Universities and Online Degrees Guide

University of the Witwatersrand

Master of Science in Development Planning

The Master of Science in Development Planning in Engineering and Technology is offered by University of the Witwatersrand.

Program Length: 1 YEAR.

Master of Science in Development Planning offered by the University of the Witwatersrand

The Master of Science in Development Planning (MSc DP) is a one-year/two-year part time planning degree accredited by the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN).

The MSc DP enables graduates to register as professional planners with SACPLAN once they have completed the degree and have acquired at least two years’ relevant work experience. 

The degree is designed to enable students holding the Postgraduate Diploma in Planning or equivalent to qualify as professional planners. Students with an Honours degree or equivalent from an accredited urban and regional planning programme may also undertake the degree.

The MSc DP stresses the interdisciplinary diagnosis/analysis and prognosis for planning issues across all scales, and it provides graduates with an interdisciplinary base from which to approach the diverse issues involved in development planning. The objective of the programme is to ensure that learners have the knowledge and skills to conduct research and, in a professional capacity, guide processes of change in urban and rural domains. Its purpose is also to educate and train planning practitioners, researchers, scholars and policy makers.

The qualification gives students the opportunity to develop a critical awareness of the social, economic and management issues underlying socio-economic change; build their critical, analytical, and integrative skills for resolving human and environmental development challenges; enhance their knowledge for informed decision and policy-making on development issues; as well as providing operational skills pertinent to working in the public, private or community domains; and practical research experience and opportunities for reflection.