top urban planning phd programs

Urban Planning & Policy Programs

Ranked in 2024, part of Best Public Affairs Schools

Urban policy programs educate students in fields

Urban policy programs educate students in fields such as urban planning, community development and policy analysis. These are the best public affairs schools for an urban policy specialty. Read the methodology »

• Clear Filters

• Meet CED Alums
• Work at CED
• Undergraduate Majors + Minors
• Graduate Programs
• Degrees + Certificates
• Summer Programs
• Study Abroad
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Fees + Financial Aid
• CED Undergraduate Advising
• Graduate Advising
• Centers & Institutes
• Climate Solutions
• Equity + Social Justice
• Technology + Material Innovations
• Publications
• Research Collaborations
• Environmental Design Archives
• Student Work
• Student Organizations
• Student Support
• Building Safety
• Student Fees and Waivers
• Fabrication + Materials
• IT + Computing
• Environmental Design Library
• Facility Services
• Awards, Scholarships and Fellowships
• Careers & Work Opportunities
• Accreditation and Licensure
• Bachelor of Arts
• Minor in Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
• Minor in the History of the Built Environment
• Minor in Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design
• Minor in Sustainable Design
• Master of Architecture (MArch)
• Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
• Master of Science
• Concurrent Programs
• 2024 Spring Courses
• 2024 Summer Courses
• 2024 Fall Courses
• + About LAEP
• Minor in Landscape Architecture
• Master of Landscape Architecture
• Concurrent Degrees
• + About DCRP
• Master of City Planning
• Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies
• Faculty Work
• Studio Work
• + About IURD
• About MRED+D
• For Students

PhD in City & Regional Planning

The program

Berkeley's PhD in City & Regional Planning provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 160 doctorates. Alums of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policy makers, and practitioners. Today, the program is served by nearly 20 city and regional planning faculty with expertise in community and economic development, transportation planning, urban design, international development, environmental planning, and global urbanism. With close ties to numerous research centers and initiatives, the program encourages its students to develop specializations within the field of urban studies and planning and to expand their intellectual horizons through training in the related fields of architecture, landscape architecture and environmental planning, civil engineering, anthropology, geography, sociology, public policy, public health, and political science.

Completing a PhD in City & Regional Planning at UC Berkeley usually takes five years. The university requires all doctoral students to fulfill a minimum residency requirement of two years and 48 units of coursework. Full-time students are expected to take four courses, or 12 units, per semester. For the PhD in City & Regional Planning, students must complete various program requirements, including courses in planning and urban theory; research methods courses; and preparation and completion of two fields of specialization. They must also successfully complete an oral qualifying examination, which allows them to advance to candidacy and undertake dissertation research. A PhD is awarded upon completion of a written dissertation approved by the faculty supervisors of the dissertation.

The PhD program encourages its students to build intellectual community and to participate in national and international venues of scholarship. Doctoral candidates regularly present their research at the annual conferences of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Association of American Geographers, Association of European Schools of Planning, World Planning Schools Congress, Urban Affairs Association, and American Anthropological Association. They organize and participate in a weekly research colloquium and manage the Berkeley Planning Journal , a peer-reviewed academic publication. Such activities utilize the incredible intellectual resources available to doctoral students at UC Berkeley, both within their departments and programs and across the campus.

Financial Aid + Admissions

Admission to the PhD program is highly competitive. Applicants are required to have completed a master's degree in planning or a related field. They are expected to demonstrate capacity for advanced research and to present a compelling research topic as part of their application. Once admitted to the program, students are eligible to compete for various university fellowships, including the Berkeley Fellowship, Cota-Robles Fellowship, and the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. Students of the program have also been successful in securing funding for dissertation research from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and the Fulbright scholarships.

The Department of City & Regional Planning and UC Berkeley offer multiple types of financial support to its graduate students.

