Geography and Planning BA
2025-26 entryCombining human geography with planning, this course allows you to tackle issues of environmental and social justice within the context of urban development. This course is jointly taught by the Departments of Geography and Urban Studies and Planning.
Key details
- A Levels ABB
Other entry requirements - UCAS code LK74
- 3 years / Full-time
- September start
- Find out the course fee
- Dual honours
- Optional placement year
- Study abroad
- View 2024-25 entry
Explore this course:
Course description
Apply the theoretical understanding of geography to the urban environment, and explore how people and places interact.
Conveniently located in the same building, the departments of Geography and Urban Studies and Planning blend their expertise to offer you a flexible, wide-ranging dual honours degree.
Combine the social, cultural and political elements of human geography with the applied, practical edge of a planning education.
Your first year will establish the foundations of your knowledge of human geography and planning. In your second year, you'll develop your understanding of economic, social and political geographies, along with the planning policies and market processes that shape our towns and countryside.
The third year will see you specialise in the modules that interest you most, culminating in your own dissertation research project.
Thanks to our dedicated departmental careers and employability team, you’ll not only graduate with excellent career prospects, but also the skills and connections to make the most of every opportunity.
Why study this course?
- Dedicated employability team - based in the department, the team supports you to get placements, brings in alumni to give guest lectures and works with industry to ensure you develop the most in-demand skills. It also supports you with career planning and CV workshops.
- Professional Skills modules - a feature of every year, these modules prepare you for professional employment or higher-level study and cover skills like project management, teamwork and negotiation. They will encourage you to reflect on the skills you’ve developed during your degree and will enable you to articulate and professionally present your skills and strengths (i.e. in a job interview).
- Research and impact - our department is the UK’s top accredited planning school for research and impact, with more than 95% of our research considered world leading or internationally excellent, according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Dual and combined honours degrees
Modules
A selection of modules are available each year - some examples are below. There may be changes before you start your course. From May of the year of entry, formal programme regulations will be available in our Programme Regulations Finder.
Choose a year to see modules for a level of study:
UCAS code: LK74
Years: 2023
Core modules:
- Information and Communication Skills
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The skills needed to be able to find, evaluate, summarise and critically evaluate information are all vital to success in an undergraduate degree programme, and are also key transferable skills. This module provides basic knowledge of a range of methods for information-gathering and forms of communication. The teaching is delivered through a mix of lectures, tutorials and seminars, with students expected to take more responsibility for their own learning as the module progresses. Lectures provide basic knowledge on method for information gathering and forms of communication, whilst seminars, tutorials and a range of exercises are used to develop these skills
10 credits - Contemporary urban challenges
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This module will address the range of challenges contained within the Sustainable Development Goals for cities attempting to transition towards sustainable urban development. You will be introduced to sustainability challenges and the planning and urban professional response to these in a range of specific cities. You will then conduct your own research on one of these case study cities to evaluate its response, and the wider lessons to be learned from it about transitions towards sustainable development.
10 credits - Cities, Places and People
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The aim of this module is to provide students with an introduction to Sheffield with a particular focus on place, people, the local economy and urban change. You will be introduced to some of the theories, techniques and data that planners use in their efforts to understand and create better places and the module will develop your skills of analysis for assessing the social, economic and environmental qualities of urban places. Through a series of site visits, students will gain an understanding of several different areas in Sheffield so that they develop a broader appreciation of the city's strengths and some of the contemporary challenges that it faces.
10 credits - Development, Planning and the State
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The module provides an introduction to spatial planning in theory and practice, exploring arguments for and against spatial planning and the rationale for state intervention into land and property development. The first part of the module covers key debates on the purposes of planning, the historical development of planning as a state activity and the current structure of national, regional and local government. The central part of the module introduces key aspects of the English planning system and key debates about its role and purpose. The final third of the module explores how spatial planning responds to major societal challenges.
20 credits - Exploring Human Geographies
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The module provides an introduction to key principles, relations and processes that contribute to a diverse array of social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects of human geography. It looks at spatial patterns of power, inequality and interdependence produced by economic and cultural globalisation, how we experience these at the local scale and and how they have changed over time. It outlines key concepts and current debates shaping how human geographers approach these issues by drawing on examples from around the world and at a variety of geographical scales. It highlights the value of a geographical perspective on the world we live in.
20 credits - Professional Skills Development (L1)
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* A foundation to articulate the skills-based nature of study in USP. * An opportunity to recognise the importance of, and your responsibility for, the development of key professional and employability-related skills. * A series of support sessions to help you get the most out of your learning experience and prepare you for professional employment at the end of your studies. This module seeks to deliver a range of professional and employability-related skills over the academic year, tailored to each student cohort, to introduce skills development and to tailor support towards the final stages of study. It also seeks to develop team working skills including project and meeting management as well as negotiation and persuasion within a team.
Optional modules:
- Housing and Home
-
Issues relating to housing, homes, streets and neighbourhoods that we live in are in the news every day. Whether this is over concerns about housing shortages, affordability, housing bubbles, 'generation rent', social housing, housing evictions, Covid lockdown, city-centre housing, DIY and 'grand designs', or debates about the domestic sphere, 'home as a haven', 'benefit streets', flooding and shack settlements, housing is often at the centre of social science research. This module aims to introduce students to this broad and diverse subject by drawing on the expertise of staff who research across these multiple themes. The module focuses on contemporary concerns, while maintaining an appreciation of the impact of historical trends (e.g. the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/8). The module will make use of cases from the UK and abroad to illustrate trends, arguments and challenges. The module introduced students to various concepts and debates relating to housing, as well as indicating the linkages to housing and urban policy.
10 credits - The Making of Urban Places
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This module will introduce you to cities and urbanisation, from the very first settlements to contemporary metropolises, using examples throughout history from across the world. The module focuses on thinking about the role of cities within societies and civilisations throughout history, and how planning ideas and practice have developed in response. It explores the histories of urbanisation, from the earliest urban settlements to the megacities of the twentieth century, looking at how various forces have shaped cities, and the outcomes of urbanisation for cities and their populations. It highlights influential ideas which have changed our thinking about cities, looks at how urban governments and planners have sought to respond to the challenges of urbanisation, and discusses critical debates around these. The module takes a global focus, drawing on different cases and examples from around the world.
20 credits - Climate Action
-
Humans are altering the climate, with significant impacts on livelihoods, wellbeing, equality, and the environment across the globe. While international organisations and governments are crucial in mitigating and adapting to these threats, individual and small group collective action are also essential in creatively exploring how the necessary changes can be realistically and equitably implemented.
10 credits
This module uses the community linked to the University as a Living Lab. Focusing on one aspect of daily life in which there is potential for more mitigation or better adaptation, you will identify and plan an investigation or intervention (a 'project') to take a step towards more or better climate action. You will need to justify your choices by elaborating what you would consider success, how you would deliver it, as well as assessing the impact of its wider implementation. - Urban Economics
-
This module provides an introduction to economic concepts and theories and to the way in which they are applied to the analysis of property markets and policy challenges. The module seeks to offer an economic perspective on planning issues by focusing on land market and urban development. The overall aim of the module is to develop students' understanding of the economic environment within which planners and other urban professions operate and to enhance understanding of economic theory and the property market in general.
10 credits - Cities and Inequality
-
The main aim of Cities and Inequality is to introduce you to our urban condition in a global context, with particular attention to the multiple forms of inequality that pervade urban life. Drawing on a wide range of expertise within the Department, we will introduce you to a range of key issues in contemporary urban studies and help you to understand more about the roots of urban problems and questions of social differentiation and injustice in a range of global urban contexts. The course also aims to develop students' capacity for comparative urban analysis
10 credits - Cities, space and urban design
-
The module will explore the fundamentals of urban design and its role in the mediation, analysis and design of space. This module introduces the core principles of reading, representing, and interpreting the physical organisation of space in cities, and examines the core components of the spatial environment and how they can be analysed. The module will equip students with analytical skills to explore, make sense of and develop spatial urban design data and foundational orthographic projection drawing (a means of representing a three-dimensional object in two dimensions). Students will also learn the fundamentals of visual/graphical communication via posters. Teaching will draw on practical examples, using workshops, lectures, context-based study and student-led site visits to develop skills in the analysis of urban spaces and their design.
10 credits - Living with Environmental Change
-
This module will introduce students to a wide range of critical environmental issues facing the world today from physical science and social science perspectives. Using a range of environmental problems evident in the Global North and Global South (such as climate change, habitat loss, water resources, land-use change, agriculture), the physical and social processes implicated will be examined. Drawing on a range of examples, students will critically explore the causes, consequences, management and solutions to environmental issues and learn how to question assumptions about environmental processes.
20 credits - Why Geography Matters
-
Geography helps us plan for the future by investigating social and physical processes as they interconnect from the past through to the present. Geographers actively contribute to contemporary debates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We address some of the most pressing issues facing the modern world linking to social justice and environmental change. Serving as a bridge between the general introductory modules, and the more specialist modules taught at levels 2 and 3, this module provides an opportunity for students to engage with topical issues in contemporary human and physical geography led by academics actively engaged in cutting edge research who are informing real world policy and practice. The module provides a challenging but accessible insight into the origins of the discipline and how these translate into the cutting edge of contemporary geographical research, and how this helps us understand and contribute to our changing world. The module will also begin to highlight for students how knowledge is always produced and reflective of those who produce it in ways that reinforce the positionality of some and silence others.
20 credits
The following particular skills will be achieved in this module: exchanging knowledge; networking; emotional intelligence; inclusivity; positive mindset; innovation; commercial awareness.
Students can also take approved modules from other departments, such as:
- Education, Power and Society: Introduction to the Sociology of Education
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This module explores the relationship between educational institutions/cultures/systems and social inequalities. We focus on class, gender, ethnicity and disability and look at the ways in which education systems serve to tackle or reproduce patterns of inequality and relations of power. The module also evaluates different policy frameworks and goals. For example, whether the focus of education policy should be placed on nurturing active citizenship (and what this would look like) or whether the main priority should be to serve the needs of the economy (and how this might be achieved).
