Undergraduate course
Planned new course
BSc (Hons)
Environmental Planning and Design
On this course, you’ll explore how to plan and design sustainable solutions to real environmental challenges. You’ll gain the knowledge and skills to shape better places for people and nature, and make a real, positive impact.
Our typical offer
104 UCAS points
Real‑world project briefs
This course uses a studio‑based approach, where you’ll work on real‑world projects both in the studio and out in the field. You'll engage with a variety of authentic scenarios, guided by staff and industry professionals from the planning and design sector.
Student-centred learning
With small class sizes and personalised support, you’ll learn through teaching that draws on different subject areas and offers wide‑ranging opportunities to gain real experience across the sector.
Industry-informed
You’ll benefit from the strong industry connections of our staff, including links with employers and practising planners. The course is supported by a Professional Advisory Group and offers guest talks, site visits and professional networking opportunities.
About
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HJoin this course from September 2027
Environmental Planning and Design allows you to understand, and help tackle, some of the biggest challenges facing towns, cities and rural areas today. These include providing new homes, jobs and infrastructure, responding to climate change, and creating places that support people’s health and wellbeing. You’ll also explore social challenges, such as reducing inequality and improving access to important services and facilities.
As an environmental planner, you’ll learn how decisions are made in the public interest and how planning can drive positive change in everyday life. This means balancing different needs, thinking ahead about future development, and protecting what matters now – such as valued landscapes and vital natural resources including nature, air and water.
This three‑year degree gives you the practical skills and knowledge needed to develop creative, evidence‑based solutions that benefit people, places and the environment. You’ll learn how to prepare plans and policies, work with communities and stakeholders, and support the design and delivery of real projects on the ground. Alongside this you'll explore how to assess the potential impacts of plans and developments, and how to avoid or reduce negative effects through thoughtful, well‑designed solutions.
This course is for you if...
you want to contribute to making successful and sustainable places that can deliver for the environment and society
you are looking for a friendly and supportive teaching environment with hands-on career support
you thrive in real-world, non-exam-based assessments
you want to develop high-demand specialist and transferable skills in environmental planning and design
Details
Year 1
From day one, you’ll start developing the core skills planners need. Through visits to locations in and around the city, you’ll learn how to assess sites and landscapes, collect and analyse data, and communicate planning challenges to different audiences. You’ll build digital skills, including using geographic information systems (GIS), alongside key strengths in communication, negotiation and advocacy. You’ll explore what shapes the character of places and how planning can create positive change across a range of spatial scales, and will be encouraged to develop design ideas for a redevelopment site in Plymouth. Through the studio project, you’ll develop creative, practical ideas to improve places and support new development.
Year 2
In your second year, you’ll build on the skills from your first year by exploring the needs, challenges and options for planning and designing urban and rural areas. You’ll learn about core planning activities, including creating policy and developing and assessing site proposals, with the ability to explore the planning of transport or the pursuit of zero-carbon construction. Your studio project will focus on designing sustainable places, including producing a green and blue infrastructure strategy with practical design solutions. You’ll also strengthen your digital and research skills in preparation for your final year dissertation, develop the professional qualities planners need, and receive support to gain relevant work experience through an internship or placement.
Optional placement year
You can choose to take an optional placement year, giving you the chance to apply your environmental planning and design skills in a real workplace and gain valuable industry experience. You’ll be supported in finding the right placement through our employability service, with specialist workshops and tutorials in your second year to help you prepare for your time in industry.
Final year
In your final year, you’ll explore what it takes to make cities and environments truly sustainable, focusing on resilience and how different people and organisations should work together. You’ll choose from a range of optional modules, giving you the chance to deepen your knowledge, gain work experience, or take part in a multidisciplinary international field trip. Your individual project allows you to research a topic you care about and contribute new ideas to planning policy and practice. You’ll also build professional skills in areas such as project management and consultancy, and be introduced to impact assessment through a studio project focused on planning and designing energy and water infrastructure.
Experience
Throughout the course, you’ll learn through real‑world projects, fieldwork and input from guest speakers working in the sector. You’ll take part in key planning activities such as analysing places, creating visions for future development, and assessing sites. Along the way, you’ll build valuable skills in design and visual communication, project management, and data collection and analysis – preparing you for a future career in planning and related fields.
Learn through fieldwork in city, rural and coastal locations
The course has been designed to reflect, and to respond to, the unique characteristics of Plymouth and the wider south-west of England.
