Overview 2022
Location
Location
- What is an ATAR
- Course rules
- CRICOS: 089608K
View archived years for this course
For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
View the current year's course page
If you are looking to progress to the next stage of your career, or you want to contribute to tackling local, regional and global challenges, this accredited course will take you there.
Planning at the University of Tasmania focuses on contemporary issues and real-world professional development:
Climate challenges. Climate change is the unprecedented crisis of our times and is emerging as the determining factor in how we plan for cities and regions. Our staff are recognised international leaders, with research interests that extend from climate adaptation to the interaction of climate risk with land-use economics. In studying with us, you will attain knowledge and skills in planning for just climate outcomes.
Equitable places. We promote planning for equitable cities and regions, and the island state of Tasmania provides a unique environment in this regard. Urban diversity, cultural landscapes, natural areas and unique ecosystems are in close proximity and all easily accessible. Leveraging the local diversity afforded by the medium sized city of Hobart, we offer electives in environmental planning, protected area planning, sustainability and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
In addition, as a student you will benefit from our close ties with the planning profession, including work placement opportunities and guest lecturers. Low student to teacher ratios maximise opportunities for academic interaction and support.
Course objectives
In this professionally accredited course, you will learn theoretical, technical and communication skills required by planning professionals. You will learn a range of essential planning competencies from the legal or statutory side of planning to the bigger picture or strategic side. These two sides of planning, legal and big picture, combine in a powerful way to enable planners to vision and action more sustainable futures.
There are multiple opportunities for authentic learning and contact with the wider planning community - in class, on professional placement, and in your individual research tasks.
Supported by your teachers and the Planning Institute of Australia’s Young Planners, your course will bridge from a learning environment into workplaces. This helps grow your professional network and actively shape your career path.
Learning Outcomes
Practical experience
This course is specifically designed to prepare you for your career as a planner. As part of everyday teaching, you will receive direct engagement with planning and allied professionals to prepare you for the daily interactions experienced by career planners.
You will undertake a semester long industry placement that provides opportunities to incorporate the knowledge gained in the course into planning practice. You will also collaborate in-class and via distance to gain a breadth of knowledge. Self-directed activities enable you to develop your personal interests.
Classroom work is often done in collaboration with professional planning partners, such as local government and the operations side of the University. This helps expand your professional network and gives you exposure to the complexities and multi-discipline nature of real-world challenges.
"The social interaction for this course is fantastic. There is plenty of time for one-on-one with students and lecturers."
Whether it is making design recommendations for your local urban area, addressing a regional problem through case analysis, or preparing a strategic plan for a community of your choice, you will develop practical skills under the guidance of experts.
Work placement
The course includes KGA709 Professional Practice. In this unit students negotiate placement in a government or private sector organisation which is approved by the University. There they work on one or more practical tasks under the supervision of a suitably qualified professional. Understanding of environmental planning and/or management including organisational structure and functions, the role and responsibilities of planners and/or managers, and basic administrative processes are developed.
Students are encouraged to make contacts within the profession and among stakeholders. Generic issues concerning workplace values, ethics and professional practice are discussed. Assessment draws on students' engagement with the scholarly literature, their documented preparations, outputs and critical reflection throughout the placement. This unit is also part of the current planning courses S6L and S7U.
Career outcomes
"I had the opportunity to take on a Graduate Planning Officer role at Brighton Council during my studies. After graduation I have continued on at the Council as a fully qualified Planning Officer."
As a professional planner, you will be in demand by local and state governments, planning consultancies and community organisations in Australia and around the world.Planners are professionals who work closely with engineers, architects and environmental consultants, providing multi-disciplinary expertise to ensure projects are appropriately investigated and strategically developed.
This course is professionally accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia and offers outstanding career opportunities.
Graduates work as professional planners, managers and policy makers in areas such as:
- strategic and statutory planning
- environmental and social planning
- state government planning and policy agencies
- infrastructure providers
- environmental and natural resource agencies
- Commonwealth environmental and infrastructure agencies
- international and local consulting firms
- local government
- conservation, environmental and community sectors
- business and industry
Professional Accreditation
The Master of Planning is an externally accredited degree.
