Welcome to the School of Planning

Welcome to the School of Planning at Dalhousie University. Dalhousie University is one of Canada's top research and teaching universities. The School is located on bustling Spring Garden Road, in the heart of the east coast’s largest city. A vibrant port with a population of 350,000 and growing, Halifax enjoys an unsurpassed natural setting on the Atlantic coast. Founded in 1749, Halifax is the academic, cultural and economic centre of Atlantic Canada.

The School of Planning offers a professional planning education to students from Canada, the United States and abroad. Our web site contains information not only for prospective students, current students, and employers, but also for those interested in planning issues relevant to the Maritimes today.

The School of Planning is one of two constituent schools in the Faculty of Architecture and Planning. Our strength lies in understanding urban and environmental systems, and the relationships between them. The faculty are committed to planning and designing good communities in life-sustaining environments. The School of Planning seeks to provide rigorous education in community design and to advance the academic discipline and professional practice of planning through teaching, research, and professional and community service.

The work of the School is informed by key principles that reflect our shared commitment to our work and the approaches that we take.

Our approach is:

community-centred
design-based
focussed particularly on the settlements of Atlantic Canada

In our teaching, we strive to link theory with practice. Studio courses, where learning is gained through real projects based in the community, are central to the graduate planning program, and to the honours year of the undergraduate community design program.

We offer several programs that respond to particular needs:

Bachelor of Community Design: is a general undergraduate program for students who are interested in understanding how natural and cultural communities work, and the principles used by planners and designers to shape those communities.
Bachelor of Community Design Honours: provides an opportunity for students who do well in their studies to deepen their understanding through additional course work, and to gain professional recognition for their studies from the Canadian Institute of Planners.
Master of Planning: is a graduate program that provides a foundation for careers in planning, offering students the opportunity to apply their undergraduate studies in a planning career. This program is also recognized by the Canadian Institute of Planners.
Master of Planning Studies: is a graduate degree program offering professional planners the opportunity to further their studies and to contribute to the profession by conducting research.

Revised 20 September 2009