Plymouth is an exciting city to study planning, shaped by post‑war reconstruction and ongoing growth, including major city‑centre developments, new homes, infrastructure and public spaces. You’ll explore how planners respond to growth while supporting inclusive communities.
Beyond the city, fieldwork takes you into a diverse region that includes Dartmoor National Park, historic towns and villages, and working landscapes, allowing you to explore how planning balances environmental protection with economic and community needs. The region’s coastal towns, villages and marine environments present their own planning challenges. You’ll examine issues such as sustainable tourism, affordable housing, accessibility and the protection of sensitive habitats, alongside activities like fishing and marine industries.
Together, these varied locations provide a wide range of real planning challenges and opportunities to explore through hands on learning in a unique and beautiful part of the UK.
Studio‑based learning with real‑world projects
The course is built around studio spine approach, giving you a creative base to develop ideas in a collaborative environment, while spending plenty of time working out in the field. You’ll tackle real planning challenges through practical projects linked to real clients, supported by academic staff and visiting professionals such as practising planners, developers and community organisations.
Each studio project combines lectures and workshops with hands‑on, problem‑solving tasks. You’ll then take part in an intensive project phase, often involving fieldwork, to develop your ideas and present your findings. Example projects include assessing historic areas, preparing strategies to improve green and blue spaces, supporting culture‑led regeneration, and designing ways to engage communities around major infrastructure projects.
Research-informed teaching
You’ll be taught by staff who are actively involved in research, meaning your learning is shaped by the latest ideas and evidence in environmental planning and design.
Meet your lecturers
Mr Nick Smith
Lecturer in Spatial Planning
Dr Stephen Essex
Associate Lecturer
Professor Richard Yarwood
Professor of Human Geography
Do more of what you love – Join EnviroSoc
Make the most of your time at university by getting involved with an active and welcoming student society. The Environmental Society is open to everyone, no matter your subject, and is a fantastic way to build friendships, explore shared interests and create lasting memories through a range of social events and activities.
For environmental science students, it’s also an ideal opportunity to connect with peers beyond lectures, while staying in the loop about exciting environment-related events, field trips, guest speakers and career opportunities.
Life in Plymouth
Plymouth's maritime history and coastal location have an undeniable influence on life in the city. The walk from our main campus to the seafront is only about one mile, providing loads of opportunity to relax and unwind during your studies. You don’t need to leave the city to get to the coast!
The overall vibe of the city is perfect. You are by the sea so it is still laid back, but you have all the conveniences of living in a city.
Jenna
Current student
Current student
Discover our range of student accommodation options and find out how you can get a guaranteed place in halls
Our large student population, active Students' Union, and abundance of student-led clubs and societies blend to create a busy and vibrant student scene
Careers
Professional connections
The course is closely informed by professional planning practice. A Planning Advisory Board, made up of industry professionals, helps ensure the knowledge and skills you develop reflect current practice.
You’ll also benefit from practitioner‑led workshops and guest lectures, as well as fieldwork and employer‑supported project briefs.
The University of Plymouth is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as an Accredited Planning School. This course is not currently RTPI‑accredited, but it is designed to align with professional standards and provide a strong foundation for progression within the planning profession.
Preparing you for your career
Planning is a global profession with opportunities across the public, private and voluntary sectors. In the UK, public sector roles include local authorities, national parks, government departments and organisations such as Homes England, the Environment Agency, Natural Resource Wales and Natural England. Private sector opportunities are available in planning and multidisciplinary consultancies, house builders and infrastructure providers, while the third sector offers roles in think tanks, charities and organisations such as the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Our course will provide you with the insight and confidence to transfer your University experiences and learning into the workplace. You’ll explore the wide range of careers within environmental planning and receive support from staff to help shape your future ambitions.
You can choose to take an optional placement year between years two and three, gaining hands‑on experience with public, private or voluntary organisations. Alternatively, you can gain work experience alongside your studies through a work‑based learning module in your final year.
Our graduates have secured professional positions with employers including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Planning Inspectorate, Plymouth City Council, Cornwall Council, Arup, Lichfields, Savills, and WSP, and some have launched their own practices. Careers related to planning also include housing, tourism, economic development, regeneration, and environmental protection.
For further insight, the RTPI provides guidance on careers in planning via Planning your world.