20 credits - Introducing Criminology
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Crime is a major social problem in virtually all societies. In this module, sociological understandings of crime are discussed, often with reference to their implications for policy. The module will introduce you to major research about crime in contemporary Britain and help you to understand the contribution of sociology to its analysis. This module will be of value to anyone thinking about a career in the criminal justice services, journalism, public service, the voluntary sector and anyone interested in understanding the significance of crime in contemporary British society
10 credits - Housing and Home
-
Issues relating to housing, homes, streets and neighbourhoods that we live in are in the news every day. Whether this is over concerns about housing shortages, affordability, housing bubbles, 'generation rent', social housing, housing evictions, Covid lockdown, city-centre housing, DIY and 'grand designs', or debates about the domestic sphere, 'home as a haven', 'benefit streets', flooding and shack settlements, housing is often at the centre of social science research. This module aims to introduce students to this broad and diverse subject by drawing on the expertise of staff who research across these multiple themes. The module focuses on contemporary concerns, while maintaining an appreciation of the impact of historical trends (e.g. the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/8). The module will make use of cases from the UK and abroad to illustrate trends, arguments and challenges. The module introduced students to various concepts and debates relating to housing, as well as indicating the linkages to housing and urban policy.
10 credits - The Making of Urban Places
-
This module will introduce you to cities and urbanisation, from the very first settlements to contemporary metropolises, using examples throughout history from across the world. The module focuses on thinking about the role of cities within societies and civilisations throughout history, and how planning ideas and practice have developed in response. It explores the histories of urbanisation, from the earliest urban settlements to the megacities of the twentieth century, looking at how various forces have shaped cities, and the outcomes of urbanisation for cities and their populations. It highlights influential ideas which have changed our thinking about cities, looks at how urban governments and planners have sought to respond to the challenges of urbanisation, and discusses critical debates around these. The module takes a global focus, drawing on different cases and examples from around the world.
20 credits - Politics, Economy and Society in China
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This module explores what it means to study China at university level, and considers how 'area studies' research on China fits within disciplines such as political economy, international relations, anthropology, sociology and geography. We will work on a combination of new and established research to explore core topics in contemporary China: including how Chinese society has changed; how researchers use different conceptual frameworks and types of primary evidence to understand change and its wider impact; and, how to use the different types of work published in the field and evaluate competing arguments in key debates. You will finish this module with a deeper understanding of our core topic and the disciplinary approaches that frame it, and a foundation in critical research and writing skills that you can apply and develop in further study.
20 credits - Gender, Sexuality and Society
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This unit intends to address the following questions regarding gender and sexuality and their interaction with society: What do we mean by gender and sexuality? How do we do gender and sexuality? How do we see gender and sexuality? How do we control gender and sexuality?
10 credits - Introduction to Media and Communication in Society
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This module examines the relationship between media and society. It examines the nature of influence and persuasion, representation, ownership, and identity in contemporary media environments.
10 credits - Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
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Whether you're a journalist writing stories for the public, or a social research analyst working in government, you need to be able to understand, use and present data. This 10 credit module aims to demystify data and encourage critical thinking on statistics; often wrongly used, and sometimes in very misleading ways. The module will equip you with the knowledge and skills you'll need to become a discerning data user, through engaging teaching, active learning and examples from the news media. The module is comprised of a mix of lectures and computer workshops and is assessed through a multiple choice exam.
10 credits - Climate Action
-
Humans are altering the climate, with significant impacts on livelihoods, wellbeing, equality, and the environment across the globe. While international organisations and governments are crucial in mitigating and adapting to these threats, individual and small group collective action are also essential in creatively exploring how the necessary changes can be realistically and equitably implemented.
10 credits
This module uses the community linked to the University as a Living Lab. Focusing on one aspect of daily life in which there is potential for more mitigation or better adaptation, you will identify and plan an investigation or intervention (a 'project') to take a step towards more or better climate action. You will need to justify your choices by elaborating what you would consider success, how you would deliver it, as well as assessing the impact of its wider implementation. - Urban Economics
-
This module provides an introduction to economic concepts and theories and to the way in which they are applied to the analysis of property markets and policy challenges. The module seeks to offer an economic perspective on planning issues by focusing on land market and urban development. The overall aim of the module is to develop students' understanding of the economic environment within which planners and other urban professions operate and to enhance understanding of economic theory and the property market in general.
10 credits - Cities and Inequality
-
The main aim of Cities and Inequality is to introduce you to our urban condition in a global context, with particular attention to the multiple forms of inequality that pervade urban life. Drawing on a wide range of expertise within the Department, we will introduce you to a range of key issues in contemporary urban studies and help you to understand more about the roots of urban problems and questions of social differentiation and injustice in a range of global urban contexts. The course also aims to develop students' capacity for comparative urban analysis
10 credits - Cities, space and urban design
-
The module will explore the fundamentals of urban design and its role in the mediation, analysis and design of space. This module introduces the core principles of reading, representing, and interpreting the physical organisation of space in cities, and examines the core components of the spatial environment and how they can be analysed. The module will equip students with analytical skills to explore, make sense of and develop spatial urban design data and foundational orthographic projection drawing (a means of representing a three-dimensional object in two dimensions). Students will also learn the fundamentals of visual/graphical communication via posters. Teaching will draw on practical examples, using workshops, lectures, context-based study and student-led site visits to develop skills in the analysis of urban spaces and their design.