This course is accredited by the Planning Institue of Australia.
Graduates may meet the requirements for membership of the Planning Institue of Australia. There may be additional requirements for membership beyond the completion of the course.
For further membership requirements, please visit the Planning Institue of Australia website.
If you have any queries about the accreditation process, please contact us for further information.
Course structure
The first year of the Master of Planning (full-time equivalent) comprises Schedule A units (75 credit points), in addition to a choice of elective unit(s) from Schedule B (25 credit points).
The second year of the Master of Planning (full-time equivilant) comprises Schedule C units. If a student meets the requirements for entry into our independent research stream, then the units KGA742 Research Thesis A and KGA743 Research Thesis B will replace KGA703 Professional Research Methods and KGA704 Professional Research Practice.
There is flexibility in the program, particularly for students who already have work experience and would prefer to replace the Professional Placement unit with another unit – chosen from the elective list for Year 1.
If you are starting in 2023 you can find your course planner here – this helps you plan what units to enrol in and when.
Year 1
Core Units - Schedule A
This unit provides a theoretical and conceptual foundation for advanced studies inurban and environmental planning. The unit covers the diverse functions andpurposes of planning. You will have the opportunity to think critically about thephilosophical and historical underpinnings of planning as…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for KGA511 Critical Planning: Theory, Process and Applications
KGA512 Statutory Land Use Planning provides a detailed introduction to the processes and requirements of planning within its legislative context. The regulatory and procedural components of the Tasmanian planning system are covered in detail. You are encouraged to reflect on…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
The principles and practices of urban planning and design shape the physical spaces and social lives of our towns and cities. In this unit, you will learn about the historic and theoretical context of urban design and planning, including Aboriginal…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Core Option Unit(s) - Schedule B
This unit develops an understanding of how instruments of power and organisation can be shaped through effective planning and management, to foster sustainable systems of production and consumption. We begin our journey by examining the concept and interpretations of sustainable…
Credit Points: 25
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for KGA514 Planning and Managing for Sustainable Systems
This unit provides students with a practical understanding of key systems for protected area planning and management. Terrestrial, freshwater and marine protected areas are considered. The global context of protected areas is analysed, including issues of definition, scope and governance.…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for KGA517 Protected Area Planning and Management Systems
In this unit you will develop the knowledge and skills needed to undertake planning for protected area systems. We will explore the frameworks, processes and methods used to identify areas for inclusion in national reserve systems. Students will have the…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Winter school | ||||
This unit provides an introduction to legal, administrative, social and scientific aspects of environmental impact assessment, environmental auditing, environmental management systems and related environmental management tools. The unit emphasises the practical aspects of environmental management for Tasmanian, Australian and international…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly common in our everyday lives, even if we're not necessarily aware of it. This unit looks at how GIS datasets and processes can be used to produce mapped representations of the world around…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
View all details for KGG539 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Year 2
Core Units - Schedule C
Climate change is an unprecedented crisis that is impacting the places where we live and work. We are experiencing physical impacts such as shifting weather patterns, coastal inundation and increasing risk of natural disasters. These are reconfiguring economies, politics and…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for KGA705 Climate Change: Economics, Politics and Planning
Students in this unit will undertake the equivalent of an unpaid, professional placementof 80 hours duration, which gives them a work integrated learningexperience – providing intended learning outcomes that could reasonably beexpected from a placement within a government, non-government or…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Choose from Professional or Research Pathway
Professional Pathway
Professional Pathway
Professional Pathway
This unit focuses on learning research methods to solve real problems. You will come to understand how to design research, define an argument in response to the problems, use scholarly databases, consider ethical issues in data collection, generate field data,…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit provides postgraduate students with the skills and knowledge to undertake policy-based research as a key transferable employability skill. Practical skills development focuses on undertaking research to inform evidence-based policy positions for a topical real-world issue. Upon completing this…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Research Pathway
Research Pathway
The independent research stream requires a coursework average of 75% or over to be achieved in the first year and approval of a research topic from both a supervisor and the Unit Co-ordinator.