Please note that admission decisions are not made by individual faculty, but rather an admissions committee. Our PhD admissions process begins with three initial reviews of your application: the two faculty members you list as preferred advisors and one member of the PhD admission committee. The admission committee then meets to review all applications as a cohort and make admission/denial decisions. More information can be found on the department admissions page .

The principal admission requirements to the doctoral program in City & Regional Planning are overall excellence in past academic work and research, demonstrated creativity and intellectual leadership in professional activity, and the strong promise of sustained intellectual achievement, originality, and scholarship. The emphasis in the doctoral program is upon scholarship and research. At the same time, because the doctorate is offered in the context of a professional school, doctoral students are challenged to undertake applied research relevant to city and regional planning and policy problems. If you do not want to teach in planning or a related field, or to do advanced research, please reconsider applying to this program. Most doctoral students enter the program with a master’s degree in planning or a related field. The Master of City Planning is regarded as a terminal professional degree, and is not comparable to mid-study Master of Arts or Master of Science degrees offered in anticipation of the doctorate.

Admission to the doctoral program is very competitive. Only six to eight students are admitted each year, sometimes from a pool of as many as 80 applicants. For all applicants to the doctoral program (even those required to take an English-language competency exam (TOEFL, TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL, or IELTS) the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional; although prospective students who choose to take the GRE should do so before December to ensure timely receipt of scores. Applicants must also secure at least three letters of recommendation that can explicitly evaluate their intellectual capability and past research and academic work.

Please note that admission decisions are not made by individual faculty, but rather an admissions committee. DCRP’s PhD admissions process begins with three initial reviews of your application: the two faculty members you list as preferred advisors and one member of the PhD admission committee. The admission committee then meets to review all applications as a cohort and make admission/denial decisions.

Many PhD students choose to pursue one or more of the designated emphases (DEs) offered through programs across campus. These DEs are unrelated to the outside field required by the City & Regional Planning PhD, and can be thought of instead as elective “minors” which provide opportunities for focused interdisciplinary work, mentorship, conference funding, research fellowships and an extra credential along with the doctoral degree. Common DEs pursued by DCRP PhD students include:

• Global Metropolitan Studies (GMS)
• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• Development Engineering (DevEng)
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS)
• Political Economy
• Film & Media
• Critical Theory

For more information on the PhD in City & Regional Planning program, contact [email protected] .

PhD in Urban Design and Planning

The Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington is one of 39 Ph.D. programs in urban and regional planning in North America, and one of the oldest, founded in 1967.

This program brings together faculty from disciplines ranging from Architecture to Sociology to focus on the interdisciplinary study of urban problems and interventions. Covering scales from neighborhoods to metropolitan areas, the program addresses interrelationships between the physical environment, the built environment, and the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that shape urban areas. The breadth of this program permits students to pursue doctoral studies in the various aspects of urban design and planning as well as in a number of related social science, natural resource, and engineering areas.

The Program seeks to prepare scholars who can advance the state of research, practice, and education related to the built environment and its relationship to society and nature in metropolitan regions throughout the world. The program provides a strong interdisciplinary educational experience that draws on the resources of the entire University, and on the laboratory provided by the Seattle metropolitan region and the Pacific Northwest. The program emphasizes the educational values of interdisciplinarity, intellectual leadership and integrity, and the social values of equity, democracy and sustainability. It seeks to promote deeper understanding of the ways in which public decisions shape and are shaped by the urban physical, social, economic, and natural environment. The program envisions its graduates becoming leaders in the international community of researchers, practitioners and educators who focus on improving the quality of life and environment in metropolitan regions.

PhD Admissions

Search Cornell AAP

Doctor of Philosophy in City and Regional Planning

Recent Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) graduates in city and regional planning have gone on to distinguished careers as professors at prestigious institutions; high level positions in the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank; and top spots in federal agencies and nonprofit research, policy, and cultural organizations.

CRP's program combines intensive Ph.D. seminars and an individualized program of study. Students interested in historic preservation planning may choose to focus their studies on that area. 

