The degree includes four compulsory courses, an elective, and a research report, which accounts for 50% of the degree.
Students with a Wits honours in urban and regional planning may substitute the course Philosophies, Theories and Methodologies of Development Planning with another elective relevant to the field.
Students may choose their electives from a range of courses relevant to the field, subject to the approval of the degree convenor. These include courses offered within the School (please see the MUS degrees for possible courses), as well as those offered in other Schools at Wits. The compulsory courses for the MScDP are all offered in the first semester (February to June), and are organised to allow students to be on campus for one and a half days a week, plus an additional four days (one day every two weeks February to April) for the Research Methods course.
Elective courses are organised in a variety of ways, ranging from weekly classes to block release, and at different times of the year. The research report for the MScDP can be submitted in mid-October for November oral examination, or end February the following year, for May oral examination.
Curriculum breakdown
ARPL7029 Philosophies, Theories and Methodologies of Development Planning
This course has two components. The first component introduces candidates to the idea and history of development, the institutions of development, theoretical approaches to development, and key themes within development such as gender and sustainability. The second component provides candidates with an overview of the theories and philosophies of planning and include procedural rationalism, neo-Marxist critique, and post-positivist philosophies that focus on issues such as power and communication.
ARPL7063 Governance and Municipal Planning
This course focusses on municipal planning within the context of ‘developmental local governance’ and covers the following topics: municipal powers; structure and functions; municipal budgeting systems; the international experience with municipal planning; South African forms of planning; planning process; sectoral plans and integration of these plans; the planning and delivery of municipal infrastructure; project packaging; and performance management.
ARPL7044 Community Participation in Urban Governance: Discourses, Theories and Practices
The course critically engages with development and planning theories, 'good governance' discourses and political literature (from the local to the global levels), and question them in particular through the study of the practices of community participation and the various types of challenges these practices entail with a particular focus at empowering students to communicate their findings to different audiences, using different methodologies and in particular graphic devices.
ARPL7040 Research Methods
The course familiarises candidates with research methods, articulation of research questions and identification of types of data (qualitative or quantitative), the different methods of data collection, with an additional emphasis on conducting surveys, approaches to analysing both qualitative and quantitative data. In particular candidates will gain an applied understanding of statistics in analysis of quantitative data through the use of statistical programs.
Research Report
Each student is individually guided in their search of a relevant research topic, and supervised throughout the proposal writing, research and report-writing process. The 25-30 000 word research report is externally examined.
