Geography and Planning

Geography and planning are disciplines with a natural affinity. Geography provides the analytical tools to understand how cities, regions, and landscapes work as physical, social, and economic systems. Planning translates that understanding into practical decisions about how land is used, how development is managed, and how communities can be shaped to be more equitable, sustainable, and liveable.

Practitioners at the interface of these two fields are essential to the way the built environment evolves, working with politicians, communities, developers, and environmental organisations to achieve outcomes that balance competing interests.

At Dundee, this four-year programme develops your geographical knowledge alongside planning skills and theory. You will study urban and rural geography, environmental systems, and the social and economic geographies of place, while also engaging with planning law and policy, development management, and the processes through which land-use decisions are made and contested. The programme reflects the reality that planners work across a wide range of sectors and with a diverse set of stakeholders, and that effective practice requires both technical knowledge and the ability to navigate complexity and conflict.

A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you exposure to planning systems and urban challenges in a different national context.

Graduates from geography and planning programmes go on to work as town planners, urban designers, policy analysts, environmental consultants, and researchers in local authorities, government agencies, private development firms, and environmental organisations. The programme provides a strong foundation for Royal Town Planning Institute accreditation and professional practice. Further study at postgraduate level, including planning-specific master's programmes, is a common and well-supported progression route.