Only a small number of Ph.D. students are accepted each year, most of whom have a master's degree in planning. Students design their programs of study after choosing a doctoral committee of three faculty members representing their major (City and Regional Planning) and two minor fields. 

• Ph.D. in CRP Curriculum and Requirements
• CRP Ph.D. Student Profiles

Urban, Community and Regional Planning Graduate Programs in America

1-25 of 112 results

MIT School of Architecture and Planning

Cambridge, MA •

Massachusetts Institute of Technology •

Graduate School

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,

Graduate School ,

CAMBRIDGE, MA ,

Harvard Graduate School of Design

Harvard University •

• • Rating 4.29 out of 5   7 reviews

Master's Student: Great survey of urban planning if you have no prior background in architecture or urban studies; cohort skews younger (early to mid twenties) so might be an adjustment for older students with more experience ... Read 7 reviews

Harvard University ,

7 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Great survey of urban planning if you have no prior background in architecture or urban studies; cohort skews younger (early to mid twenties) so might be an adjustment for older students with more... .

Read 7 reviews.

School of Design - University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA •

University of Pennsylvania •

University of Pennsylvania ,

PHILADELPHIA, PA ,

Pratt Institute

Graduate School •

BROOKLYN, NY

• • Rating 4.6 out of 5   25

School of Building Arts - Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah College of Art and Design •

SAVANNAH, GA

New Jersey Institute of Technology

• • Rating 4.62 out of 5   26

USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Los Angeles, CA •

University of Southern California •

• • Rating 4.48 out of 5   21 reviews

Master's Student: I was disappointed to see that many scholarship programs funded by the school weren't available for my specific department regarding my field hours I would be completing in my 2nd year. I'm worried since I work full time and am the main financial provider for my family, but I am really excited about getting experience in my community! I have loved going to campus and meeting new people, especially since they live near LA, and they also want to make new friends to attend football games etc. I got involved in the Latinx Caucus of Social Work, this has given me the opportunity to start connecting more in my community and other students to feel welcomed and involved as well. I will be planning events on campus and outreaching to local non-university related members to increase education and be a resource. I have to explore more but it's not far from home so I love that :) ... Read 21 reviews

Blue checkmark.

University of Southern California ,

LOS ANGELES, CA ,

21 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I was disappointed to see that many scholarship programs funded by the school weren't available for my specific department regarding my field hours I would be completing in my 2nd year. I'm worried... .

Read 21 reviews.

Cornell University College of Human Ecology

Ithaca, NY •

Cornell University •

• • Rating 4 out of 5   2 reviews

Master's Student: Again I’ve only just enrolled so I can’t say much but in my program I’ve noticed a wide breadth of classes available with professional placement after completing my program. I appreciate the classes that are a mix of practical and also theoretical. ... Read 2 reviews

Cornell University ,

ITHACA, NY ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Again I’ve only just enrolled so I can’t say much but in my program I’ve noticed a wide breadth of classes available with professional placement after completing my program. I appreciate the classes... .

Read 2 reviews.

Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

• Find college scholarships

A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

Ann Arbor, MI •

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor •

• • Rating 4.5 out of 5   6 reviews

Master's Student: Taubman College (and a lot of architecture grad schools) is whatever you make of it. Make sure to plan out at least what you want to explore. Research specific professors and take the classes from the ones that you are interested in. Don't walk in with a vague plan and wander. This degree and many Masters Degrees cost a significant amount of money. I have put myself into considerable debt to go to a school where I have felt lost and miserable. It gets better and is worth it - but only if you have a plan. ... Read 6 reviews

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ,

ANN ARBOR, MI ,

6 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Taubman College (and a lot of architecture grad schools) is whatever you make of it. Make sure to plan out at least what you want to explore. Research specific professors and take the classes from... .

Read 6 reviews.

