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Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning

The Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning provides a full professional qualification in planning for people who already have a degree in another field, or who have considerable practical experience in planning.

Is it offered externally? Yes. In fact most of our Graduate Diploma students are external. There are about 200 people currently enrolled, from a wide variety of backgrounds. UNE has been involved in distance education for many, many years.

How long will it take me? The program consists of a minimum of 48 credit points and a maximum of 72 credit points. The length of the program depends on whether we can exempt you from any units, on the basis of your previous studies. Most external students undertake two units or 12 credit points per semester, and take two to three years to complete the program.

Am I eligible? To enter the Graduate Diploma program you will need to have

  • either, a university degree
  • or, another tertiary non-degree qualification deemed by the Faculty to be acceptable (the equivalent of at least two years full time or four years part time tertiary study is looked for, and in this case substantial relevant professional experience is also required),

You may also be admitted to the Graduate Diploma if you have completed at least the equivalent of two years full-time study toward a UNE Bachelor's degree (other than the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning).

If you have little or no previous tertiary study behind you, and if you are working in or on the edges of the local government planning system, you could consider undertaking the Diploma in Town Planning.

Does it matter what field my previous studies were in? No, it doesn't matter. Your previous qualifications don't need to be related to planning.

Professional recognition? Yes, the Graduate Diploma is recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia. It makes you eligible for membership of the Institute, after completion of the necessary practical experience.

Is the course based on New South Wales planning legislation? Not specifically. Because we have students from all Australian states and from outside Australia, we try to teach in a generic way, dealing with general principles.

Fees? Places in the Graduate Diploma are Commonwealth supported. Most of the units are in Band 2. More details

For international students -- i.e. anybody who is not (1) an Australian citizen, (2) the holder of an Australian Permanent Residence visa, or (3) a New Zealand citizen --  should visit the web pages of the the UNE International Office, or email an enquiry to that office.

Will I need a computer, and internet access? Yes, you will. Online discussion is an important aspect of many of the units in the program. Distance education at UNE is a hybrid of traditional "correspondence" teaching and online teaching. Online communication allows for the possibility of class conversation and teacher-student contact, through the semester.

How does the distance education system work? Course material is posted to you at the beginning of the semester. Material may also be available online. During the semester you will probably have to complete at least one assignment, per unit, and maybe two or more. These are normally submitted and returned through the mail. At the end of a semester most units have an exam. You won't have to travel far for that. The university organises local exam centres close to every student's home, all over Australia and even outside Australia.

Will I need to travel to Armidale? Not necessarily. None of the core units (see below) has any compulsory attendance requirements. Some of the core units have optional residential schools in Armidale, or field schools elsewhere. These schools generally run for three or four days, and are greatly appreciated by many external students because of the opportunity they provide for face to face interaction and socialisation with staff and fellow-students. A small number of elective units have compulsory residential schools.

What subjects are included in the Graduate Diploma? Each person's Graduate Diploma program is made up of

  • eight compulsory core units, and
  • four electives.

The core units are:

Semester 1 (February to June)

  • GEPL301 Property Development
  • GEPL320 Principles of Development Control
  • GEPL345 Regional Development Policy
  • GEPL322 Cradle to Grave: Population Geography

Semester 2 (July to November):

It is possible to gain exemption from up to four of the above core units, if in your previous studies you have already passed units which, individually or in combination, substantially cover the subject matter of those units, or if you can demonstrate that you have many years of professional experience dealing directly with the subject matter of those units.

In addition to the core units listed above, worth six credit points each, you must choose elective units, to the value of 24 credit points, from the following list. Not all of these units are necessarily available every year. It is not possible to gain exemptions for elective units.

(Note: It is always advisable to check that particular units are offered in a particular year, and in the semester stated here.)

