PhD (Planning Studies) - School of Housing, Building and Planning

Doctor of Philosophy in Planning Studies are research programmes offered throughout the year. These programmes are offered as full-time and part-time modes to qualified Malaysian and international students to do independent research supervised by respective lecturers in major fields of urban and regional planning, landscape architecture and tourism development. As concerns on sustainability issues in built environment increased, many new areas/fields of studies are potentially explored. Upon graduation, students will be exposed to specific theories and knowledge of the industry to support their employment in various relevant sectors.

Research Thrust Areas:

Urban and Regional Planning

• Community Development
• Housing Issues
• Social Development Planning
• Geographical Information System
• Rural Planning / Environment
• Sustainable Development
• Conservation
• Urban Planning and Management
• Urban and Rural Poverty
• Urban Studies
• Urban and Environment Planning
• Tourism
• Resource Planning
• Transport Planning
• Landscape

Landscape Architecture

• Crime and the Environment
• Open Space
• Park and Recreation
• Landscape Ecology
• Landscape Management
• Landscape Planning
• Landscape Technology
• Landscape Geographic Information System

Tourism Development

• Tourism Planning/Sustainable Tourism Development
• Heritage Tourism
• Cultural Tourism
• Ecotourism/Nature Tourism
• Special Interest and Alternative Tourism
• Border and Regional Tourism
• Community Participation in Tourism
• Resort and Park Development
• Tourism Infrastructure
• Tourism Policy
• Tourism Organisation
• Tourism Business and Marketing

As a graduation requirement(s), students are required to fulfil the below requirement(s):

• Minimum grade C+ for RUL670 (Research Methodology)
• Fulfil the publication(s) requirement
• Minimum Grade C for Bahasa Malaysia course (LKM100) (Applicable for International Only)

Expertise available in the following School: School of Housing, Building & Planning

Applicants should possess one of the following:

• A Master's degree in research mode; or
• A Master’s degree in related area with CGPA 3.00/4; or
• A Master’s degree in related area with CGPA 2.50-2.99/4 with additional requirements; or
• Bachelor’s degree in related area with minimum CGPA 3.67/4 (fast-track to PhD)

(Applicable for International Applicants Only)

The minimum score for each programme can be vary from the below list, candidates are required to check for each programme requirements.

• A minimum of Band 5 for IELTS; or
• A minimum score of 40 for TOEFL (Internet-based); or
• A minimum of Band 7.5 for TOEFL Essentials (Online); or
• A minimum score of 154 for Cambridge English: Advance (CAE)/Proficiency (CPE) /Preliminary (PET) /First (FCE)/ Linguaskill Online min. score 154; or
• A minimum score of 47 for Pearson Test of English (PTE); or
• A minimum of Band 107 for CIEP Level (ELS); or
• A minimum of Band 3.5 for Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Exemption is given to candidate if:

• English is the candidate’s mother tongue or National Language; or
• Candidate graduated from an Institution of Higher Learning in which the medium of instruction at Bachelor and/or Master degree level is English (statement of proof required)

Full-time : Min 4 semesters / Max 10 semesters

Part-time : Min 6 semesters / Max 15 semesters

** Fees are subject to change