Bachelor of Planning, abbreviated as B.Plan, is a four year full time Bachelors degree programme in Planning offered by Department of Planning, SPAV, which teaches students about thefundamentals aspects and specialised techniques of spatial planning in a comprehensive manner that ranges from neighbourhood to regional planning.
The curriculum is designed to impart basic skills related to settlement patterns, growth and design, that would help students later in their careers to serve in various professional capacities in planning, development and management agencies in the public sector as well as private consultancy organizations. The aim of the programme is multi-disciplinary in nature - drawing from the field of city planning, blending the knowledge from architecture, engineering, geography, economics, sociology, management, law, etc. During the programme, the students are equipped with the knowledge of basic theories, techniques, and design concepts from mainstream of town and country planning. Adequate emphasis is given to practicals / lab oriented design exercises, where the students have opportunity oflearning by doing.
The course structure and syllabus of the B.Plan programme is designed in coherence with the Model Curriculum for B.Plan, All India Council for Technical Education, 2008. B.Plan programme is divided into eight semesters where each semester has a combination of planning studio, lab-based subjects and theory courses. The first four semesters focus on core theories and techniques in planning, while the final four semesters help develop advanced skill sets, with domain specialisations.
The planning studio exercises progress from basic technical drawing to preparation of base maps, then to site planning and traffic and transportation planning. The fifth and the sixth semester focus on studios in urban context and application oriented theories. In the seventh semester, the scale of study deals at a regional level with theory subjects emphasising on governance and finance. The eighth semester is about conducting an independent scientific research – culminating all the knowledge and learnings from previous semesters - in the form of a thesis on a topic of interest of each individual student. During the course of the study, the students also undergo Practical Professional Training. After completion of the fourth semester students, are required to work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and after their sixth semester they work in planning, organisations in the public sector or private consultancy organizations.
Career Prospects
Upon graduation, the students are accepted as full-fledged planning professionals in the discipline of Town and Country Planning. They work as planners, development practitioners, and researchers in the field of planning. The students are accredited as Associate Members by the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) under Ministry of Urban Development, Govt of India, after they acquire two year professional experience.
