Program Overview

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Property Development and Planning

Overview

Property development and planning is a dynamic, fast-moving industry with many opportunities for an intellectually challenging career. On our BSc (Hons) Property Development and Planning, you'll learn all the specialist skills you'll need.

We developed this course to help you work towards a career in planning consultancy. But the skills you learn could apply in other roles like quantity surveying, asset management, or even jobs outside the property industry. You’ll develop business skills and a useful network of contacts that will last you a lifetime.

With our practical focus, you’ll get experience working on real-world projects throughout the course. Site visits, guest lectures, and networking events will expose you to professionals working in industry. And the optional placement year gives you valuable experience of life at a planning consultancy or in a local authority.

Why Oxford Brookes University?

• Top 20 in the UK: Property Development and Planning is ranked 13th in the Guardian Construction, Surveying and Planning subject league ranking 2025.
• Great links with industry: We bring in alumni and other professionals for guest talks and panel debates, so you’ll always be on top of the latest developments.
• Experienced teachers: Many of our staff are RICS members, and our associate lecturers are key professionals with sector experience.
• Join our community: You’ll share some of your classes with our real estate or our urban design students. We offer courses in various areas of property, where you could meet your future colleagues.
• Focus on your career: This course is more specialised than real estate, so we can provide plenty of guidance and support to get you into your first planning or development role.
• Learn a language: Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
• Study abroad: You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.
• Accreditation(s): RICS accredited. Partially accredited (UG spatial) by RTPI. Full RTPI accreditation available when combined with PG Diploma Spatial Planning or any full or partially (specialist) RTPI accredited PG programme such as MSc Spatial Planning (PG full), MSc Infrastructure Planning and Sustainable Development (PG full), MSc/PGDip Environmental Impact Assessment and Management (PG specialist), MSc/PGDip Historic Conservation (PG specialist), MA/PGDip Urban Design (PG specialist).

Course Details

Course Structure

• In Year 1 we’ll begin the course by getting you up to speed with essential industry knowledge. You’ll study topics like valuation and appraisal, construction law, commercial management, and spatial planning.
• By Year 2 you’ll start to look at these subjects in more detail. You’ll take more advanced modules in areas like valuation and urban development. You’ll also develop your research skills in our Research Design module. Learn how to design surveys and gather data, and understand different statistical methods to use in your work.
• In Year 3 there’s an optional placement year. We have great links across the industry so you could work with a planning consultancy or local authority to see how what you’ve learned applies in the real world.
• Your final year brings all your knowledge together. You’ll study advanced topics like strategic planning and development viability. You’ll take optional modules in areas that interest you or are relevant to the area you want to work in. And you’ll complete a research project to study a subject in more depth.

Learning and Teaching

We encourage active learning and our teaching methods include:

• projects
• group exercises
• seminars.

You’ll develop a range of skills, including:

• written skills
• verbal skills
• design skills
• financial assessment skills
• IT and computing skills.

Projects are a key part of our modules and you’ll visit sites and conduct surveys.

Your coursework assignments include:

• simulations
• graphic presentations
• writing essays and reports
• seminar papers
• group projects.

Assessment

We assess you through a combination of examinations and coursework. Many of our modules consist solely of coursework.

Study Modules

Teaching for this course takes place face to face and you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Year 1

Compulsory Modules

• Foundation Development Law
• Economics of the Built Environment
• Cities in Historical Context
• Sustainable Development and Professional Practice
• Housing Matters
• Introduction to Valuation
• Introduction to Building Construction and Practice
• Introduction to Spatial Planning

Year 2

Compulsory Modules

• Land Law
• Designing the City and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• Planning and Development Practice
• Plan and Policy Making
• Property Law for Developers
• Valuation and Investment
• Research Design
• Professional Practice Skills: Development and Employability

Year 4 (or 3 if no placement)

Compulsory Modules

• Research Project (double module)
• Development Delivery: Planning and Viability
• Development Viability and Finance
• Strategic Planning and Policy
• Development Delivery: Professional Practice

Optional Modules

• Independent Study in Planning
• Project Management for Development
• Real Estate Investment
• Applied Valuation
• Property Technology
• Redevelopment and Regeneration

Careers

Getting a good start to their career is the goal for most students. We’ll start to prepare you from the first week by developing your professional skills and building your property network.

Our professional practice modules provide you with practical experiences. You have the opportunity to be mentored by a graduate, and there's a rich careers programme to help you secure employment.

Graduates from this course are working with a variety of companies including Savills, JLL, Berkeley Homes, Thakeham Group, Wates, Dalcour Maclaren, DP9 and Bidwells.

The roles our graduates secure are really varied, including project manager, commercial surveyor, land buyer, development surveyor or residential surveyor, and some graduates start their own businesses.

This course is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and leads on to any of the RICS pathways. Some students opt for dual accreditation from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by studying for a master’s degree in Planning.

Whatever route you want to take, we will help you to make the best start to your career.

Entry Requirements

• Standard offer: UCAS Tariff Points: 104, A Level: BCC, IB Points: 29, BTEC: DMM
• Contextual offer: UCAS Tariff Points: 88, A Level: CCD, IB Points: 27, BTEC: MMM
• GCSE: Mathematics at grade 4/C; English at grade 4/C normally required
• English language requirements: Please see the University's standard English language requirements.

Tuition Fees

• Home (UK) full time: £9,535
• Home (UK) part time: £1,190 per single module
• Home (UK) sandwich (placement): £1,700
• International full time: £16,750
• International sandwich (placement): £1,700

Funding Your Studies

• Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students
• Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students
• Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students

Additional Costs

• It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required.
• You may choose to purchase books to support your studies.
• Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills)
• Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs)
• Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography.
• Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes.