The Department of Planning is one of the largest and most diverse 'planning schools' of its kind in both the UK and Europe.

With more than 400 students engaging in a wide range of research topics in our undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes, including Masters by research. The department is widely recognised as a leading educator in planning, environment, urban design, historic conservation, tourism and development subjects. With a complement of over 60 teaching, administrative, technical and research staff, the department performs a leading role in research and consultancy, with clients and projects covering subjects from local concerns to multi-national organisations, government and industry.

The Department is a major centre for planning research, which offers an active and welcoming research environment for students, visiting scholars and researchers. It has an excellent reputation for the quality of its teaching and research and a research portfolio reflecting the character of the Department, which offers a wide range of academic specialisms. Many programmes are accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The Department, however, is about much more than just 'planning', and includes a variety of topics related to the development and management of land and landscape; urban design; historic conservation; environmental impact assessment; tourism; international urban planning and development. Our courses, research & consultancy cross a broad spectrum of activity from local Area Regeneration to Urban Planning in Developing Countries.