History
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning, BUET, established in 1962 as part of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, is the oldest and largest planning school in Bangladesh. Initially, courses were offered to the Department of Architecture. Later, in 1968 a two-year Master of Physical Planning (MPP) program was introduced with two permanent faculty members in the department. However, it took four years for the first batch to get graduation in 1972, after the liberation war of Bangladesh. United Nations Development Program (UNDP) supported the department in different ways including arranging visiting faculty members from abroad. MPP was renamed Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) in 1975. Later on, 1978 and 1979 MURP intake batches received a joint degree from BUET and the University of Sheffield, UK as part of the BUET-Sheffield Collaboration Program. Then Bachelor in Urban and Regional Planning (BURP) and Ph.D. programs were introduced in 1995.
Initially, the MURP program was designed focusing on the intakes from non-planning disciplines. Students had to enroll in 30 credits theory courses. In 1995, the MURP program was redesigned with fewer theory credit requirements – 18 credits – for the intakes from the BURP background. While all the theory courses were 2-credit hours, after 2002, when the first BURP batch from BUET graduated, three 3-credit courses were added in the MURP syllabus. However, until 2022, MURP was a mono-specialization degree. But the entire MURP syllabus is restructured with all theory courses made 3 credit hours and making scope for specialization in Housing, Land Use and Infrastructure; Transportation Policy and Planning; and Environmental Planning and Disaster Management.
Initially, the MURP program was designed focusing on the intakes from non-planning disciplines. Students had to enroll in 30 credits theory courses. In 1995, the MURP program was redesigned with fewer theory credit requirements – 18 credits – for the intakes from the BURP background. While all the theory courses were 2-credit hours, after 2002, when the first BURP batch from BUET graduated, three 3-credit courses were added in the MURP syllabus. However, until 2022, MURP was a mono-specialization degree. But the entire MURP syllabus is restructured with all theory courses made 3 credit hours and making scope for specialization in Housing, Land Use and Infrastructure; Transportation Policy and Planning; and Environmental Planning and Disaster Management.