10 credits - Living with Environmental Change
-
This module will introduce students to a wide range of critical environmental issues facing the world today from physical science and social science perspectives. Using a range of environmental problems evident in the Global North and Global South (such as climate change, habitat loss, water resources, land-use change, agriculture), the physical and social processes implicated will be examined. Drawing on a range of examples, students will critically explore the causes, consequences, management and solutions to environmental issues and learn how to question assumptions about environmental processes.
20 credits - Why Geography Matters
-
Geography helps us plan for the future by investigating social and physical processes as they interconnect from the past through to the present. Geographers actively contribute to contemporary debates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We address some of the most pressing issues facing the modern world linking to social justice and environmental change. Serving as a bridge between the general introductory modules, and the more specialist modules taught at levels 2 and 3, this module provides an opportunity for students to engage with topical issues in contemporary human and physical geography led by academics actively engaged in cutting edge research who are informing real world policy and practice. The module provides a challenging but accessible insight into the origins of the discipline and how these translate into the cutting edge of contemporary geographical research, and how this helps us understand and contribute to our changing world. The module will also begin to highlight for students how knowledge is always produced and reflective of those who produce it in ways that reinforce the positionality of some and silence others.
20 credits
The following particular skills will be achieved in this module: exchanging knowledge; networking; emotional intelligence; inclusivity; positive mindset; innovation; commercial awareness. - Earth, Wind, Ice and Fire
-
This module introduces the general principles of physical geography for students with diverse backgrounds. The module seeks to develop a holistic understanding of how the Earth functions as a system, focusing in particular on the functioning of key elements of this system - notably the operation of the geosphere, atmosphere, and cryosphere - and how these elements interact to influence the evolution of the system as a whole. Consideration of the latter aspect will include discussion of the impacts and consequences of alterations to the operation of different parts of the system, such as those caused by past and present climatic change. Finally, we consider how the form of Earth's surface reflects current and past geosphere, atmosphere and cryosphere processes at a range of spatial scales, from small-scale fluvial, aeolian and glacial landforms, to the evolution of continents and large mountain ranges.
20 credits - Social Psychology I
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This module will provide an overview of the fundamentals of social psychology. The module will introduce and explain key theories and research, and their application, for understanding social psychological phenomena. Content is organised around two themes: How people think, and how people feel and behave. The module will include lectures that will provide opportunities to learn how to critically evaluate social psychological research and theories, as well as to describe how social psychology theory can be applied to address real world issues.
20 credits
Core modules:
- Urban Analytics
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This module will serve as an introduction to quantitative and spatial analytical methods, with a specific focus on understanding, interpreting and presenting secondary data in urban contexts. It will expose students to a variety of substantive issues surrounding the use of data in practice and enhance their understanding of methods used in real world policy settings. Students will access and use a range of different datasets, covering demographics, property, and land use and will analyse them using both spatial and aspatial methods. They will be required to demonstrate competence in accessing, analysing and presenting such data using both aspatial and spatial methods in order to gain a deeper understanding of key issues facing urban settings.
20 credits - Researching the City: Applied Skills for Practice
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Level Two study of urban design, urban theory and the distinctiveness of place is enhanced by learning about how to conduct research in urban contexts. Students taking this module will consider various topics, such as the impact of planning policy, flood management, urban ethnicity and social segregation, housing developments, or issues in the use of public space, through learning about and, circumstances permitting, conducting field investigation. They will be introduced to a range of qualitative and quantitative research skills and techniques, as well as interpretative methods.
20 credits - Professional Skills Development (L2)
-
This module will provide a space for you to consider, plan and reflect on your personal and professional development as you complete your degree programme. It will support you to identify and reflect on the professional and technical skills gained through your other modules as well as the transferable skills covered in the Sheffield Graduate Attributes. It will provide information, advice and support in order to help you get the most out of your learning experience and, through developing self-awareness and reflective skills, to prepare for professional employment or higher-level study. It will also provide an opportunity for you to practice some of the skills required for success in the recruitment process. It will enable you to articulate and professionally present your skills and strengths in a format suitable for a speculative placement role application.
Optional modules (taken from a range of modules including):
- Sustainable Development and Global Justice
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Development in the Global South is a major issue of international concern in the 21st century. This module explores contemporary development issues and examines the contribution that geographers, and geographical thought, can make towards understanding inequality, poverty and socio-economic change. Definitions of 'development', 'poverty' and 'the poor' shift and are invested with political meaning which reflect specific geographies and ways of seeing the world: students develop critical understandings of such terminology and the power dynamics implicit within them. This module addresses diverse theories, paradigms and contemporary critiques of development, and explores some of the central issues affecting processes of development. Case examples are drawn from Latin America, Africa and South-East Asia.