School of Continuing Studies - Georgetown University

Washington, DC •

Georgetown University •

• • Rating 4.82 out of 5   22 reviews

Master's Student: Colleagues in the department respected your sel concept and were committed to allowing pursuits with purpose. ... Read 22 reviews

Georgetown University ,

WASHINGTON, DC ,

22 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Colleagues in the department respected your sel concept and were committed to allowing pursuits with purpose. .

Read 22 reviews.

UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture

University of California - Los Angeles •

• • Rating 4 out of 5   1 review

Master's Student: Its a very good program that really encourages students to explore their artistic capabilities. The instructors are very experienced and are very good at teaching the students. The program is great, but could also use some improvements in the facilities, as well as overall teaching etiquette. Some instructors would be late to class, while expecting students to stay longer. Others would show little, to no enthusiasm about certain things or events. ... Read 1 review

University of California - Los Angeles ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Its a very good program that really encourages students to explore their artistic capabilities. The instructors are very experienced and are very good at teaching the students. The program is great,... .

Read 1 reviews.

Whiting School of Engineering

Baltimore, MD •

Johns Hopkins University •

• • Rating 4.83 out of 5   12 reviews

Master's Student: Just starting now but the onboarding process is great! The student orientation was very helpful and the school has an amazing network. ... Read 12 reviews

Johns Hopkins University ,

BALTIMORE, MD ,

12 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Just starting now but the onboarding process is great! The student orientation was very helpful and the school has an amazing network. .

Read 12 reviews.

Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy

Pittsburgh, PA •

Carnegie Mellon University •

• • Rating 4.64 out of 5   11 reviews

Current Master's student: A competitive class but more inclined with real world experience. Make learning more practicable. The professors are interested to see their student succeed abd very open to guide student in education and career. Professors try to make class very engaging, and organize and encourage student to attend programs that will benefit their knowledge and career ... Read 11 reviews

Carnegie Mellon University ,

PITTSBURGH, PA ,

11 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Current Master's student says A competitive class but more inclined with real world experience. Make learning more practicable. The professors are interested to see their student succeed abd very open to guide student in... .

Read 11 reviews.

University of Virginia School of Architecture

Charlottesville, VA •

University of Virginia •

• • Rating 4.33 out of 5   3 reviews

Master's Student: As of now the school of architecture has been an extremely supportive environment filled with students that encourage each other to try their best. While assistance from the larger administration and financial aid office needs improvement, I knew that my department and cohort will make it a worthwhile endeavor that will prepare me for real life applications. ... Read 3 reviews

University of Virginia ,

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA ,

3 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says As of now the school of architecture has been an extremely supportive environment filled with students that encourage each other to try their best. While assistance from the larger administration and... .

Read 3 reviews.

• Sponsored Find Student Loan Options
• Urban Studies and Affairs Graduate Programs
• Non-Profit and Public Management Graduate Programs

Georgia Tech College of Design

Atlanta, GA •

Georgia Institute of Technology •

Master's Student: Great class choices with faculty always available for advising and help. I had a number of bad professors who did not deliver the material well but they, too, were available to help during office hours and beyond. ... Read 2 reviews

Georgia Institute of Technology ,

ATLANTA, GA ,

Featured Review: Master's Student says Great class choices with faculty always available for advising and help. I had a number of bad professors who did not deliver the material well but they, too, were available to help during office... .

UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design

Berkeley, CA •

University of California - Berkeley •

University of California - Berkeley ,

BERKELEY, CA ,

College of Arts & Sciences - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC •

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill •

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ,

CHAPEL HILL, NC ,

Tandon School of Engineering

Brooklyn, NY •

New York University •

• • Rating 4.73 out of 5   15 reviews

Master's Student: As a bioinformatics master's student at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, I've had the opportunity to explore the fascinating intersection of biology and computer science. The program has provided a robust curriculum, covering topics such as proteomics, transcriptomics, NGS, and data analysis, which have equipped me with the skills needed to analyze and interpret complex biological data. The faculty at Tandon are experienced and supportive, and I've had the chance to collaborate with fellow students on exciting research projects. The interdisciplinary nature of bioinformatics has allowed me to gain insights into cutting-edge technologies and methodologies that are shaping the future of the field. Overall, my experience at NYU Tandon has been enriching, and I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills acquired during my master's program to contribute meaningfully to the field of bioinformatics. ... Read 15 reviews

