This field of study provides students with the skills and knowledge required for a career in social planning and development. The courses in this concentration area are guided by the logic and coherence of a project cycle within which students learn how to plan, design and appraise projects; conduct needs assessments; develop project proposals; assess social impacts; and engage in public consultations. They also utilise participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) techniques; design and conduct social surveys; compile community profiles; and monitor and evaluate social programs and development projects. In this way, students who graduate from this specialised area are expected to become competent social scientists and practitioners in development with both a good knowledge of the framework of social development planning, and a 'tool kit' of methodologies to apply in a variety of work settings.

Students who have studied previously in these areas have gone on to work for organisations like the United Nations Development Program, the World Food Program and various non-government organisations, as well as for government departments in central, state or local governments and research institutes. Many are also employed by the private sector as consultants and some have set up their own consultancy practice.