This course in the final session of the final year of the planning degree addresses vital issues surrounding the professional planning practice. It equips students to think more critically of planning (particularly as a function of the state) and their role as future practitioners. Students develop an advanced understanding of the fundamentals of professional practice in terms of ethics, standards, negligence, as well as common tasks such as responding to a consultant's brief, managing a project, and preparing for court work. Hands-on skills are discussed in the broader context of philosophical positions, planning trends, and broader societal environment in which planning practice is situated. Lectures, workshops and seminars from visiting professionals are employed.