Graduate Diploma in Urban Planning

During this course you will:

1. Learn from Australia’s best planning practitioners in a program recognised by employers as delivering high-quality, job-ready graduates.
2. Tailor your program to match your career goals through practical and flexible elective courses.
3. Benefit from collaborative learning spaces, such as the $1.5 million Planning Studio, that allow you to integrate maps, plans and computers while working together as a group and with external bodies to address real planning challenges.

Urban planning is about improving the quality of cities and regions. Professional planners assist communities, companies and governments to integrate the environmental, economic and social aspects of development from small sites up to whole regions. Planning deals with strategic work (long-range planning) as well as structural and statutory components in relation to built and natural environments and the legislative framework controlling land use. Accordingly, planning is closely allied with commerce, government, sociology, communities and the ecology disciplines. 

The Graduate Diploma is designed for recent graduates in any field, and for established professionals who wish to extend their skills and expertise. It will also help provide a preparation for entry into a masters program.

Recommended study pattern

The Graduate Diploma in Urban Planning is a 1 year course for a full-time student. Each year consists of 2 Study Periods, also known as semesters. The recommended study pattern consists of 7 core subjects and 1 elective subject, with 4 to be completed in your first study period and 4 in your second.

Award requirements

To qualify for the Graduate Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning, students must satisfactorily complete a program of study consisting of 8 subjects.

Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.

Indicative total fee $10,520

The amounts shown here are indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.

Fees may vary depending on:

• the subjects you choose
• credit from previous work experience
• your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.

To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.

For more than a century, The University of Queensland (UQ) has delivered knowledge leadership for a better world. The most prestigious and widely recognised rankings of world universities consistently place UQ among the world's top universities. UQ has also won more national teaching awards than any other Australian university. This commitment to quality teaching empowers our 56,000 current students, who study across UQ’s three campuses, to create positive change for society.

Learn more about UQ.

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QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

6

Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

5

To be eligible for entry, you'll need: 

• a bachelor's degree or above in any discipline, except qualifications accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia.

You must have a grade point average (GPA) of 4.5 on a 7-point scale in your previous qualification.

All applicants must satisfy the UQ English language proficiency requirements for admission.

If you've completed previous study, you may be eligible to receive credit for – or exemption from – certain subjects in a UQ program.

Please note that select subjects and assessments may require in-person attendance. Please review the courses and program structure for further details.