Program Overview

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BSc Planning and Real Estate with Professional Placement

Overview

Course Overview

Explore how we plan and manage the world around us. Study a degree fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and partially accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), in a world-famous city where fast-paced urban development and vibrant real-estate markets are on your doorstep. Spend time studying abroad for one semester at one of our exchange partners in Europe, the US, South East Asia and Australia. This course typically includes an overseas field trip. Enhance your employability by gaining experience of planning, development and real estate markets in action through a year-long placement.

Entry Requirements

A-level

• ABB
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels.
• If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

A-level Contextual Offer

• BBC
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels.
• If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

UK Refugee/Care-Experienced Offer

• BBC
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels.
• If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

International Baccalaureate

• 34 points overall. 6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects
• Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

GCSE/IGCSE

• Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 4 or C in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics.
• GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Other Entry Requirements

• Other entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.
• Scottish requirements
• Welsh Baccalaureate
• Foundation year
• Pearson BTEC qualifications
• OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications
• Access to HE Diploma
• T Level
• Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

Fees and Funding

Fees

• Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

Policy on Additional Costs

• All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme.
• Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application.

Scholarships/Sponsorships

• We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.
• You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies.

Application and Selection

How to Apply

• Apply through UCAS

Home-Schooled Applicants

• If you are a student who has followed a non-standard educational route, e.g. you have been educated at home; your application will be considered against the standard entry criteria of the course for which you are applying.
• You will be required to demonstrate that you meet the specified academic entry requirements of the course.
• We will also require a reference from somebody who knows you well enough, in an official capacity, to write about you and your suitability for higher education.

Non-Standard Educational Routes

• Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.
• Students come from a whole array of backgrounds, study every kind of course, undertake full-time and part-time learning and are motivated by career intentions as well as personal interest.
• There is no such thing as a typical mature student at Manchester.

How Your Application is Considered

• Academic attainment but the personal statement and potentially work experience/volunteering can be assessed in conjunction with this assessment.

Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, Interests

• Work experience or volunteering in a planning, environment, urban design or real estate would be beneficial but is not required, as opportunities are embedded within the programmes to gain work experience.

Returning to Education

• Return-to-learn students are those who have had a substantial period away from any formal learning.
• Often such learners have pursued careers or raised a family.
• We understand that students come from many different backgrounds, with varying qualifications, careers and skills, but they often bring to their studies a high degree of motivation and experience.

Deferrals

• Deferrals are accepted onto all programmes in PEM.

Policy for Applicants Who Resit Their Qualifications

• We will consider applicants who have re-sat individual modules.
• If you have re-sat your final examinations, we will consider your application but may require further information in order to make an informed academic judgment on your application.

Re-Applications

• If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.
• Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.

Transfers

• We accept transfer into Year 1 of the programme from cognisant disciplines.
• Transfers between planning programmes in Year 1 are also allowed, however, transfers into any degree with a placement in subsequent years, i.e. the end of Year 1 onwards or from students already enrolled in UoM programmes, is not permitted.

Course Details

Course Description

• I've done a site analysis project in one of my courses. We had to plan a site visit to a dam and produce an analysis of it and provide ways to improve it.
• It was amazing as it enabled us to come up with creative but practical ideas to solve the problem. I found it challenging, yet also fun and interesting!
• Kai Ho / BSc Planning and Real Estate student

Special Features

• Accreditation
  • This course is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) under two pathways; ‘Planning & Development' and ‘Commercial Property and Valuation'.
  • The course is also partially accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) - meaning you'll be well set up for a professional career in planning or real estate after you graduate.

Teaching and Learning

• Important notice: factors affecting fieldwork and placements
  • The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork and placements.
  • However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority.

Course Content for Year 1

• Year 1 provides a broad introduction to the fundamentals of planning and real estate, including introducing core principles and practices that underpin urban development, real estate and urban economics, placemaking and sustainable communities.
• You will use Manchester as your living laboratory seeing the opportunities and challenges of fast-paced development in an internationally famous, vibrant city.

Course Units for Year 1

• The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
  • Designing Sustainable Futures | PLAN10031 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Introduction to Planning and Development | PLAN10041 | 20 | Mandatory
  • GIS & Digital Tools for Decision Making | PLAN10092 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Introduction to Real Estate | PLAN10201 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Introduction to Urban and Environmental Economics | PLAN10352 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Rural Planning | PLAN10362 | 10 | Optional
  • Principles of Real Estate Law | PLAN10622 | 10 | Optional
  • Place-making | PLAN10632 | 10 | Optional

Course Content for Year 2

• In Year 2, you will begin to specialise your knowledge and skills.
• This includes understanding policies, regulations and processes that guide development, introducing core principles on urban design and understanding how to value properties.

Course Units for Year 2

• The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
  • Sustainable Development Project | PLAN20072 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Applied Research for Planning and Real Estate | PLAN20172 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Plan Making & the Development Process | PLAN20181 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Policy for Cities and Regions | PLAN20381 | 10 | Mandatory
  • Valuation & Appraisal | PLAN21012 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Data Analytics for Planning & Real Estate | PLAN26041 | 10 | Mandatory
  • Professional Placement | PLAN20090 | 20 | Optional
  • Professional Placement (10 credits) | PLAN20190 | 10 | Optional
  • Environmental Planning and Assessment | PLAN20521 | 20 | Optional
  • Strategic Real Estate Management | PLAN26051 | 20 | Optional

Course Content for Year 3

• In Year 3 you will normally embark on a 12-month paid work placement with an organisation specialising in planning and/or real estate in the UK, allowing you to apply, in practice, the conceptual, practical, digital and communication skills you have learnt in the first two years of your degree.

Course Content for Year 4

• In Year 4 you will develop your planning and real estate specialism further.
• This will include learning the fundamental components of planning and property law, exploring specific aspects of urban development such as housing provision and acquiring specific insights into the ethical perspectives of planning, vital for your move into the profession.

Course Units for Year 4

• The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
  • Dissertation (UG) | PLAN30000 | 40 | Mandatory
  • Planning & Property Law | PLAN30072 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Urban Theory, Planning Theory and Professional Values | PLAN30081 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Housing, Planning & Development | PLAN30512 | 20 | Mandatory
  • Real Estate Investment & Finance | PLAN36011 | 20 | Optional
  • Future Cities | PLAN36021 | 20 | Optional
  • Rewilding: Principles and Practice | PLAN36051 | 20 | Optional
  • Planning for Nature Recovery | PLAN36061 | 20 | Optional

Careers

Career Opportunities

• Our graduates are sought by a wide range of employers.
• A popular graduate route is employment in planning, real estate or multi-sectoral consultancies, where students work to meet client needs on a wide range of areas from:
  • developing planning applications for large-scale developments;
  • designing and delivering large-scale infrastructure projects;
  • providing advice or developing policies on placemaking;
  • sustainable development or urban design.

Accrediting Organisations

• Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)