New York University ,

BROOKLYN, NY ,

15 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says As a bioinformatics master's student at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, I've had the opportunity to explore the fascinating intersection of biology and computer science. The program has... The faculty at Tandon are experienced and supportive, and I've had the chance to collaborate with fellow students on exciting research projects. The interdisciplinary nature of bioinformatics has... Overall, my experience at NYU Tandon has been enriching, and I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills acquired during my master's program to contribute meaningfully to the field of... .

Read 15 reviews.

School of Architecture - University of Texas - Austin

Austin, TX •

University of Texas - Austin •

University of Texas - Austin ,

AUSTIN, TX ,

College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Blacksburg, VA •

Virginia Tech •

Virginia Tech ,

BLACKSBURG, VA ,

College of Architecture and Urban Studies

• • Rating 5 out of 5   1 review

Master's Student: Professors are very knowledgeable about what they teach and the elective courses offered are diverse. ... Read 1 review

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Professors are very knowledgeable about what they teach and the elective courses offered are diverse. .

College of Design, Construction & Planning - University of Florida

Gainesville, FL •

University of Florida •

University of Florida ,

GAINESVILLE, FL ,

Metropolitan College - Boston University

Boston, MA •

Boston University •

• • Rating 4.69 out of 5   13 reviews

Master's Student: Excellent guidance and resources for new students. Very responsive staff across departments. Additional supplementary instruction to ensure students have the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in their courses. ... Read 13 reviews

Boston University ,

BOSTON, MA ,

13 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Excellent guidance and resources for new students. Very responsive staff across departments. Additional supplementary instruction to ensure students have the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed... .

Read 13 reviews.

College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, WI •

University of Wisconsin •

• • Rating 4.22 out of 5   9 reviews

Alum: Aside from being really cold, UW-Madison is a great school. Needless to say, it is one of the top schools in the U.S. with a beautiful campus that has Lake Mendota and a lot of student life to enjoy. Academic was really good too, but given how the city is college town, you can feel the emptiness when students go back home during summer break. It is known as party school too with Mifflin Street Block Party. But it is also highly academically renowned school. So you can make your campus life as fun or as beneficial as you can. There are many gyms and libraries that can handle 40k + students. In addition, you have to check out Camp Randall, the football stadium and attend The MadHatters A Cappella show. I really miss this campus except for the weather. State street has many diverse restaurants that are authentic and delicious. One of the best campuses in the world. ... Read 9 reviews

University of Wisconsin ,

MADISON, WI ,

9 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Aside from being really cold, UW-Madison is a great school. Needless to say, it is one of the top schools in the U.S. with a beautiful campus that has Lake Mendota and a lot of student life to enjoy.... .

Read 9 reviews.

College of Environment and Design - University of Georgia

Athens, GA •

University of Georgia •

University of Georgia ,

ATHENS, GA ,

University of Miami School of Architecture

Coral Gables, FL •

University of Miami •

University of Miami ,

CORAL GABLES, FL ,

Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Minneapolis, MN •

University of Minnesota Twin Cities •

• • Rating 4.67 out of 5   6 reviews

Current Master's student: I am currently enrolled in the Human Services Leadership Certificate. The professors have all been invested in my advancement of knowledge and making sure I understand the course work to make sure I am getting the most out of my education ... Read 6 reviews

University of Minnesota Twin Cities ,

MINNEAPOLIS, MN ,

6 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Current Master's student says I am currently enrolled in the Human Services Leadership Certificate. The professors have all been invested in my advancement of knowledge and making sure I understand the course work to make sure I... .

