Urban Planning and Real Estate
Urban planning and real estate together address some of the most consequential questions in contemporary society: how cities grow, how land is used and valued, how housing is provided, and how built environments shape the lives of the people who inhabit them. Urban planning is concerned with the governance of space, balancing competing interests to create places that are functional, equitable, and sustainable. Real estate adds the dimension of markets, asking how land and property are priced, traded, developed, and invested in.
The two are inseparable in practice.
At University College London, this three-year full-time programme builds on the core planning curriculum and combines it with a rigorous grounding in property markets, investment decisions, and real estate economics. You will study land use policy, urban design, planning law, housing, sustainability, and the politics of development alongside the financial and economic frameworks through which property is valued and traded. The programme is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute, meaning that completing it can count towards professional qualification in both fields.
This dual recognition is unusual and valuable, opening up two distinct professional pathways from a single degree.
With a typical entry tariff of 168 UCAS points, this is a competitive and intellectually demanding programme that attracts students with strong analytical ability and a genuine interest in cities and the built environment. Graduates go into planning consultancies, local authorities, housing associations, property developers, investment funds, surveying firms, and central government. The combination of planning expertise and real estate knowledge is particularly sought after in development roles where land, policy, and finance intersect.
Many graduates pursue postgraduate study or chartership routes in planning or surveying, consolidating their expertise and advancing into senior professional roles.