ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

At present the development approach in Sri Lanka emphasizes decentralization into provincial, district and divisional levels and in consequence the governmental as well as non-governmental personnel are expected to equip with skills needed in regional planning. Although there is an increasing demand for trained personnel in regional planning in Sri Lanka, there are hardly any formal training programs conducted at undergraduate level in the universities or other institutions dealing with developing studies. Therefore B.Sc Hons in Regional Science and Planning is a timely necessity and it directly serves the national needs. The government has launched programme to recruit many graduates to state sector development agencies, but they can be more fruitfully employed if they were given prior training in development planning at local and regional levels.

The objective of the course is to prepare students for a career in Regional Science and Planning related fields. Therefore, it makes attempts to provide the student with subject specific knowledge and skills in both Regional Science and Planning. In addition, an attempt is also made to achieve an integrated approach to Regional Science and Planning. To achieve this objective, the course is based on well-integrated units which enables the student to participate in an interactive learning experience through lectures, team based filed work, analysis of case studies, application of theory to problem solving, individual assignments etc. The course explores regional development issues in both the developed and developing world. Regarding the latter specific attention is paid to Sri Lanka and countries of the South Asian Region. Furthermore, attention is paid to globalization and globalization and the emergence of the new regionalism. To put it succinctly the course explores the interactive nature of people, places and regional space relationships.

By the end of the course students should have acquired several transferable skills which include critical and analytical skills; a basic competence in empirical research and its methodologies, project formulation and planning, and specific technical skills, such as computing, spatial statistics and GIS applications providing the students a competitive edge in seeking career paths.

SANASA Campus encompass practical Work Base Training component from their first year onwards. During the first four days of the week (Monday to Thursday) students engaged in learning at the classroom, laboratory and library environment. They spend next two days (Friday and Saturday) of the week in a programme Word Based Training at selected GN divisions under the academic guidance of the academic staff of the faculty and under the supervision of the Center for Co-operative and Community Studies. Therefore, this programme of study encourages these young graduates to enroll as participants in filling the gaps exist in regional planning.