The Schools of Public Engagement at The New School

The New School •

NEW YORK, NY

• • Rating 4.67 out of 5   6

The New School

• • Rating 4.46 out of 5   37

College of Charleston

CHARLESTON, SC

• • Rating 4.33 out of 5   15

Showing results 1 through 25 of 112

• Dean’s Letter
• Administration
• Student Work
• Media Archive
• Master of Architecture
• M.S. Advanced Architectural Design
• M.S. Computational Design Practices
• M.S. Critical, Curatorial & Conceptual Practices
• Ph.D. Architecture
• New York/Paris
• Intro Program
• M.S. Architecture and Urban Design
• M.S. Urban Planning
• Ph.D. Urban Planning
• M.S. Historic Preservation
• Ph.D. Historic Preservation
• M.S. Real Estate Development
• Initiatives
• Exhibitions
• Publications
• Academic Calendar
• Hybrid Pedagogy Guide
• Policies & Resources
• Career Services
• Student Organizations
• Avery Library
• Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery
• Making Studio
• Output Shop
• Preservation Technology Lab
• Thinking About Applying
• Application Process
• After You’re Admitted
• Tuition & Aid

Ph.D. in Urban Planning

• dissertations
• alumni placement

The Ph.D. in Urban Planning is focused on training individuals for future careers as teachers, researchers, policy-makers, and business entrepreneurs in and near the field of urban planning—in academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and think tanks. The program equips students with the theoretical and methodological expertise to address important contemporary issues, such as climate change and adaptation, built environment transformation, immigration and migration, housing and community development, and poverty and inequality. It is a highly competitive doctoral program, accepting only three candidates each year.

We welcome prospective students from a wide range of backgrounds, and value strong abilities for critical thinking and independent research. In reviewing applications, the Ph.D. faculty make decisions collectively, based on students’ academic preparation, topical areas of interest, and experience with analytical. We encourage students to explore various directions of intellectual growth after enrollment.

The Ph.D. in Urban Planning is a program within the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) while the actual degree is granted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

Admission for 2024

• The application deadline for 2024 admissions was December 14, 2023, and is now closed.
• For additional information on the application process and requirements, please see the GSAS website.
• Hiba Bou Akar
• Hugo Sarmiento
• Anthony Vanky
• Tom Slater , Interim Program Director

Upon entering the program, each student consults with the program director for the duration of their coursework. The program director’s role is to provide independent guidance and mentorship on all aspects of student life. Students meet at least once each semester with the program director to discuss their academic progress and future plans.

By the date of the comprehensive examination and prior to submitting their dissertation prospectus, each student selects a dissertation advisor (also known as sponsor), to act as a guide during the course of dissertation research and for the dissertation defense. During this or any other time, students are still able to draw on the mentorship of other Ph.D. faculty.

Spring 2024 Courses

Related events, other urbanism programs at gsapp.

Urban Planning, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Urban Planning

The PhD program in urban planning educates scholars for positions in leading universities; research institutions; nongovernmental organizations; international multilateral institutions; national, state and local governments; and high-level consulting firms. The program provides a strong foundation for undertaking research in planning, urbanism, urban design and urban sustainability.

The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning maintains close relationships with many of the communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area that are leading the way on issues like urban climate change, sustainability and transportation planning. Students have opportunities to interact with planning leaders, mentors and community organizations. Students conduct research alongside faculty; take classes focused on current issues in the field; conduct research and reports for local clients; and start building their professional network across the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Students benefit from a wide variety of coursework and research opportunities in five broad interdisciplinary themes that span the expertise of the faculty within the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning:

• city building and urban structure
• environmental and resiliency planning
• housing, neighborhoods and community development
• spatial analytics and smart cities
• transportation planning and policy

Additional Details

Frequently Asked Questions   Professional Licensure Disclosure

Degree Requirements

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (6 credit hours) PUP 710 Current Planning Theory and Practice (3) PUP 724 Planning Methods for Doctoral Students (3)

Electives and Research (64 credit hours)

Other Requirement (2 credit hours) PUP 701 Urban Planning Colloquium (1)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) PUP 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Students take two semesters of PUP 701 for a total of two credit hours.

