Bachelor (Honours)
Global warming and growing populations continue to impact both natural and urban environments. There's a growing demand for planners who can design spaces and places that promote community wellbeing and reduce our carbon footprint.*
La Trobe's Bachelor of Planning (Honours) gives you a comprehensive planning and design skillset, ranging from environmental strategies and assessments through to infrastructure and transport planning. Gain the foundations for a successful career developing sustainable and inclusive communities.
Discover ways to improve how humans interact with natural environments through areas like policy planning and urban design. Build the expertise required to navigate complex regulatory frameworks at local, state and federal government levels.
Explore how global warming, urbanisation and land use impact food, water and environmental security. Find out how urban design, community engagement, and public and private sector partnerships work to address these issues and drive the sustainable growth of cities.
Gain a career advantage by developing sought-after industry skills in professional communication, mediation, negotiation and community relations, as well as technical skills in design and social and demographic analysis. Then, boost your industry experience and professional network by completing a work placement in your third year.
You'll also have the opportunity to engage directly with communities through real-world projects and regular field trips. Previous students have participated in a range of field trips, from country towns in rural Victoria to metropolitan cities in Asia and Europe.
Graduate ready to shape the sustainable towns and cities of the future.
You'll learn:
The qualification awarded on graduation is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) as Level 8 - Bachelor Degree Honours.
Please note, the following course structure is indicative and subject to change depending on your course location, offer year or how you tailor your course with specialisations, majors, minors and electives. Structures for the following year are not normally finalised until October, so the sample provided is based on the most recently approved structure. For more information, please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook.
To qualify for the award of Bachelor of Planning (Honours), students must complete a total of 480 credit points across 4 years.
Year 1 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
Year 2 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
Year 3 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
Year 4 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
Core subjects are required subjects in your course. You need to complete these subjects to attain your degree.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points ACADEMIC INTEGRITY MODULE LTU0AIM 1 0 WOMINJEKA LA TROBE: INDIGENOUS CULTURAL LITERACY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ABS0WOM 1 0 CLIMATE, SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY ENV1CSS 1 15 EXPLORING LIVING ENVIRONMENTS PLA1ELE 1 15 INTRODUCING PLAN MAKING PLA1ISP 1 15 MAPPING, ANALYSING AND VISUALISING DATA GEG1MAV 1 15 SOCIETY, PEOPLE AND PLACE GEG1SPP 1 15 AUSTRALIAN CITIES AND REGIONS GEG2ACR 2 15 FOOD WATER AND ENVIRONMENT GEG3FWE 2 15 PLANNING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY PLA2PES 2 15 POWER AND PLACE GEG2PPP 2 15 RURAL AND REGIONAL PLANNING PLA2RRP 2 15 URBAN DESIGN PROJECT PLA2PPA 2 15 ASIA-PACIFIC CITIES GEG3001 3 15 CITY STUDIO: COMMUNITY PLANNING AND PLACEMAKING PLA3001 3 15 MOBILITIES AND TRANSPORT PLANNING PLA4MOB 3 15 PLANNING LAW AND POLICY LAW3PLN 3 15 REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GEG3RED 3 15 EXTENDED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE HUS3EEP 3 30 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLA4001 4 15 GOVERNANCE, PUBLIC POLICY & LEGISLATION PLA4UGP 4 15 NEGOTIATION, MEDIATION AND COMMUNITY CONSULTATION PLA4NMC 4 15 PLANNING THEORY URBAN STRATEGY AND DESIGN PLA5TSD 4 15 RESEARCH SKILLS HUS5ADR 4 15
A range of standalone elective subjects is available in this course. Some electives are recommended for your course, but you may also be able to choose from a range of University-wide electives or electives from other interest areas or disciplines. Note these electives may have their own prerequisites and other requirements. Please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook for the subjects available.
Core choice subjects are one or more subject groups you need to select in your course. Core choice subjects may be specific to your course, major, minor, specialisation or other learning requirements.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points ECONOMIC ISSUES AND PUBLIC POLICY BUS1BUE 1 15 INTRODUCTION TO ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA ABS1IAA 1 15 POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS POL1PPE 1 15 READING AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPES OED1RAL 1 15 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW LST2EL 2 15 PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS ECO2ERE 2 15
Capstone subjects are required subjects in your course or major that help you integrate and apply the knowledge and skills you gain to solve real world problems. Capstone subjects are often taken towards the end of your course.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE, ETHICS AND RESEARCH PROJECT PLA4PPE 4 30The Handbook contains detailed course information designed for enrolled students, including course structures, electives and options. The delivery of this course can vary between campuses.
To view other campus handbook course details, please select relevant campus in the drop down.
After graduation, you could work in the planning and environment management departments of local and state governments, regional bodies, research organisations and the private sector.
Possible roles include:
The Bachelor of Planning (Honours) is accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). Graduates of the Bachelor of Planning (Honours) are eligible for membership with the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). Professional membership may require an application to the professional body and may have additional or ongoing requirements beyond the completion of the degree. Please contact the relevant professional body for details.