Research Pathway
Research and project management skills are core professional competencies. Undertaking a thesis as part of your Masters will equip you with the experience needed to undertake research independently or as part of a team, and the skills to design and…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Research and project management skills are core professional competencies. Undertaking a thesis as part of your Masters will equip you with the experience needed to undertake research independently or as part of a team, and the skills to design and…
Credit Points: 25
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Entry requirements
For Domestic students
Candidates for the Master of Planning shall be qualified for entry if they have qualified for:
- a bachelor degree in any discipline at the University of Tasmania or
- hold other tertiary qualification(s) deemed by the College to be equivalent for this purpose.
For International students
Admission to most postgraduate coursework courses at the University of Tasmania require qualifications equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree. Applicants must achieve the required grade in their qualifying studies, meet any prerequisite subjects, and meet English language requirements to be eligible for an offer.
English Language Requirements
For students who do not meet the English Language Requirement through citizenship or prior studies in English in an approved country, evidence of an approved English language test completed within the last 2 years must be provided. See the English Language Requirements page for more information.
English Language Requirements are: IELTS (Academic) 6.5 (no individual band less than 6.0)
Course Specific Requirements
Candidates for the Master of Planning shall be qualified for entry if they have qualified for:
- admission to a bachelor degree in any discipline at the University of Tasmania or
- hold other tertiary qualification(s) deemed by the College to be equivalent for this purpose.
Credit transfer
Passes in subjects or units in other postgraduate courses (completed or otherwise) in this University or another approved tertiary institution (or other approved professional examining body) may be credited towards the Master of Planning, provided that the Faculty may specify what more a candidate so credited shall be required to do to qualify for the Master of Planning.
Articulation
Students completing the Graduate Diploma of Environmental Planning are eligible for entry into the Master of Planning.
Students completing the thesis pathway of this course can also apply to undertake a PhD in related fields.
Fees & scholarships
Domestic students
This is a full-fee course, which means you’ll need to pay the entire amount for your studies. Commonwealth supported places are not available in this postgraduate course. However, there are still support options available for eligible students to help you manage the cost of studying this course.
You may be able to fund all or part of your tuition fees by accessing a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian Government. FEE-HELP is a loan scheme that assists domestic full-fee students to pay for University, which is repaid through the Australian Tax System once you earn above a repayment threshold. This means you’ll only have to start repaying the loan once you start earning above a specific amount.
Our scholarships and prizes program also offers more than 400 scholarships across all areas of study. You can even apply for multiple scholarships in one easy application.
An important note on Youth Allowance and AustudyThe Department of Social Services has approved some accredited and professionally oriented Masters courses for student payments through Youth Allowance or Austudy. This means if you enrol in one of these courses, you may be eligible for student payments. However, please be aware that this is not the case for all Master courses. Please visit our Scholarships, Fees and Costs website for further information.
Further informationDetailed fee information for domestic students is available at Scholarships, fees and costs, including additional information in relation to the compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
Domestic students enrolled in certain postgraduate coursework programs may not be eligible for student payments through Youth Allowance and Austudy. Visit the Department of Social Services website to find out more about eligibility for Centrelink support and the list of eligible courses
International students
2022 Total Course Fee (international students): $ 69,088 AUD *.
Course cost based on a rate of $33,950 AUD per standard, full-time year of study (100 credit points).
* Please note that this is an indicative fee only.
International students
International students are charged the Student Services and Amenities Fee but this fee is incorporated in the annual rate. International students do not have to make any additional SSAF payments.
Scholarships
Domestic Students
Each year, the University offers more than 900 awards to students from all background, including those who have achieved high academic results, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, students with sporting ability, students undertaking overseas study, and students with a disability.
For information on all scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
Applications for most awards commencing in Semester 1 open at the beginning of August and close strictly on 31 October in the year prior to study.
International students
There are a huge range of scholarships, bursaries and fee discounts available for international students studying at the University of Tasmania. For more information on these, visit the Tasmanian International Scholarships (TIS) website.
How can we help?
Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.
- Domestic
- 13 8827 (13 UTAS)
- International
- +61 3 6226 6200
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
- Online enquiries