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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of City and Regional Planning 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
94631  Master of City and Regional Planning 
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 12 - Physical Planning and Construction  Physical Planning, Design and Management 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  184  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The primary purpose of the Master of City and Regional Planning Degree is to build on the Bachelor of City Planning Honours by expanding the learners' conceptual knowledge and skills to regional planning, to advanced environmental assessment, and to do in-depth research in the form of a 120-credit dissertation. It comprises theory courses, project work and a dissertation.

This Master's Degree is a professional qualification that develops students' specialist values, knowledge and skills necessary to make a contribution to society through meaningful planning and intervention in the built environment. The Master's Degree will extend the understanding of city planning (acquired in the linked Honours Degree) through a dissertation (should the dissertation focus on city planning) and through a course dealing with environmental impact assessment. It will impart the values, knowledge and skills for regional planning (and extend these should the dissertation focus on regional planning).

Rationale:
City and Regional Planning is a recognised profession under the Planning Professions Act of 2003. It is a designated scarce skill in terms of the South African Government's Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) as part of its accelerated economic growth programme. It responds to environmental, infrastructural and socio-economic priorities at national, provincial and local levels of governance. This degree will enable learners to achieve a professional qualification as a city and regional planner.

City and Regional Planners address the socio-economic and spatial development challenges of contemporary South Africa through the promotion of inclusive settlements and cities. It is core to enabling a sustainable built environment. The interdisciplinary qualification is informed by principles of engaged citizenship, social, spatial and environmental justice. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
RPL is designed to support access to higher education for candidates who have gained degree-related knowledge and skills through informal study or experiential means. In the academic context, it is the acknowledgment that academically significant and socially-useful knowledge is acquired through multiple formal, informal and non-formal means. This includes knowledge gained through non-formal study, paid work and unpaid work, community and organisational involvement, and individual enquiry.

The University process typically applies the process to applicants who have been outside of formal education for several years and who have gained experience in a work environment which they now wish to supplement with a formal higher education qualification.

The purposes of RPL:
  • To recognise and, where appropriate, grant advanced standing for the expertise gained by skilled individuals in non-academic contexts.
  • To contribute to the holistic assessment and self-assessment of people entering onto a learning path.
  • To enrich the academy and the curriculum by facilitating dialogue across sites of knowledge and practice.
  • To facilitate access to higher education and provide redress for historical inequities.
  • To promote and facilitate lifelong learning.

    Entry Requirements:
    A Bachelor of City Planning Honours degree or any related qualification at NQF Level 8. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification comprises 4 compulsory modules at NQF Level 9 totalling 184 Credits.
  • Regional Planning Theory, 20 Credits.
  • Regional Planning Project, 32 Credits.
  • MCRP Dissertation, 120 Credits.
  • Planning Techniques 3, 12 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. The ability to analyse context, in terms which are meaningful for planning including specialist knowledge of ethics and professional practice.
    2. Proficiency in the development of project programmes, in which the elements of projects are identified and quantified.
    3. The ability to appreciate and evaluate personal responsibilities and roles in environmental and social problems.
    4. The ability to frame a research problem pertaining to planning, executes a research dissertation, draw conclusions and glean recommendations for planning. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • The role played by planning professionals in terms of complex regional environments is understood.
  • Specialist understanding and integration of economic, environmental, social and spatial is demonstrated.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Visionary and sustainable responses to planning related problems are provided.
  • Integrated holistic analysis of the natural resources and landscape systems to produce a holistic natural resource and landscape management framework is demonstrated.
  • Specialist integrated spatial analysis of economic, social, settlement and environmental issues, to produce a regional spatial development framework and implementation is demonstrated.
  • Knowledge of environmental assessment and management is understood.
  • Sustainability and how to use resources sustainably is assessed.
  • Spatial structure is manipulated and designed.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Rigorous understandings of regional (and national) legal frameworks in relation to sustainability assurance are demonstrated.
  • State, parastatal and civil society actors in the project area is analysed.
  • The changing ethical frameworks and doctrinal contexts shaping approaches to natural resource and landscape management frameworks over time and in different regions in the world, and significance of this are understood.
  • Consideration of value of environmental justice, diversity, different ways of knowing, social justice & intergenerational equity is displayed.
  • Institutional processes of decision-making and any international or local constitutional frameworks which guide these, including making reference to rights is understood

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Appropriate research methods and techniques is chosen.
  • Written communication skills are displayed.
  • Links between disciplines to improve communication across disciplines are made in order to overcome the disciplinary divides in the search for sustainable solutions.

    Integrated Assessment:
    The qualifications require considerable field work in the Cape Town area and in some cases field trips to other parts of the country are arranged. Each project culminates in the submission of a document and the oral presentation of project work. Continuous assessment and feedback based on the submission of project documents and oral presentations (Regional Planning Project); essay assessment (theory courses) and dissertation examination of document. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    A comparison between two international qualifications and the qualification proposed by the institution was carried out. This was conducted in order to find similarities between the qualifications so as to ensure that graduates can progress from one level to another, within and across occupations or industrial sectors (and even across vocational and academic fields).

    Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning in Atlanta offers The Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) Degree program. This qualification prepares learners to excel as professionals capable of understanding and resolving complex urban planning problems. The curriculum gives students both a broad understanding of the urban and regional environment and a foundation of skills needed to plan for this environment.

    The MCRP qualification strives for a careful balance between the theoretical, historical, and conceptual knowledge about urban and regional development on the one hand, and the acquisition of practical skills and methods of analysis on the other. The curriculum is a two-year, 55-semester-hour programme. The curriculum requirements include seven core courses and a thesis or applied research paper.

    The Master of Regional Planning (M.R.P.) is offered by Cornell University in New York. Learners focus on actions that directly affect the physical character, transformation, rehabilitation, and preservation of cities and regions. Learners study topics including land use and urban design plans, "smart growth" policies, public spaces in cities, strategies for increasing housing opportunities, sustainability, and the redevelopment and preservation of urban neighborhoods.
    With this concentration, students develop the knowledge and skills to:
  • Conduct environmental impact assessments.
  • Utilise geographical information systems (GIS) to study neighborhood or land use change.
  • Facilitate community participation.
  • Resolve environmental and development disputes.

    Conclusion:
    From the above information it is evident that the international qualifications compare favourably with the qualification at the University of Cape Town. The similarities are:
  • The outcomes of the qualifications.
  • The assessments used.
  • The modules and the curricula. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification articulates horizontally, with the following qualifications:
  • Master of Arts in Social Impact Assessment, at NQF Level 9
  • Master of Built Environment, at NQF Level 9

    This qualification articulates vertically, with the following qualifications:
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Land and Property Development Management, at NQF Level 10.
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Land-use Planning, at NQF Level 10. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2015. 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Cape Town 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.