20 credits - Culture, Space and Difference
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This research-led module introduces students to the cutting edge of Social and Cultural Geography and dovetails with the Sheffield Geography Department’s Culture, Space and Difference research group. The module illustrates the diversity and vitality of contemporary social and cultural geography including some of the philosophical concepts and theoretical debates that have shaped the subject. The module aims to deepen and enrich the ways in which students are able to think about geographical issues, through a critical understanding of concepts and approaches that underpin the substance and methods of contemporary human geography. The module team work with students to develop their own ‘photo essays’ - which bring the ideas of the module to students’ experiences from everyday life.
20 credits - Territory, Power and Policy
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The module introduces you to contemporary debates within political geography. You will develop a detailed understanding of political processes at a variety of spatial scales, from the international, national to the local, from collective politics to individual political behaviour. You will explore questions of power, efficacy and conflict with an emphasis on the spatial and place-specific aspects of politics in relation to issues including: geopolitics and international relations; the state and territoriality; the politics of nationalism and citizenship; civic activism; and individual political participation.
20 credits - Who Gets What? Social Justice and the Environment
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Environmental issues continue to be a key area of contemporary public concern and current political debate. They raise fundamental questions about the relationship between society and environment, and the politics and equity of that relationship. This module provides a geographical introduction to these issues and debates with examples from a range of scales from the global to the local. It also considers the role of stakeholders and how they benefit or are disadvantaged by policy that seeks to address issues to do with the environment-society relationship. The module then develops these core ideas through inter-related sections covering debates focused on different empirical themes.
20 credits
Particular skills will be achieved including: policy analysis, ethical awareness, positive mindset, global awareness and self-awareness. - Urban Culture and Conflict: The Making of Modern Cities
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Cities are sites of social conflict and cultural production. The links between these two facets of modern urban experience have long fascinated scholars seeking to understand the cultural history of the urban imagination. In this module you will explore different ways artists, intellectuals, political activists, ordinary people and other thinkers have sought to understand and explain various experiences of and conflicts over urban life. You will learn to situate the relationships between sensory perceptions, aesthetic judgments and power relations in their own place and time. This module will draw from historical, cultural, social, and political geographies as well as other disciplines to engage with the shifting nature and spatiality of these relationships through case studies of selected cities, the particular changes in urban culture they occasioned, contemporary responses to those changes, and the theoretical debates they inspired. Key topics will include urban form and architecture, cultural difference and social inequality, representational practices and bodily experiences, and the overall consciousness of change in cities over the past two centuries.
20 credits - Urban Design and Place-Making
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The overall aim of the module is to enhance students' understanding and critical appreciation of the contemporary context of urban design thought, policy and practice - focusing particularly on the role of place-making in cities. The module, through an applied understanding of the language and techniques of urban design will explore and evaluate the contribution of design to effective place-making. The module will equip students with enhanced skills to analyse, appraise and design for urban contexts supported by professional software and drawing techniques. Students will also develop awareness of the sequential stages of the design process, and develop the ability to deliver a comprehensive design proposal. Teaching will draw on practical examples, using workshops, lectures, context-based study and student-led site visits to develop enhanced skills in the analysis and design of urban space.
20 credits
The module will provide students with a knowledge of contemporary processes and practices in urban design, an understanding of the importance of effective planning/design policy to prioritise effective place-making and an ability to evaluate and appraise urban settings through applied urban design analysis. The module will also give students an understanding of the sequential stages of the design/development process and the implementation of design projects with graphical skills to effectively communicate urban design projects - Urban Theory
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This module aims to develop student's imaginative engagement with the nature of urban life and human settlement. Urban theory refers to writing and thinking devoted to 'seeing' and understanding urban life - ideas are critical to how we engage with the key features and problems of the urban world. Theory is also important to our understanding of how cities work in practice - how we understand and view urban life is critical to the development of cities and to efforts seeking to make them more socially just, sustainable and better places to live. Urban Theory introduces a range of ideas and key concepts in urban studies with a view to understanding how cities have developed and how they 'work' in broad terms. The module considers a range of thinkers, ideas and problems.
20 credits - Cities, Violence and Security
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Introduces students to key examples of violence, conflict and insecurity in urban contexts around the world. The course focuses on efforts to make better and safer places and seeks to develop student understanding of the political, economic and social drivers of human insecurity in urban settings. Examples of urban violence and crime, policing, forced evictions, domestic violence, terrorism, gangs and the rise of gated communities and other modes of design and control to produce securitised urban spaces are discussed and analysed in their effectiveness.
20 credits - City makers
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Drawing on cities from different contexts, this module provides an introduction to the administrative, economic and socio-political contexts in which city making takes place, as well as the role that different groups and interests play in mediating and affecting urban transformation. In doing so, the module will explore questions around the agency of built environment professionals and how the relationships between stakeholders, development projects, finance, activists, and trade-offs in agendas impact the ability of planners and other built environment professionals to pursue the public interest.
20 credits - Planning, Viability and Development
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This module explores the real estate development process and the various influences on the viability of successful development projects. It examines the structure of real estate markets, the roles and objectives of the various stakeholders involved in real estate development, the main aspects of real estate development appraisal and the ways which planning, risk and design influence profitability. Students will work towards recommending a development proposal that offers the greatest likelihood of a successful outcome and in doing so, learn to balance the competing demands of planning, viability and real estate development.
