Master of Urban Planning (MC-URPL) // Course structure

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Course structure

The Master of Urban Planning requires the successful completion of 200 credit points.

All students must complete:

  • 100 credit points of core subjects
  • 25 credit points of Capstone subjects (MSD Minor Thesis both Part 1 and 2)
  • 75 credit points of elective subjects including
    • A minimum of 50 credit points of Specialisation elective subjects

    • A maximum of 25 credit points of Multidisciplinary (Melbourne School of Design and/or university graduate) elective subjects

Master of Urban Planning (MUP) students can complete specialisation elective subjects and multidisciplinary elective subjects by participating in an exchange program with an overseas university.

To view a sample course plan please go to:

http://edsc.unimelb.edu.au/graduate/course-planning/sample-course-plans-melbourne-school-of-design/urban-planning

Subject Options

Core subjects

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90134 Planning Theory and History
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90135 Analytical Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90130 Planning Law & Statutory Planning
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90246 The Economies of Cities and Regions
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90131 Strategic Plan Making
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90064 Climate Change & Sustainability Planning
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90132 Urban Coding and Design
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90315 Participatory Planning
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Capstone Subjects

All students must complete MSD Minor Thesis both part 1 and 2 (25 points).

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90396 MSD Minor Thesis Part 1
Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90397 MSD Minor Thesis Part 2
Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

The thesis provides the degree's capstone experience and gives students the necessary preparation for professional work and/or doctoral study.

Note:

The MSD Minor Thesis requires two consecutive semesters of enrolment. Students can commence the Minor Thesis (ABPL90396 MSD Minor Thesis Part 1) either in Semester 1 or 2 and must continue (ABPL90397 MSD Minor Thesis part 2) in the following semester. Upon successful completion of Minor Thesis (both part 1 and 2), students will receive 25 points credit.

Multidisciplinary electives

Students may choose any masters-level subjects including:

Note:

Master of Urban Planning (MUP) students may apply to use points arising from a Melbourne School of Design Travelling Studio towards either the multidisciplinary elective, specialisation elective (with program coordinator approval) components of the course:

https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/subject-information/travelling-studios

Specialisation elective subjects

The required 'specialisation electives' can be made up from any the subjects on the following list. These subjects are listed by themes which reflect research and teaching interests within the Urban Planning Program. It is not necessary to limit choice to any one theme: specialisation electives can be taken in any combination.

In each theme, some electives are taught directly by staff from the UP Program, others are delivered by other programs or faculties, and have been chosen because they are known to offer content directly relevant to planning.

Students may also take other graduate level subjects from the Melbourne School of Design or other faculties as specialisation electives, with written approval from the home faculty and the MUP Program Coordinator.

Environment

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90341 Urban Environmental Policy and Planning
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90320 Building Resilient Settlements
November (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
EVSC90015 Environmental Impact Assessment
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90283 Ecology for Design
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
HORT90039 Green Infrastructure for Liveable Cities
February (On Campus - Burnley)
 12.5
FOOD90041 The Politics of Food
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90405 Energy & Carbon in the Built Environment
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90404 Place Making for The Built Environment
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Social Planning

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90280 City Lights: Cities, Culture and History
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90322 Human Environments Relations
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90321 Building the Brief: People Process Place
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90441 Planning Studio
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90266 Inclusive Cities
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90022 Healthy Communities
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90377 Design for Ageing Not available in 2025 12.5
ENST90002 Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90011 Foundations of Social Policy
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

International Development and Planning

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90065 Managing Global City Regions
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90279 Cities Without Slums
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90055 Planning Asia Pacific Cities Studio
November (Off Campus)
 12.5
PLAN90003 City Leadership
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PLAN90002 Comparative Urban Planning
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Transport

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90077 Introduction to Transport and Land Use
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90090 Public Transport Network Planning
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CVEN90048 Transport Systems
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90056 Urban Transport Politics Not available in 2025 12.5
CVEN90061 Freight Systems
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Analytic Methods

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90319 GIS In Planning, Design & Development
June (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90366 Urban Informatics No longer available
ABPL90017 Urban Design Theory
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PLAN90001 Urban Demography and Statistics
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
NRMT90003 Social Research Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90407 Representing Spatial Information
Term 1 (Online)
 12.5
ABPL90408 Spatial Analytics Not available in 2025 12.5

Property

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90281 Housing Markets, Policy and Planning
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90040 International Property Development B Not available in 2025 12.5
ABPL90339 International Real Estate Economics
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90026 Property Development
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90406 Financial Engineering in Property
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ABPL90409 Realising The Knowledge Economy
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Bushfire Planning

Code Name Study period Credit Points
EVSC90022 Bushfire Urban Planning
April (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
EVSC90023 Building Behaviour in Bushfires
September (Online)
 12.5
ABPL90320 Building Resilient Settlements
November (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
FRST90025 Patterns and Processes of Landscape Fire
February (Online)
 12.5
FRST90017 Bushfire Planning & Management
September (Online)
 12.5

Last updated: 27 February 2025