Planning in practice
Planners have a wide range of responsibilities, from creating plans and policies to developing and delivering complex proposals for new homes, jobs and infrastructure. What you do day to day depends on where you work and the challenges you’re responding to. In rural areas, planners may focus on farming, mineral extraction, protecting sensitive landscapes and providing essential infrastructure. In fast‑growing cities, planners are more likely to identify development sites, support sustainable growth, and ensure services and facilities meet local needs. Wherever you’re based, no two days are the same – you’ll work with different places, landscapes and people, and collaborate with a wide range of organisations.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for new full-time students starting in
Full-time study
N/A per year
N/A per year
Module fees for repeated or part-time study
N/A per credits
N/A per credits
Tuition fee price changes
The Government has announced that tuition fees from Academic Year 28/29 onwards will be subject to automatic annual inflationary increases, which we believe will be at a similar rate to the recent annual increases to fees, and may continue to be inflation based. The University may increase annual tuition fees in line with the Student Contract and the maximum tuition fee caps set by the Government from time to time.
We understand that clarity around tuition fees is important when planning your studies and we advise you to monitor this page regularly to stay informed of any updates to your tuition fees.
More information about
fees and costs of studying .
Tuition fees for full-time international students starting in 2026-2027 academic year.
Full-time study
N/A per year
N/A per year
Optional placement year completed in the UK
£1,955
Optional placement year completed outside the UK
£1,465
Tuition fee price changes
Our fees are reviewed on an annual basis. Fees and the conditions that apply to them are the most up to date but are still subject to change in exceptional circumstances. More information about
fees and costs of studying .
UK Government announcement on tuition fees
The UK Government has announced that a levy on tuition fee income in the region of 6% of an international student’s tuition fees may be introduced. If implemented, the University reserves the right to increase your tuition fees accordingly. The Government has made it clear that it has not officially decided on its stance and it is possible that the eventual levy amount or arrangements may differ from the initial proposal. Therefore, the University reserves the right to adjust tuition fees in accordance with the Government’s final position on this levy.
We understand that clarity around tuition fees is important when planning your studies. Therefore, please note that the tuition fee shown on this page may change as a result of the introduction of a levy. We advise you to monitor this page regularly to stay informed of any updates to your tuition fees.
Additional costs
This course is delivered by the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Studying a course in this faculty may incur additional costs relating to field-based activities or equipment requirements.
Fund your studies
As an undergraduate at Plymouth, there are plenty of funding options available, including tuition fee loans, living cost loans, scholarships, bursaries and support funds.
Supporting students with the cost of living
The cost of living in the UK has risen faster than household income, meaning that most people will have less to spend on essential goods and services. This is an ongoing situation that is likely to affect everyone in some way.
The University provides advice and guidance and has a range of services, facilities and offers to help students with rising everyday costs.
Apply
Entry requirements
Our typical offer
104 UCAS points
104 UCAS points
You may be eligible for a contextual offer
GCSE
All applicants must have GCSE (or equivalent) mathematics and English at grade 4/C or above.
A level
104 UCAS points, to include a minimum of 2 A levels.
BTEC
DMM
BTEC National Diploma modules
If you hold a BTEC qualification it is vital that you provide our Admissions team with details of the exact modules you have studied as part of the BTEC. Without this information, we may be unable to process your application quickly and you could experience significant delays in the progress of your application to study with us. Please explicitly state the full list of modules within your qualification at the time of application.
All Access courses
Pass Access to HE Diploma (e.g., Science, Humanities) with 33 Level 3 credits at Merit or Distinction.
T level
Merit.
International Baccalaureate
26 overall. English and Mathematics must be included.
Extended entry requirements
To be accepted onto a degree course with us, you must have a suitable English language qualification.
Ready to apply?
All applications for undergraduate courses are made through UCAS.com. Please refer to the course facts below when completing your application for this course.
UCAS course code
K401
K401
Institution code
P60
P60
Duration
3 years
(+ optional placement)
Course type
Full-time
Study location
Plymouth
Plymouth
Entry requirements
We welcome applicants with international qualifications and we accept a range of qualifications from across the globe.
Our typical offer
104 UCAS points
104 UCAS points
BSearch entry requirements for your country
5
English language requirements
To be accepted onto a degree course with us, you must have a suitable English language qualification.
Ready to apply?
As an international student, you can apply for this course through UCAS or an agent in your country.
Need support with your application?
- Personal statement guidance
- student visa support
- travel and arrival information
- and more.
UCAS course code
K401
K401
Institution code
P60
P60
Duration
3 years
(+ optional placement)
Course type
Full-time
Study location
Plymouth
Plymouth
Visit us at an undergraduate on-campus open day
Open days are the best way to get a feel for studying an undergraduate degree at the University of Plymouth.
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