20 credits - Dynamics of Social Change and Policy
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This unit adopts a 'sociological perspective on social policy' to provide a macro perspective on contemporary social and economic transformations in the UK and globally, with a particular emphasis on the challenges posed for social policy theory and practice, as well as the potential to imagine alternative social policy scenarios. Issues considered include: globalisation, neoliberalism, falling fertility and ageing societies, precarious labour markets and migration and mobility. The unit adopts a comparative and international / global perspective, variously emphasising not only the perspectives of International Organisations, but also the challenges faced by other types of welfare regimes.
20 credits - Population and Environment in China
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This module examines the interdependent relationship between population and environment in China. These are vitally important questions, in China and globally, that have attracted research by scholars of contemporary China, and in the wider academic disciplines of human geography and development studies. Through your work in lectures and seminars, you will gain a deep understanding of China's population and environment and its relation to social and economic change and to local and national institutions; and you will develop transferable skills of research, writing and critical analysis.
20 credits
Core modules:
- Plan making and development
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This is an applied project module that provides a thorough grounding in the processes of strategic planning, drawing together and integrating skills developed through Levels 1-3.
20 credits - Professional Skills Development (L3)
-
This module will provide a space for you to consider, plan and reflect on your personal and professional development as you complete your degree programme. It will support you to identify and reflect on the professional and technical skills gained through your other modules as well as the transferable skills covered in the Sheffield Graduate Attributes. It will provide information, advice and support in order to help you get the most out of your learning experience and, through developing self-awareness and reflective skills, to prepare for professional employment or higher-level study. It will also provide an opportunity to learn advanced skills required for success in the recruitment process.
- Dissertation
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This module allows students to develop and manage an individual research project. Building on their topic ideas (submitted at Level 2, linked to TRP215) where they identified a potential research focus, students will refine their topic selection, develop an appropriate research design to address this, and conduct primary or secondary research to provide critical insight and analysis of the issue. The module aims to develop students' skills in scoping and refining an appropriate research topic, expand and deepen their knowledge of social research methods, and support them to design and undertake an appropriate and feasible programme of research. The module will contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of urban studies and planning, and will allow students to deepen their own knowledge in a chosen field of specialist planning concern related to their degree programme. The module will be of interest and practical use to students in carrying out their individual research projects, and in introducing a range of research, analytical and writing skills that will be useful in future careers.
40 credits
Optional modules:
- Democracy and Citizenship: Dilemmas and Tensions
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This module explores how a geographical approach helps us to analyse issues such as controversial election results, divisive immigration policies, and contentious social activism. The two key concepts of democracy and citizenship are used to engage with contemporary debates and theories to draw out the links between geography, policy and society, and the ways in which these are shaped and responded to by citizens, communities, civil society, and political parties. The module emphasises the critical appraisal and interpretation of a variety of perspectives - including our own. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which these interactions are played out across and through multiple scales, from the global to our everyday lives.
20 credits - Consumption and Sustainability
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In this module we critically engage both ‘consumption’ and ‘sustainability’ and work with key debates and approaches that help us to understand what produces and maintains patterns of consumption. We will examine some key debates about material culture and mass consumption. The module studies the social relationships which come together around consumption at a variety of scales, from the body and the home to the national and the trans-national. What can different current approaches tell us about how we can move towards sustainable and socially just patterns of consumption while enjoying a good life?
20 credits - Decolonising Geographies
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This module examines Indigenous geographies through Indigenous storytelling and film as a way to understand the need to decolonise geography. It examines how race, racism, Indigenous rights, settler colonialism, settler responsibility, white supremacy, land rights, dispossession and genocide shape geographies of place, space and landscape, as well as more affirmative visions of Indigenous futures. Topics covered include geographies of identity, emotions, memory, racism, colonialism, gender, landscape, and visual representation. The aim of this module is to centre Indigenous narratives, voices and knowledge to understand geography differently while simultaneously critiquing the current whiteness of academic geographical discourse. Trigger warning - this module engages with potentially distressing and challenging themes of rape, murder, abuse, loss and violence.
20 credits - Challenging Development
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The aim of this module is to critically examine the development process within a global context, drawing on examples from developed and developing nations, to understand the local global nexus. Attention is given to the different ways in which sustainable 'development' is defined, and how we can decolonise development reflecting more critically on our position, and the power relations within this process. Drawing on debates within development geography, and other disciplines, the course is structured around two themes: current global crises and how these affect us all but differently across the globe; and development interventions which aim to tackle global crises globally and locally. Topics covered may include: neoliberalism and its relation to the financial crises, the environmental crises, and its root causes, populism and the rise of inequalities, sustainable development goals, alternatives to development, the pros and cons of the use of technology.
20 credits - Creative Geographies: Media, Imaginaries and Politics
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Place, in all its forms, has long inspired creativity, while the works that result are themselves inherently spatial. This module will explore work from several historical and contemporary creative movements and associated cultural producers in context. Why did their work arise where it did? What difference did that place (or places) make to their aesthetic thought and expression? How was space itself integral to their creative work? This module will guide students through the intricate relationship between art across various media, geography, and the political. Emphasis will be put on specific types of space and place as sites and mediums of aesthetic thought and creative practice. Core themes will include identity, place and displacement, historical imaginations and the built environment, and creativity and socio-spatial transformation.
