Durban University of Technology (DUT)

The Durban University of Technology is located in the metropolitan city of eThekwini, a dynamic city that is open to collaboration and innovation. The Durban University of Technology is a result of the merger in April 2002 of two technikons, ML Sultan and Technikon Natal. It was named the Durban Institute of Technology and later became the Durban University of Technology in line with the rest of the universities of technology, and as a result of the restructuring of the higher education sector in post-Apartheid South Africa. The University has multiple campuses, has an extensive history of association and partnership with the wider world, in which the exchange of knowledge and experience and integrated teaching and learning practices, technological training and research is set. Currently the University has some 33 000 students.

The Department of Town and Regional Planning is housed in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. The Department employs 7 academic staff and 2 support staff. The average total number of students per year is 200. The Department is committed to education and research in urban and regional planning, sustainable settlement and responsiveness to complex urban, regional and rural problems facing society. Students are exposed to lectures, studio based learning, site visits and field trips in which real world problems and planning solutions are sought.

Programmes offered in Town and Regional Planning date back to 1984. Courses offered have included the National Diploma, National Higher Diploma, and Bachelor of Technology in Town and Regional Planning. These courses have been phased out from 2019 with the implementation of the new Higher Education Qualification Sub- Framework (HEQSF) and are no longer offered by the University. In 2017 the first student intake into the Bachelor of the Built Environment in Urban and Regional Planning was implemented and in 2020 students registered in the Bachelor of the Built Environment Honours in Urban and Regional Planning. In addition to taught programmes, the Department offers the Master of the Built Environment and the Doctor of Philosophy in the Built Environment by research.

The Department currently offers the following programmes that allows students the opportunity to learn technical, creative and relevant skills, which can be applied in a socially responsible way in our changing society.

	SAQA NLRD	Credits	NQF Level
Bachelor of the Built Environment in Urban and Regional Planning	99018	360	NQF 7
Bachelor of the Built Environment Honours in Urban and Regional Planning	112549	120	NQF 8
Master of the Built Environment	96844	180	NQF 9
Doctor of Philosophy in the Built Environment	H04/1979/HEQSF TBD	360	NQF 10

Planners are typically employed in the private sector, planning firms, local provincial authorities, and service organisations. Both technical planners and professional planners work in government departments at municipal, provincial and national levels and in state owned enterprises. In the private sector, there are career opportunities in planning firms and a range of other sectors such as community organisations and property development.

For more information log onto www.dut.ac.za

List of SACPLAN accredited planning qualifications:

Qualification	SACPLAN Registration Category	Notes
National Diploma: Town and Regional Planning (ND TRP)	Technical Planner	Phased out
Bachelor of Technology: Town and Regional Planning (BTech TRP)	Professional Planner	Phased out
Bachelor of the Built Environment Honours in Urban and Regional Planning (BBEH URP)	Professional Planner	Candidate must have completed the BBE URP (SAQA Number 99018) that feeds into the BBEH URP (SAQA Number 112549)