry.
Pathway 1: A bachelor's degree or master's degree (or a UTS Graduate Certificate in Property Development or Graduate Diploma in Property Development) with a Credit average or above.
Pathway 2: No degree but a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma with at least a Credit average in one of the following disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and regional planning, environmental design, community development, property economics, property development, planning, geography, geographic information science (GIS), environmental science, law, economics. The applicant must also have 3+ years of experience in one of the above fields.
Pathway 3: Work experience in a profession closely related to urban planning and design amounting to at least 5 years for mid-career positions and 3 years for senior positions.
English language proficiency requirements apply if you're from a non English speaking background. Fully online courses are unsuitable for international students who are student visa holders.
Tuition fees are $4,126 per subject in 2022. FEE-HELP Australian Government loans are available to cover course costs.
Pathway 1: A bachelor's degree or master's degree (or a UTS Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Planning, Property Development or Urban Planning and Design) with a Credit average or above.
Pathway 2: No degree but a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma with at least a Credit average in one of the following disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and regional planning, environmental design, community development, property economics, property development, planning, geography, geographic information science (GIS), environmental science, law, economics. The applicant must also have 3+ years of experience in one of the above fields.
Tuition fees: $4,126 per subject (as at August 2022). FEE-HELP is available. The course is unsuitable for an international student in Australia on a student visa.
This degree is accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), which is the national body that represents the planning profession.
How to Become an Urban Planner in Australia
Competition for urban planning jobs is high and, for many positions, a masters degree is almost essential. You're better able to compete for senior roles by holding a Master of Urban Planning or Master of Urban and Regional Planning.
To be a successful planner, you may be advantaged by first getting a bachelor degree in architecture, business, engineering or urban and regional planning. The profession demands diverse skills and wide-ranging knowledge of planning considerations.
To gain full membership with the Planning Institute of Australia (which is optional for your career), you may need a 4-year professional degree, graduate diploma or masters in urban planning. Online study is the easiest way to build expertise and meet academic requirements for professional accreditation.