20 credits - Future Cities
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This module will introduce students to conceptual and policy debates that frame possible urban futures. It will develop students' understanding of the emerging contemporary practices and challenges that are transforming cities, such as smart cities, fantasy urban planning, eco-cities, cities and technology and cities and the super rich. It will also expose students to a range of case studies that present urban issues and processes from both the Global North and the Global South.
20 credits - Sustainable Cities
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This module aims to help students understand current agendas and approaches to environmental and infrastructure planning. The module is set within the context of sustainability and green infrastructure and considers the role of urban planning and design in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Students will make use of urban design and GIS approaches to develop a master-plan that responds to the urban challenges posed by climate change.
20 credits - What it means to be human
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New technologies and new scientific knowledge make powerful claims about `human nature’ that are reconstructing how we understand ourselves. At the same time, they also give us new potential to reshape our bodies and brains. This module aims to critically engage with these developments using concepts from a number of sociological traditions. Can biology tell us anything meaningful about social interaction or racial and gendered differences, or about ability and disability? What are the criteria by which we determine ‘the human’ and who decides what these shall be? Does our psychology have an evolutionary basis? How are the boundaries between humans and machines changing? What is the human impact on the environment? Should we use new technologies to enhance ourselves? The module will provide students with the opportunities and tools to grapple with these and other important questions.
20 credits - Transport and Infrastructure Planning
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This module will provide students with an introduction to planning and policymaking in relation to the provision of transport and other types of infrastructure. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport and infrastructure policy using an appreciation of historic developments, current practices and debates, transport and infrastructure planning examples from the UK and abroad. It will focus on how planners working at a range of spatial scales can give shape to effective transport and infrastructure strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.
20 credits - Housing and Urban Inequalities
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The aims of this Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) accredited module are to build on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing. Emphasis is placed on policy, practice, strategy analysis and understanding the links between housing, planning, social policies and outcomes at national, regional and local levels. The module further aims to: increase understanding of contemporary issues and debates in housing and housing policy and strategies; understand the causes and manifestations of problems, dilemmas and conflicts in housing systems and policy processes; and to develop abilities to synthesise and apply knowledge by understanding and critically assessing potential policy approaches to addressing housing problems.
20 credits - Planning Law
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This course will provide a thorough introduction to the rationale, purposes and values that underpin the legal control of development, including the legal framework for the English planning system and the procedures for the control of development in the English planning system
20 credits
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.
Learning and assessment
Learning
In order to help you develop the practical skills you will need as an urban professional, we typically offer a core field class in your second year. You will also have the option to spend a part of your degree studying at one of our overseas partner universities.
All our teaching is research-led. Our teaching staff are world-leading researchers and experts in their field: in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), the Department of Urban Studies and Planning was ranked as the #1 RTPI-accredited planning school in the UK.
Our expertise ranges from UK and international planning to real estate, geographical information systems (GIS) and global urban development.
Assessment
You will be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. The proportions of these will vary depending on the modules you choose.
Coursework may include essays and reports, policy briefs, case studies, proposed planning interventions and visual media such as academic posters and design portfolios.
Our diverse range of assessments ensures that you develop transferable skills and attributes that are prized by employers.
As a graduate you will be able to confidently and creatively interpret, present and communicate complex information to a variety of audiences.
Programme specification
This tells you the aims and learning outcomes of this course and how these will be achieved and assessed.
Entry requirements
With Access Sheffield, you could qualify for additional consideration or an alternative offer - find out if you're eligible.
The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
ABB
- A Levels + a fourth Level 3 qualification
- BBB + B in a social science related EPQ; BBB + B in Core Maths
- International Baccalaureate
- 33
- BTEC Extended Diploma
- DDD in a relevant subject
- BTEC Diploma
- DD + B at A Level
- Scottish Highers
- AAABB
- Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels
- B + AB at A Level
- Access to HE Diploma
- Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit
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GCSE Maths grade 4/C
The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
BBB
- A Levels + a fourth Level 3 qualification
- BBB + B in a social science related EPQ; BBB + B in Core Maths
- International Baccalaureate
- 32
- BTEC Extended Diploma
- DDM in a relevant subject
- BTEC Diploma
- DD + B at A Level
- Scottish Highers
- AABBB
- Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels
- B + BB at A Level
- Access to HE Diploma
- Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 24 at Distinction and 21 at Merit
-
GCSE Maths grade 4/C
You must demonstrate that your English is good enough for you to successfully complete your course. For this course, we require: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C; IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component; or an alternative acceptable English language qualification
Equivalent English language qualifications
Visa and immigration requirements
Other qualifications | UK and EU/international
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the department.
Graduate careers
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Our Placements, Employability and External Relations team maintains close links with external organisations to ensure that you have access to the world of work. This supports you in gaining an insight into many different professions.
A dedicated Professional Skills module will help develop your career plans and can support you in finding work experience and completing a placement year, which will help you gain practical experience in the workplace.
Most of our graduates go on to work in planning or a related career in the built environment professions, including housing, transport planning, real estate, development control, forward planning, regeneration, urban design, heritage and conservation.
