Overview

Key Features

The Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) programme offered at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg aims to develop and consolidate candidates’ undergraduate planning skills. It includes courses of direct significance to engage with and contribute to the profession: professional practice and ethics, planning law, and advanced planning theory. It includes a major integrated planning project, allowing candidates to apply their cumulative understanding of theory and practice in the preparation of a spatial framework. The Honours programme also contains a substantial research project, which develops candidates’ capacity to research an issue independently, to synthesise knowledge in an area, undertake field research, analyse findings, and write up an extended report.

Career Opportunities

Urban and regional planning is a rapidly growing profession, which is of fundamental importance to the development of South Africa and the region: planners help shape the future! While cities are rarely planned ‘from scratch’, planners are crucial in managing their growth in strategic and sustainable ways. The discipline of planning has many facets: sustainable development, spatial planning, land use management, housing, urban regeneration, environmental management, local economic development, tourism planning, and urban environmental design. Many planners are involved in urban renewal projects, the regeneration of inner cities, and township redevelopment.

Planning is about the organisation of places and activities in ways that make towns and cities more attractive and people-friendly places. It is concerned with the design, functioning and management of all elements in a town or urban environment, from the smallest settlement or town to the largest city.

The courses in urban and regional planning and development planning at Wits offer a stimulating entry point into this rewarding career.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

This degree is taken on a full-time basis from February to October/November. It is however possible to take the degree over two years, doing some courses in the first year, and others in the second.
All courses are held during working hours (8 am – 5 pm) on weekdays.
The degree includes a substantial project, which will involve a week long field trip, generally out of South Africa. All course work is completed by the end of June, with the rest of the year focused on the research report, which is submitted mid-October, with orals in November.

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 12 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-02-10 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-09-30 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

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Credits

120 alternative credits

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Johannesburg, South Africa

Disciplines

Urban Planning View 10 other Bachelors in Urban Planning in South Africa

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

Other requirements

General requirements

BSc URP from the University of the Witwatersrand with a minimum average mark of 60% for their 3rd year subjects.
Graduates of the Wits BSc URP with a lower mark than 60% will be expected to obtain at least a year of relevant work experience. As part of their application, they will need to submit a CV, complete a written exercise, and, if necessary, attend an interview.
Please note that graduates of degrees other than the Wits BSc URP cannot be admitted to the BSc (Hons) URP due to SACPLAN requirements that both the BSc URP and BSc (Hons) URP from Wits are required for professional registration with SACPLAN. They are advised to apply instead for the PG Dip Planning, which will allow them entry to the MSc DP, leading to professional registration with SACPLAN.

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Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

86340 ZAR / year

≈ 86340 ZAR / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

86340 ZAR / year

≈ 86340 ZAR / year

Living costs

Johannesburg

South Africa

8434 - 12036 ZAR / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Bachelor's scholarship opportunities for Urban and Regional Planning (Honours).

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

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