B.Plan at SPA Bhopal Offline Course

The B. Plan. course comprises of minimum duration of 4 academic years consisting of 8 semesters. The course inculcates essential skills of data analysis, graphic presentation, report writing and technical drawing along with knowledge of basic subjects in the initial years. As the course progresses, in higher semester, the students are exposed to specialized areas of planning along with development of advanced skills. Use of state of the art technology and application (for instance GIS) are taught at the higher levels and applied in planning studio projects. The curriculum is structured around a core planning studio in every semester which has a specific thrust starting from the basics of layout plans and gradually handling more complex planning aspects (transportation, special area planning, master planning, etc.) in order to prepare the students to address a wide range of contemporary issues in planning. The higher semesters consist of a range of electives from which the student can choose areas of interest and specialization. The course is thus structured into three main thrust areas: the planning studio, core subjects and electives. In addition to the academic inputs, the students get industry inputs through summer training which is undertaken twice in the course of four years, once after completion of fourth semester and once after the sixth semester.

In the first year, the student is trained in the fundamentals of Urban and Regional Planning, Surveying, Economics, Statistical and Quantitative Methods in Planning, Computer Applications and Technical Report Writing. In Addition, Building Structures, Materials and Principles of Construction, Estimation and Introduction to Art and Culture and Basic Architectural Design are also taught. The planning studio in the first year is focused on training in graphical and presentation techniques and developing methods of data organization and presentation. 

In the second year, the emphasis of the two semesters planning studio is on neighborhood and site planning techniques and transportation planning. Along with the basic subjects of planning theory and techniques of planning the student is introduced to fields of settlement geography and sociology. In additions the students gradually learn more advanced subjects of Planning Practice, Transportation Planning, Housing and Ecology and Environment. Simultaneously skill imparting continues with hands-on training on CAD Application in Planning. The student undergoes the first summer training after completion of the second year and essentially works with various government planning departments to get an exposure of the system of planning in the country.

In third year, after completion of two year of formal education and one exposure to summer training, the student is ready for more advanced inputs. The planning studios at this level deal with area planning and urban planning respectively in the two semesters. The core subjects taught at this level reinforce the thrust area of the studios of urban planning and include Real Estate Planning, Utilities and Services Planning, Landscape Planning and Urban Design, Sustainable Urban Development, Urban Management, Pl anning Management of Informal Sector and Urban Conservation. The skill development continues at advanced levels with students being provided adequate training on the application of GIS and geo-informatics in planning. The student undergoes the second period of summer training after completion of the third year and is encouraged to work with planning consultants of various specializations.

The final year consists of mix of core subjects and electives supporting the planning studios. The thrust of the seventh semester studio is regional planning while the eighth semester provides the student with the opportunity of working on a thesis of his/her own choice. The core subjects include Urban Governance, Finance and Management along with Professional Practice. The electives cover a wide range of contemporary issues including Infrastructure Development Planning, Rural Development and Management, PPP in Urban Environmental Sciences, International Finance, Infrastructure Finance, Environmental Impact Assessment. They also include subjects on Planning for Small and Medium Towns, Planning for Global Cities and Planning for Special Areas.