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QTAC code (Australian and New Zealand applicants): Toowoomba campus: 907241; External: 907245

CRICOS code (International applicants): 098374D

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Professional accreditation

The Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) is accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia and graduates may seek Planner registration with the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).

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Program aims

The Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) program provides students with the educational requirements to become a professional planner and the ability to undertake postgraduate studies. The program equips students with a core of theoretical, scientific, analytical, managerial, professional, research and communication skills that will permit them to undertake an in-depth study of the fundamental science and practice of Urban and Regional Planning. The program provides students with sufficient knowledge of urban and regional planning to be eligible to gain employment, certification and, where appropriate, registration as a professional planner.

In addition, students obtain knowledge of the natural, legal, commercial, industrial and social environments in which they will function as professionals. The program instils in students the need for continuing professional development and is designed to identify, and award honours to, students who have the capacity to undertake study at an advanced level and to make an original contribution to the fundamental science and practice of urban and regional planning. The class of honours will be determined by academic performance. Refer to the Honours section of this entry for further details.

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Program objectives

A student who successfully completes the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) should be able to:

• review and apply theories, concepts, methods and technologies, with initiative and judgement, to a range of diverse contexts associated with urban and regional planning

• critically analyse, consolidate, synthesise and evaluate information to generate innovative and sustainable solutions to solve complex Urban and Regional planning problems

• apply advanced technical and cognitive skills to design, collect, store and manipulate research data

• accept responsibility for own learning and autonomously apply well-informed judgements regarding professional practices, theories and processes

• employ a range of advanced oral and written communication skills to clearly and coherently communicate concepts, information and ideas to relevant stakeholders

• consistently apply academic norms and ethical standards to decision making processes when working collaboratively in a professional capacity.

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Australian Qualifications Framework

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a single national, comprehensive system of qualifications offered by higher education institutions (including universities), vocational education and training institutions and secondary schools. Each AQF qualification has a set of descriptors which define the type and complexity of knowledge, skills and application of knowledge and skills that a graduate who has been awarded that qualification has attained, and the typical volume of learning associated with that qualification type.

This program is at AQF Qualification Level 08. Graduates at this level will have advanced knowledge and skills for professional or highly skilled work and/or further learning.

The full set of levels criteria and qualification type descriptors can be found by visiting .

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Program Information Set

View USQ’s admission criteria, student profiles and a summary of all offers made under via the QTAC website.

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

• Have achieved a minimum Overall Position (OP) 14, tertiary entrance rank 70 or equivalent qualification.^

• Subject Pre-requisite: English (4,SA).

• English Language Proficiency requirements for Category 2.

Applicants are advised to also address the following:

• expectations: Mathematics A

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If students do not meet the English language requirements they may apply to study a ¾«¶«´«Ã½app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, students may be admitted to an award program.

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Program fees

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth supported place is where the Australian Government makes a contribution towards the cost of a students' higher education and students pay a , which varies depending on the courses undertaken. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

Commonwealth Supported students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called .

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the

Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.

Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

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Program structure

The Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) is a 32-unit program comprising academic courses plus Practice courses.

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Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 10 years to complete this program.

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Electives/Approved courses

Approved courses are part of the Academic program and students must select approved courses from a specified list.

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Practice courses

The majority of the practical and professional experience requirements for the program are contained within the major recommended enrolment pattern in the following table. These are zero unit courses, which are a compulsory part of the program, however they do not attract a student contribution charge for Australian Residents or a tuition fee for international students.

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Practical experience

Practical experience is desirable and encouraged but is not required for the completion of the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) program. Students are encouraged to obtain practical experience during vacation periods.

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IT requirements

Access to an up-to-date computer is necessary. On-campus students can access appropriately equipped laboratories, but should consider acquisition of their own computer. External students should be able to access a computer with the following as advised by the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app. All students should have access to email and the Internet via a computer running the latest versions of Internet web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. The ¾«¶«´«Ã½app has a wireless network for on-campus students' computers. In order to take advantage of this facility and further enhance their on-campus learning environment, students should consider purchasing a notebook/laptop computer with wireless connectivity. Specialist software is required for some courses.

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Residential schools

The attendance requirement of residential schools within this degree is indicated by the following letters: V = Voluntary; O = Optional; C = Compulsory; R = Recommended; HR = Highly Recommended; M = Mandatory. To find out more about , visit the to view specific dates for your degree, or visit the .

Students are required to undertake practical and professional activities relevant to their program through enrolment in a series of Practice courses in the program. Practice courses are zero unit courses that may be undertaken in either on-campus or external mode and the final grades available are Pass (P)/Fail (F) only. They are a compulsory part of the program and do not attract a student contribution charge for Australian residents or a tuition fee for international students. The recommended enrolment schedule for Practice courses is shown in the Recommended Enrolment Pattern for the program in this Handbook.

External students must attend a number of during their program to obtain experience in practical and professional activities appropriate to the program. The residential schools are included in Practice courses which are conducted in Semester 3 or during the recess periods. The dates for each residential school Practice course are shown in the in this Handbook and external students should ensure they are able to attend the residential school prior to enrolling in a Practice course. Personal protective equipment is compulsory in many engineering, construction and spatial science laboratories, students should confirm the requirements before attending residential schools for Practice courses.

Students who enrol in on-campus mode for Practice courses normally undertake a series of weekly activities and/or attend a compulsory residential school.

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Exit points

Students who, for whatever reason, are unable to complete the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) and who satisfy all of the requirements of the Associate Degree of Spatial Science may be permitted to exit with that award.

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Credit

Exemptions/credit will be assessed based on the .

Work Experience

Work and industrial experience that has not been formally assessed, does not normally qualify for course credit in the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) program.

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Honours

The level of honours awarded will be determined based on the USQ procedure. Please refer to the , using Schedule B for overall GPA and EITHER: the average grade across both and ; OR the grade in alone (whichever is the higher) to satisfy the ‘Performance in honours project component’.

Recommended enrolment pattern

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Recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

To satisfy the requirements of the program students must complete all of the Academic and Practice courses in the following table that shows the recommended enrolment patterns for on-campus and external students for our Toowoomba campus. Students following a non-standard enrolment pattern should consult the to ascertain if a course is offered in another term.

Notes

For students transferring from one program to another a complete list of enrolment requirements are available in the .
Students may undertake only one appropriate level five or level eight course from this program or another program in the area of Engineering and Built Environment as an approved course with the approval of the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences.