Modern Construction Site, Nzeng-Ayong. | bureau@univga.org | (+241) 77283418

Graduating Bachelor

Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Spatial Planning & Urbanism

3-year university program (180 ECTS) training land use study managers, urban planning technicians, and collaborators in study offices and local authorities. The curriculum includes: urban and economic geography, urban planning law, urban and territorial planning, GIS (QGIS, ArcGIS), plan design (PDU, POS/PLU, master plan), sustainable planning and African cities, urban mobility, land tenure and cadastre, AI and smart cities. Online program with thesis and defense.

180 ECTS Urban Planning and Land Development
Recommended downstream pursuit (Master of Science) Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Management
Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Spatial Planning & Urbanism
Total cost
2,450,000 FCFA

Description

The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Land Use Planning & Urbanism at UNIVGA is a comprehensive 3-year university program (180 ECTS) that trains land use study managers, urban planning technicians, urban designer-drafters, collaborators in study offices, and technical agents of municipalities and departmental councils capable of intervening in the planning, design, and management of urban and territorial projects.

Designed to address the accelerated urbanization of African cities (Libreville, Douala, Abidjan, Dakar, Kinshasa, Luanda), the need to conceive sustainable and resilient cities in the face of climate change, and the professionalization of decentralized local authorities, this training is delivered 100% online. It combines the rigor of a university education in geography and urban planning law with the operationality of a land use study manager position.

Market issues and career opportunity

Africa is experiencing the fastest urban growth in the world (60% urban population by 2050). The challenges of housing, mobility, sanitation, land tenure, climate resilience, and urban quality of life create a strong demand for technicians and study managers. Municipalities, ministries of Urbanism, planning agencies, private study offices (Egis, AECOM, Artelia), and funders (BAD, AFD) are actively recruiting.

Curriculum pedagogical structure

Year 1 — Fundamentals of geography and law. Urban and economic geography, urban demographics, introduction to law, administrative law, urban sociology, urban statistics, technical drawing and plan reading, urban survey methodology, professional English, advanced office skills.

Year 2 — Urban planning law and planning. African urban planning law (national codes, permits, subdivisions), urban and territorial planning (PDU, POS/PLU, master plan), operational urban planning (ZAC, subdivisions, OAP), African land tenure and cadastre, environmental law applied to urban planning, geomatics and GIS applied to urban planning (QGIS, ArcGIS).

Year 3 — Specialization in sustainable planning and smart city. Sustainable planning of African cities (flood prevention, heat islands, waste management), urban mobility (public transport, BRT, active mobility), housing and social housing, urban economy and financing of planning, urban projects and project management, African smart cities (digital twins, urban IoT, AI and urban planning), citizen participation and negotiated urban planning. The program concludes with a supervised professional thesis, presented orally via videoconference before an academic jury.

Career opportunities

Land use study manager, urban planning technician in a municipality, urban design draftsman, land manager in a local authority, cadastre agent, collaborator in a study office, project manager in a planning agency, junior project manager at a real estate funder, mission officer in an urban NGO. Continuation in Master's in Urbanism, Master's in Planning, School of Architecture, or School of Urban Planning.

Suitable for working professionals

UNIVGA is designed to meet the needs of working professionals (80% of our audience). Platform accessible 24/7, flexible schedules, recorded virtual classes, personalized support. Ideal for senior technicians in construction, draftsmen, surveyors, cadastre agents, municipal agents, and collaborators in study offices wishing to professionalize in urban planning.

What you will learn

Master the fundamentals of urban geography, demographics, and urban sociology
Understand and apply African urban planning law (codes, permits, subdivisions)
Read, interpret, and design an urban planning plan (PDU, POS/PLU, master plan)
Master GIS tools (QGIS, ArcGIS) applied to urban planning and land registry
Conduct an urban study (diagnosis, forecasting, scenarios)
Design a sustainable development project tailored to African cities
Integrate climate issues (floods, heat, coastal erosion) into planning
Understand urban mobility models (BRT, public transport, active mobility)
Design a social housing project and support financing
Conduct citizen consultation and participatory urban planning
Understand the fundamentals of smart cities and urban AI
Write a professional thesis and defend it during an oral presentation before a jury

This program includes

Written Course, Audio & PDF
Key Takeaways + Graded Evaluation
Comprehension questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Timed Quiz
Professional Case Studies
Video conferencing course explanations
Supervised remote homework sessions
Graded business case studies
Video conference defense
First Year
6 UEs 18 Lessons 60 ECTS
Semester 1 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: Concepts: city, urbanization, metropolization
Chapter 2: Economic Geography: location, agglomerations
Chapter 3: African Cities: trajectories and challenges
Chapter 1: Urban Demography: transition, projection
Chapter 2: Urban Sociology: segregation, gentrification
Chapter 3: Informal housing and African slums
Chapter 1: Notion of Law and Sources
Chapter 2: Administrative Law: act, contract, liability
Chapter 3: Local Competencies and Free Administration
Semester 2 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: Urban Indicators and Dashboards
Chapter 2: Censuses, demographic projections
Chapter 3: Statistical mapping and initial spatial analyses
Chapter 1: Technical drawing conventions: views, sections, scales
Chapter 2: Reading cadastral and urban planning maps
Chapter 3: Introduction to computer-aided design (CAD)
Chapter 1: Professional English: urban planning vocabulary
Chapter 2: Reading English reports (UN-Habitat, World Bank)
Chapter 3: Advanced Excel and Word for Urban Studies
Second Year
6 UEs 18 Lessons 60 ECTS
Semester 3 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: National Urban Planning Codes and Legal Architecture
Chapter 2: Building Permits, Subdivisions, Authorizations
Chapter 3: Administrative Oversight of Urban Planning and Litigation
Chapter 1: Master Plans and Urban Development Plans (PDU)
Chapter 2: POS/PLU: Regulations, Zoning, Requirements
Chapter 3: Regional Plans and National Development Schemes
Chapter 1: Concerted Development Zones (ZAC) and Subdivisions
Chapter 2: Development Operations and OAP Guidelines
Chapter 3: Project Management and Urban Project Ownership
Semester 4 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: African Land Regimes: Customary, State, OHADA
Chapter 2: Cadastre, Registration, Land Title
Chapter 3: Land Security and Urban Land Conflicts
Chapter 1: EIA and Urban Planning
Chapter 2: Natural and Technological Risks in Urban Areas
Chapter 3: Green and Blue Infrastructure, Urban Biodiversity
Chapter 1: Principles of GIS: Layers, Projections, Metadata
Chapter 2: Thematic Mapping and Spatial Analysis
Chapter 3: Web GIS, Open Urban Data (OSM, INSEED)
Third year
6 UEs 15 Lessons 60 ECTS
Semester 5 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: Principles of Sustainable Cities and SDG 11
Chapter 2: Flood Mitigation and Heat Islands
Chapter 3: Urban Waste Management and Sanitation
Chapter 1: Urban Public Transport and African BRTs
Chapter 2: Active Mobility, Biking, Walking in African Cities
Chapter 3: Urban Mobility Plans (UMP) and Traffic Modeling
Chapter 1: National Policies on Social Housing
Chapter 2: Housing Financing (Banks, Microfinance, Cooperatives)
Chapter 3: Participatory Housing and Guided Self-Construction
Semester 6 – 30 ECTS credits
Chapter 1: Local Taxation and Land Development Taxes
Chapter 2: Urban Public-Private Partnerships
Chapter 3: International Donors: AfDB, AFD, IBRD, EIB
Chapter 1: African Smart Cities: Digital Twins, IoT
Chapter 2: AI Applied to Urban Planning: Prediction, Modeling
Chapter 3: Citizen Consultation and Participatory Urbanism
Professional Memory and Tutored Project 10 credits 50 hours
supervised work

Admission Requirements

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Required Documents — Bachelor of Science (BSc) Program

Admission file to be compiled

Required documents for all levels:

🎓 Copy of the Baccalaureate certificate or diploma
🪪 Copy of ID
📸 Recent ID photo

Supplementary document - Direct admission to the 3rd year (Bac+2 required)

📄 Proof of completion of the first two years of study (transcripts or Bac+2 diploma)

Students who have completed their first two years at another institution may enroll directly in the 3rd year at UNIVGA, provided they submit proof of their Bac+2 level.

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File Verification & Validation

All documents transmitted will be subject to a Administrative review. Your file will be officially approved or rejected after examination. Payment of tuition fees for degree programs will only be made after your application has been approved.

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Document transmission

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Online - Pre-registration Form

Submit your documents directly through our secure online form.

📝 Pre-registration Form
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In person — UNIVGA Group Headquarters

Libreville, Nzeng-Ayong Neighborhood, Chantier Moderne — top floor, door on the right of the tiled building opposite Plaisance.

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Payment methods

Tuition fees can be paid in several ways:

📱 Mobile Money Online on this site On-site at headquarters 🌍 International transfer

To find out the precise payment details suitable for your situation, please contact UNIVGA administration directly.

Contact Administration
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Training start

Given the nature 100 % Digital courses generally begin 1 to 3 business days after payment confirmation. This time frame allows the administration to prepare your file and create your student account.

How is your training going?

Each lesson is structured in progressive steps. You must complete the 3 mandatory activities to unlock the next lesson.

Male teacher

Real human supervision

Online flexibility + guaranteed pedagogical presence

Our educational model combines total flexibility and rigorous academic supervision. You access content at your own pace, while benefiting from regular video conferences with your teachers.

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Course explanations

Live in-depth sessions with your mentors to clarify each concept.

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Interactive educational exchanges

Q&A with your teachers, adapted to your pace and difficulties.

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Supervised online homework

Real-time proctored exams on Zoom or Google Meet, under real exam conditions.

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Upon your registration, an Custom academic calendar is communicated to you — guaranteeing serious follow-up and guided progress, without the constraints of continuous live classes.

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Lesson Unlock Rule

To access the next lesson, you must complete the 3 mandatory activities from the current lesson:

🔑 Key Points 🎯 Scenario 📝 Evaluation
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Video conference defense

Your training concludes with an oral defense before an academic jury via Zoom or Google Meet. The date is set in accordance with your schedule, and you will be provided with a comprehensive preparation guide.

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The Essentials of the Course

Course + Audio + PDF

The core of your training. Each lesson includes a structured written course, an audio course for immersive listening and a Downloadable PDF to revise at any time, even offline. The content is organized progressively with definitions, concrete examples, and practical illustrations.

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Case study

A practical case study is integrated into each lesson with an in-depth explanation section to anchor theory in real-world situations.

Lesson FAQ

5 frequently asked questions answered at the bottom of each lesson to address the most common doubts about the subject matter.

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Preparation questions

Questions at the end of the lesson to deepen your own research or prepare for discussions with your academic advisor.

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Key Points

10 enrichments 🔓 Required

10 carefully selected points to deepen your understanding beyond the essentials of the course. They offer additional perspectives, practical applications, and hands-on advice. The validation of this tab is required to unlock the next lesson.

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Setting the Scene

Professional graded simulation 🔓 Required

You are placed in an interactive professional simulation. Real decisions are presented to you with immediate feedback and detailed correction. Your grade has been recorded and counts towards your academic progress. Validating this tab is mandatory to unlock the next lesson.

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Evaluation

20 varied questions quiz 🔓 Required

A 20-question quiz with varied formats (multiple choice, true/false, matching, practical case studies, etc.) to validate your mastery of the chapter. Instant results with detailed corrections. This grade counts towards your overall average. Validating this tab is mandatory to unlock the next lesson.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The UNIVGA GROUP is registered with the National Agency for Investment Promotion of Gabon (ANPI-Gabon) and has all legal registrations: NIF 370669-C, RCCM GA-LBV-01-2020-A10-01945, and CNSS 014-0205895-A. The institution is also officially recognized by the Ministry of Professional Training under authorization no. 000306/MENICFP/SG/DGFP/DFP, which empowers it to train and issue training certificates as well as Bac+2 level diplomas, notably the DTS.

UNIVGA is authorized to directly issue training certificates and Bac+2 level diplomas (DTS). For higher level diplomas—Professional Bachelor's, Bachelor's, Professional Master's, MBA, DBA—they are issued by our local or international partner universities. This collaboration ensures that your diplomas benefit from broad academic recognition, beyond Gabon's borders.

Yes, on multiple levels. In the UK, UNIVGA GROUP is registered under company number 12581906, recognized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with VAT number GB353434312, and listed on the UK Register of Regulated Educational Institutions under UKPRN 10086514. UNIVGA is also accredited (ID: CINVU11GA2019I1156) as an Executive Board Member and Member of the Educational Committee of CINVU (Comstech Inter-Islamic Network on Virtual Universities), which operates under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This accreditation signifies our academic excellence and contribution to higher education globally.

Le CINVU (Comstech Inter-Islamic Network on Virtual Universities) is an international network that promotes cooperation and knowledge sharing among virtual universities and higher education institutions in the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). UNIVGA sits on its executive board and educational committee under the identifier CINVU11GA2019I1156. This accreditation attests to the quality of our teaching, our academic standards, and our commitment to digital higher education within a network spanning over 50 countries.

The UNIVGA GROUP’s headquarters are located in Libreville, Gabon—Nzeng-Ayong neighborhood, Chantier Moderne, top floor, the door to the right of the tiled building across from Plaisance. Although our courses are 100% online, we maintain a physical location to welcome students, accept registration documents, and process tuition payments. The institution is also incorporated in the United Kingdom as a company (Company Number 12581906), which reinforces its international scope.

GROUPE UNIVGA is the official and administrative name of the institution, the one that appears on all legal documents, registrations, and ministerial authorizations. «Université Virtuelle du Gabon» (or UNIVGA) is the trade name adopted to reflect the institution’s fully digital nature and to make it easier for the public to identify it. It is therefore the same entity: the administrative name is GROUPE UNIVGA, and the commonly used name is Virtual University of Gabon.

Each lesson is structured in several progressive steps. You begin with the Course Essentials (written text + audio + downloadable PDF), which includes a case study explained in detail, a FAQ, and preparation questions. Then, you complete 3 mandatory activities: Key Points (10 enrichments), Role Play (professional decision simulation), and Assessment (timed quiz). All 3 activities must be completed to unlock the next lesson.

Yes. Each lesson includes an audio course that you can listen to at any time, as well as a downloadable PDF containing all of the written content of the lesson. This allows you to review offline, on the go, or without internet access. The audio content is particularly popular with students who want to learn while mobile.

Each lesson includes a practical case study directly integrated into the course content. It is accompanied by an in-depth explanation section to help you understand how theory applies in a real-world situation. These cases are drawn from actual professional contexts (African and international) and allow you to ground your learning in practice from the very first reading.

The preparation questions at the end of each lesson serve a dual purpose. First, they allow you to deepen your understanding of the course through your own research and personal reflection. Second, for students pursuing a degree, they serve to prepare you for discussions during your videoconferenced course explanation sessions with your academic advisor. By working on them in advance, you will get the most out of each session.

Yes, all mandatory activities (Key Points, Role-Playing, Evaluation) are automatically graded by the platform. You get immediate feedback on your answers with your score and mastery level. This allows you to quickly identify your weaknesses and review the necessary concepts before continuing your progress.

The progressive unlocking system ensures that each student truly grasps the concepts before moving on. The 3 mandatory activities (Key Points, Scenario, and Assessment) verify different skills: comprehension, decision-making, and recall. This rigorous pedagogical model ensures the quality of the course and the value of your training.

For a degree program, you must provide at minimum: a copy of your Baccalaureate certificate or diploma, a copy of your ID, and a recent ID photo. Depending on your enrollment level (L3/Bachelor: proof of Bac+2; Master/MBA: Bachelor's degree Bac+3; DBA: Master's degree Bac+5), additional documents will be required. Payment of tuition fees is only made after your application has been validated by the administration.

You have two options. You can submit your documents directly online via the pre-registration form at univga.org/preinscription/, or visit the UNIVGA Group headquarters in person in Libreville, Nzeng-Ayong neighborhood, Chantier Moderne (top floor, door on the right of the tiled building opposite Plaisance). In both cases, your documents will be verified before official validation.

UNIVGA accepts several payment methods: Mobile Money, online directly on the website, in person at the Libreville headquarters, or by international transfer. To get the exact details for your payment method, please contact UNIVGA administration directly via the "Contact Us" tab on this page.

Thanks to the institution’s fully digital system, courses typically begin within 1 to 3 business days after your payment is confirmed. This short turnaround time allows the administration to finalize your enrollment, create your student account, and set up your access to the platform with all your courses.

Video conferencing sessions are live sessions on Zoom or Google Meet, scheduled according to your personalized academic calendar. They include in-depth course explanations by your academic advisors, interactive question-and-answer sessions tailored to your difficulties, as well as real-time supervised assignments. Connection links are sent to you by email before each session. This calendar is given to you upon registration.

Supervised assignments take place live on Zoom or Google Meet, under the conditions of a real exam. You compose within a set time limit, with your camera on, under the supervision of your academic advisor. These assessments are scheduled in advance in your academic calendar and complement the platform's automatic assessments to ensure maximum academic rigor.

Your training concludes with an oral defense before an academic jury via Zoom or Google Meet. The date is set in agreement with your personal schedule, and you will receive a comprehensive preparation guide well in advance. You will present your final work (report, dissertation, or thesis depending on the level), followed by questions from the jury. This defense officially validates your course of study and is a prerequisite for obtaining your degree.

Once your registration is validated, you will receive a personalized academic calendar. It organizes your curriculum by defining the course periods, video conferencing session dates, supervised assignments, and, where applicable, the defense. This calendar ensures a serious follow-up and guided progress, while allowing you the flexibility of online learning—without the constraints of constant live classes.

Yes, enrollment is open year-round thanks to UNIVGA's digital format. Your personalized academic calendar is established from your effective enrollment date, allowing you to start at any time. Each student thus follows an individualized path, independent of others.

Online admission

This training is graduating Your application is being reviewed by our admissions committee before validation and access to the payment platform.

📋 4-Step Procedure

  1. Fill out your pre-registration form below (approx. 5 min).
  2. Our committee is reviewing your application under 72 business hours.
  3. If accepted, you will receive your by email Admission certificate and the link for payment of registration fees.
  4. You pay your fees and immediately access your training space.

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