The Department of Town & Country Planning was established in October, 1973 as a fully-fledged Department of the Faculty of Engineering of the Katubedda Campus. With the establishment of University of Moratuwa in 1978, the Department was placed within the Faculty of Architecture. Since then, it has been one of the four Departments in the Faculty of Architecture in University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. The Department of Town & Country Planning hails the privilege of being the only such Department in an academic institution in Sri Lanka that offers academic programs in Physical Planning and conduct research in planning related areas.
The Department has been offering postgraduate courses in Town and Country Planning since the day it was established. In July 1975, the first course leading to a Master of Science degree in Town and Country Planning was launched. From 1979, the Department has been providing a Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Development in partnership with the Urban Development Authority of Sri Lanka. There were also two further courses given once each, leading to a Master of Science degree in Land use Planning and Resource Management and a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing Development.
Sensing that Sri Lanka currently needs more qualified planners, the Department has decided to provide an undergraduate degree program in Town and Country Planning. As a result, in 2003, the pioneering four-year Bachelor of Science Honours in Town and Country Planning Degree Program was launched. Based on the GCE (Advanced Level) performance results, the course had been enrolling an average of 50 students per intake from the streams of mathematics, bioscience, arts, and commerce since then till 2020. In 2020 having realized the pre-entry competencies needed in students to smoothly get integrated into the technology based and critical analytical skills provided in the continuously updated curriculum, the entry requirements have been changed to have Mathematics or Physics as mandatory for admission to the course.
As an outcome of a long term process aimed at reflecting current academic standards and graduate competencies, while aligning with industry requirements, a request was made to the University Grants Commission to change the title of the currently offered "Bachelor of Science Honours in Town and Country Planning" degree to "Bachelor of Science Honours in Urban Informatics and Planning." This initiative is also in line with the Department’s objective to stay updated with global trends in the field of planning and to provide graduates with a wider range of employment opportunities. Accordingly, the University Grants Commission approved the change at its 1140th meeting held on 05.02.2025, based on the proposal dated 06.12.2024, which was submitted with the necessary approvals from the University Senate and Council.
The Master of Science in Town and Country Planning was discontinued in 2013 when the Department launched the Master of Spatial Planning, Management & Design Program in collaboration with La Trobe University in Australia. In 2018, the Master of Science in Environmental Planning, another master's degree, was introduced in response to industry requests. Aligned with the recent name change and curriculum revision of the current degree, the upcoming introduction of a Master of Science program in Urban Informatics will signify the proactive approach of the Department to address latest developments in the field of urban planning.
