Architecture, Planning and Design have always been 3 very closely related fields with professionals and academics often dabbling into all 3 at some point in their careers or in some cases even simultaneously. While the degree for architectural design and planning initially covered various aspects of design, research and urban living, it became necessary to study, learn and apply both of these fields more extensively due to rapid urbanisation and various environmental issues of the modern times, thereby separating design from planning. Although at its core both of these fields thrive on the same principle of creating functional spaces, there are some key elements that set them apart.
Bachelor of Planning is a four year full time course that provides an academic degree for undergraduate students. Students are trained and educated about various planning techniques for human settlements. It also deals with a number of other fields related to urban human settlements such as engineering, managing, designing and resolving challenges using advanced research as well as practical experiments and on site evaluation of the same. The main objective of this course is to make the best use of all the available resources and create a functional and comfortable environment. It also plays a big part in making design and planning changes in already built and well established cities through extensive research, observation and change in planning via various practical experiments to get the best results for the people and environment. Throughout the entire course students learn skills such as designing, numeracy, field research and computer-aided designing.
Eligibility Criteria for B. Planning
Candidates wishing to apply for the course need to fulfil the below-mentioned eligibility criteria:
● Completion of 10+2 level of education from a recognised educational board
● A minimum aggregate of 50% at the HSC level
● Mathematics as a subject at 10+2 level of education
Entrance Examinations
Most of the Institutes who offer the course of bachelor of planning accept students on the basis of entrance exams as well as the average score of the student in the 10+2 board system, giving equal weightage to both the entrance exams as well as the board examinations. Some institutes conduct their own entrance exams while majority colleges in India accept students on the basis of score obtained in the following entrance exams:
Joint Entrance Exam - JEE Mains (Paper 3 for B. Planning)
National Amplitude Test in Architecture (NATA)
Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Exam (UPSEE)
Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET)
Course Structure
The course consists of a total of 8 semesters over a span of 4 years, with 2 semesters in every academic year. During this course students will learn a number of subjects such as:
● Fundamentals of Urban and Regional Planning
● Fundamentals of Building Structures
● Materials and Principles of Construction
● Statistical and Quantitative Methods in Planning
● Technical Report Writing and Research Methodology
● Basic Architectural Design
● Planning and Design Lab
Students will additionally learn subjects such as sustainable development and environmental planning which will also play a big role in their practice. The students will also have a number of elective subjects to choose from as per their field of interests while some subjects like Planning and Design remain constant as the most essential subject through the entire course ending with a Thesis project at the end of the eighth semester.
Here are the Top Colleges in India for Bachelors in Planning
1. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) – New Delhi
2. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) – Bhopal
3. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) – Vijayawada
4. Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) – Bhopal
5. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) – Mysore
6. Amity University of Architecture and Planning – Noida
7. Intergal College – Lucknow
8. College of Engineering – Pune
9. CEPT University – Ahmedabad
10. NIMS University – Jaipur
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