Recent graduates have gone on to work for public and private sector organisations such as AECOM, Arup, CBRE, Deloitte, Harrow London Borough Council, Sheffield City Council, Leicester City Council, North Somerset Council, and the Peak District National Park Authority. More than half of our graduate planners take up posts with planning consultancies and several are employed by major global built environment firms.
Our alumni frequently return to the department to give talks on cutting-edge planning topics. Several alumni sit on our Liaison Board, ensuring our courses are in tune with the needs of employers. Many alumni work at organisations which can offer work placements, or deliver guest lectures within our modules and attend other events.
Careers support: Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Department of Geography
Our courses will develop your ability to analyse global problems from a range of perspectives and at different scales. Our students gain geographical and transferable skills that are highly valued by employers.
Other geography graduates have used these assets to secure employment in teaching, law, patenting, finance and banking.
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
We are the top-rated Royal Town Planning Institute accredited planning school in the UK (REF 2021), with an intellectual reputation for theoretical strength, especially in the fields of urban inequalities and social justice. Study with us and become part of a new and exciting group of urban professionals and change makers.
As a student at Sheffield, you'll develop the knowledge and skills to build a successful career in planning and related urban and environmental professions. You'll be taught by world-leading academics whose cutting-edge research feeds directly into the seminar room. You'll learn using the latest technology in our dedicated teaching spaces; visualising complex data through Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software and using virtual and augmented reality to explore how people interact with urban spaces.
You'll be at the heart of a vibrant academic community and will benefit from an excellent staff-student ratio, resulting in a genuinely friendly and inclusive academic environment. Our open-door policy means you can drop in on your lecturers at any time during their office hours, without an appointment. We believe this will help with your wellbeing and encourage your intellectual curiosity.
We work with national governments, international bodies such as the UN, research councils, private business, the voluntary sector, and local communities to shape policy and inspire change in urban environments. Join us to explore the pathways to creating fair, just and sustainable places.
While studying with us, your home will be our award-winning building which sits in the beautiful surroundings of Weston Park, alongside one of the main University libraries.
Facilities
Urban studies and planning students at Sheffield enjoy exclusive access to their own flexible study space, including high-spec networked computers with the latest specialist design and mapping software.
You'll be able to access course-related software such as geographic information systems (GIS), as well as cutting edge facilities including our virtual reality (VR) studio.
Department of Urban Studies and PlanningDepartment of Geography
The Department of Geography at the University of Sheffield is a world leader in teaching and research. We're ranked within the top 50 universities in the world for geography, according to the QS Rankings 2023 and top 10 in the UK for geography by the Guardian University Guide 2024.
We are experts in the fields of social justice and environmental change. We explore our dynamic, diverse world to address humanity’s greatest problems, from food waste to melting ice sheets. Our innovative research and practice-based learning will equip you with distinct, relevant professional skills.
We have over 30 full-time academic staff in the department. Our high staff-to-student ratio ensures that you receive excellent quality teaching and a high level of pastoral support throughout your studies.
The Department of Geography is housed in an award-winning, purpose-built building on the edge of the beautiful Weston Park, close to the Students' Union and central libraries and lecture theatres.
Facilities
We have a well-equipped computer teaching laboratory, postgraduate and undergraduate physical geography laboratories, and image processing facilities which provide an important component for teaching and research in remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS).
Department of GeographyWhy choose Sheffield?
The University of Sheffield
Number one in the Russell Group
National Student Survey 2023 (based on aggregate responses)
92 per cent of our research is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent
Research Excellence Framework 2021
Top 50 in the most international universities rankings
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023
Number one Students' Union in the UK
Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
Number one for teaching quality, Students' Union and clubs/societies
StudentCrowd 2023 University Awards
A top 20 university targeted by employers
The Graduate Market in 2023, High Fliers report
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Research Excellence Framework 2021
Guardian University Guide 2023
The Complete University Guide 2023
Department of Geography
The Guardian University Guide 2024
QS World University Rankings by subject 2023
Fees and funding
Fees
Additional costs
The annual fee for your course includes a number of items in addition to your tuition. If an item or activity is classed as a compulsory element for your course, it will normally be included in your tuition fee. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.
Funding your study
Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.
Use our Student Funding Calculator to work out what you’re eligible for.
Placements and study abroad
Placement
Study abroad
Visit
University open days
We host five open days each year, usually in June, July, September, October and November. You can talk to staff and students, tour the campus and see inside the accommodation.
Subject tasters
If you’re considering your post-16 options, our interactive subject tasters are for you. There are a wide range of subjects to choose from and you can attend sessions online or on campus.
Offer holder days
If you've received an offer to study with us, we'll invite you to one of our offer holder days, which take place between February and April. These open days have a strong department focus and give you the chance to really explore student life here, even if you've visited us before.
Campus tours
Our weekly guided tours show you what Sheffield has to offer - both on campus and beyond. You can extend your visit with tours of our city, accommodation or sport facilities.
Apply
Contact us
- Telephone
- +44 114 222 6900
- usp@sheffield.ac.uk
The awarding body for this course is the University of Sheffield.
Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.
Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.