Semester 1

  • GEPL338 Research Methods (Quantitative and qualitative)
  • GEPL311 Coasts and Catchments (Special reference to water flow, catchments, soil erosion, coastal processes.)
  • RSNR404 Project Management
  • SOCY412 Social Policy
  • EM312 Impact Assessment in Natural Resources Management
  • HIST335 Heritage Conservation. (External only. Introduction to heritage issues. Analysis and evaluation of heritage items.)
  • ECON226 Benefit-Cost Analysis (focussing on agriculture, the environment, land use & resource management.)
  • GEPL214 The Road to Riches? Development and Change in Asia (Understanding of the realities of life in developing nations.)
  • GEPL304 Cyberspace (Social, political, economic and global geographical implications of modern telecommunications.)
  • ARPA452 Public Archaeology. (Technical, social, ethical and political issues in the conservation of archaeological remains.)
  • GEPL399 Sport: Its Place in the World. (Effects on urban and regional development. Participation. Hallmark events. Tourism.)
  • PHIL366 The Ethics of Environmentalism

Semester 2

  • EM311 Land Assessment for Sustainable Use (Land degradation issues, land capability classification etc)
  • GEPL321 Advanced population Studies. (Builds on GEPL 222)
  • HIST 373 Australian Architecture, Buildings and Lifestyles, 1788-1980. (History of the Australian built environment.)
  • GEPL324 Rural Planning and Resource Management. (Environmental, social and economic aspects of agriculture, forestry, mining and water management.)
  • GEPL344 Leisure, Recreation and Tourism. (Environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of leisure, recreation and tourism. Heritage, cultural and eco-tourism.)
  • GEPL307 Climate Change and Future Planning (Conceiving the future, from various perspectives.)
  • GEPL341 Topics in Biogeography
  • GEPL361Retail Geography, Planning and Practice. (The retail industry. Assessing the impact of retail development.)
  • GEPL370 Your Place or Mine? People and Power in Place. (The social significance of "place".)
  • GEPL352 Changing Communities: Development Planning ('Development' in Practice in developing countries.)
  • HIST456 Australian Public History. (The presentation of history to Australian communities through buildings, precincts, monuments and museums.)
  • EM234 introduction to GIS
  • RSNR402 Freshwaters: Ecology Management
  • GEPL435 Environmental Planning & Administration

Double-semester 12-credit-point units

  • GEPL455 Dissertation
  • Geographic Information Systems. (Massey University, NZ * See below) This unit can be begun in either semester.
  • Planning Theory. (Nature, purpose and methods of planning. Planning theory in a free market economy.) (Massey)
  • Natural Resource Planning. (Application of the concept of sustainable development to the management of biophysical resources and systems.) (Massey)

Either semester

  • GEPL454 Special Reading Unit in Planning

* Massey University (Palmerston North, New Zealand). The planning schools at UNE and Massey have established a partnership, under which students in UNE's Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning, or in Massey's Master of Resource and Environmental Planning, may enrol in units at the other institution, and have them counted towards their own qualification. The three Massey units potentially available (although they are not offered every year) are double-semester units, worth 12 UNE credit points. You can take these units as electives. They can be done externally and online, with no on-campus attendance. For further information on this possibility, see http://planning.massey.ac.nz/mrp/mrpindex.htm and contact Paul McFarland by phone on 02 6773 2821, or email pmcfarla@une.edu.au.

Graduation levels. To gain your Graduate Diploma at the level of Pass with Merit, or Pass with Exceptional Merit, you need to have completed GEPL 455, Dissertation, as an elective. However, admission to GEPL 455 is limited to people who have achieved excellent grades in their other units. We look for at least a Credit average. To be admitted to GEPL 455 you also need to have taken GEPL 330 Research Methods, as an elective, or to have covered material similar to GEPL 330 in your previous studies.

Completing GEPL 455 involves undertaking a substantial piece of independent research. Being a two semester unit, it is worth 12 credit points. It qualifies you for possible enrolment in a higher research degree, such as a Masters or PhD, at some later date.

Applications. The UAC Postgraduate Booklet which includes an application form can be obtained from the UNE Student Centre.

Alternatively, prospective NEW students to UNE can apply directly, online, via the UAC website at www.uac.edu.au/postgraduate.html .

Previous or resuming students of UNE do not apply through UAC but directly to UNE, using the form at: http://www.une.edu.au/for/future-students/postgraduates/admissions.php.

Applications should generally be received by 28 November for commencement of studies in first semester at the beginning of the following year, or by the end of May for a mid-year start.

Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning

Questions? If you need to discuss your situation, contact Paul McFarland

02 6773 2821 or email pmcfarla@une.edu.au