Program Overview

Programme: Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning [BTRP]

The Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning [BTRP] is a four-year undergraduate degree that focuses on the planning, design, implementation, and management of public interventions in the development and use of land. The programme aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to become professional town and regional planners.

Programme Information

Town and regional planning is primarily concerned with the planning, design, implementation, and management of public interventions in the development and use of land from site to supranational level. The guiding motive of the profession is the generation of viable alternatives to present settlement types. At the current juncture in South Africa's history, town and regional planning is a key profession in the rectification of the spatial and other imbalances in both urban and rural areas, as well as the improvement of inefficient and under-performing living environments.

Admission Requirements

• Achievement level: English Home Language or English First Additional Language: 5, Mathematics: 4, APS: 27
• Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
• Applicants currently in Grade 12 must apply with their final Grade 11 (or equivalent) results.
• Applicants who have completed Grade 12 must apply with their final NSC or equivalent qualification results.
• Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee admission.

Promotion to Next Study Year

1. Promotion to the second semester of the first year and to the second year of study
   • A new first-year student who fails all the prescribed modules for the programme at the end of the first semester shall not be readmitted to the School for the Built Environment in the second semester.
   • A student is promoted to the second year provided the student has obtained at least 100 credits; and is not repeating more than one first-year Town and Regional Planning module per semester; and has obtained a final mark of at least 40 – 49% in the respective Town and Regional Planning module(s) being repeated.
2. Promotion to the third year of study
   • A student is promoted to the third year provided the student has obtained at least 200 credits; and is not repeating any first- or second-year Town and Regional Planning module.
3. Promotion to the fourth year of study
   • A student is promoted to the fourth year provided the student has obtained at least 300 credits; and is not repeating any third-year Town and Regional Planning module.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the BTRP degree is divided into four years, with a combination of core and elective modules.

Year 1

• Fundamental modules:
  • AIM 111: Academic information management 111
  • AIM 121: Academic information management 121
  • ALL 123: Academic literacy for Town and Regional Planning 123
  • UPO 112: Academic orientation 112
• Core modules:
  • EKN 110: Economics 110
  • EKN 120: Economics 120
  • SOC 110: Sociology 110
  • SOC 120: Sociology 120
  • STK 110: Statistics 110
  • STK 120: Statistics 120
  • TPA 110: Site analysis and assessment 110
  • TPA 120: Settlement analysis and assessment 120
  • TPH 110: Planning and settlement histories before the Industrial Revolution 110
  • TPH 120: Planning and settlement histories since the Industrial Revolution 120
  • TPS 120: Principles of settlement design 120
  • TRP 110: Introduction to planning 110

Year 2

• Core modules:
  • JCP 201: Community-based project 201
  • TPA 210: Plan and policy analysis and assessment 210
  • TPD 210: Introduction to development planning 210
  • TPD 220: Municipal development planning 220
  • TPS 210: Settlement design concepts 210
  • TPS 220: Settlement establishment planning and housing delivery 220
  • TPU 211: Theory and practice of land-use management 211
  • TPU 221: Urban land development economics 221
• Elective modules:
  • EKN 214: Economics 214
  • EKN 234: Economics 234
  • SOC 211: Sociology 211
  • SOC 221: Sociology 221

Year 3

• Core modules:
  • TPD 310: Regional development planning 310
  • TPD 320: Rural development planning 320
  • TPS 310: Spatial concepts 310
  • TPS 321: Transport planning 321
  • TPS 322: Municipal services provision 322
  • TPW 310: Institutional and legal structures for planning 310
  • TRP 320: Planning prospects 320
• Elective modules:
  • EKN 310: Economics 310
  • EKN 320: Economics 320
  • SOC 310: Sociology 310
  • SOC 321: Sociology 321

Year 4

• Core modules:
  • TPE 410: Research methodology 410
  • TPE 420: Research report 420
  • TPI 451: Planning interventions: Precinct scale 451
  • TPI 452: Planning interventions: Peri-urban and rural scale 452
  • TPI 453: Planning interventions: Metropolitan scale 453
  • TPI 454: Planning interventions: Supranational, national and provincial scale 454
  • TRP 412: Professional practice 412

Pass with Distinction

The degree is conferred with distinction on a student who, at first registration passes all modules of the final year with a weighted average of 75% (not rounded). The degree must have been completed within the minimum prescribed time. Exceptional cases will be considered by the Dean.