When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree.

Up to six credit hours of 400-level courses may be applied to the plan of study.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a master's degree in a related field such as urban studies, geography, environmental studies, sustainability, architecture, public policy or public administration from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• personal statement
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

The personal statement must be 600 words or fewer and explain the applicant's interest in planning at the doctoral level; academic and professional background and, if appropriate, preparation for the selected area of specialty, which may include written samples or a portfolio; and educational and professional objectives.

Letters of recommendation should be from three faculty members who can attest to the applicant's academic achievements.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, career opportunities.

Professionals with expertise in planning research, theory and practice are in high demand across sectors and industries, including institutions of higher education, planning consulting firms and community organizations. Skills in environmental impact assessment, geographical data analysis and community resiliency planning are valuable to organizations and institutions that rely on research-based approaches to solve complex real-world problems.

Career examples include:

• chief sustainability officer
• city and regional planning aide
• environmental restoration planner
• transportation planner
• urban and regional planner
• urban planning teacher, postsecondary

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-7533

Top 25 Urban Planning Schools

In this list of the Top 25 Urban Planning Schools, we are going to take everything into account except the cost. (See our list of the Top 25 Most Affordable Urban Planning Schools if you are looking for affordability as the number one priority).

Accredited Urban Planning Schools

You should ensure that the graduate urban planning degree program you choose is accredited. Accreditation means that a program is recognized for its integrity, quality and performance. Standards and criteria have been established by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) , in conjunction with groups such as the American Planning Association (APA), APA’s American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (AISCP).

Not every state has a graduate-level PAB-accredited master’s degree program. There are currently a total of 78 master’s degree programs nationwide that have received PAB-accreditation. The ones listed below have all received this accreditation.

How We Chose the Top 25 Urban Planning Schools

As noted above, we took many factors into account in choosing the top 25 urban planning schools across the nation. These include:

• Accreditation . All of these programs have been accredited by the PAB and meet their rigorous standards for quality, integrity and performance.
• The programs below offer options to students, such as online, in-person, and hybrid learning.
• Internship . The programs below offer some type of internship, studio experience or field experience for students to gain real-world experience.
• Respectability and Recognition . The schools listed below are all highly respected, not only for their urban planning programs but also for other degree programs. You will likely recognize many of these schools.

Not every state is represented with a graduate urban planning degree program in the list below. The schools that have been listed, however, contain some of the highest quality, most well-recognized, and most highly respected programs in the country that will lead to jobs in urban planning. In no particular order, and without further ado, here are the top 25 urban planning schools.

University of Southern California , Los Angeles, CA

With a focus on social justice and data innovation, USC’s 48-credit MUP program has come to be known as one of the best nationwide. Students may participate in internships and planning studios to gain real-world experience. Online options are available, with a fully online Executive Master of Urban Planning offered. These reasons help to place this school on our list of top urban planning schools.

• Sol Price School of Public Policy
• Master of Urban Planning
• Arts & Culture
• Design of the Built Environment
• Economic Development
• Environmental Planning & Analysis
• House & Real Estate Development
• Mobility & Transportation Planning
• 93% of graduates secured employment within one year of graduation
• Marlon Boarnet, Chair, (213) 740-3696 or [email protected]

University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY

University at Albany’s MRP program offers students the Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab in which they can gain hands-on experience in regional planning research. This is one reason the program has landed on our list of top urban planning schools. The school’s interdisciplinary program emphasizes public involvement, creativity and sustainability.

• Department of Geography and Planning
• Master of Regional Planning
• Environmental & Land Use Planning
• Community Planning
• Transportation Planning
• 100% of graduates secured employment within one year of graduation
• Catherine T. Lawson, Director at (518) 442-4775 or [email protected]

University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, PA

U of P’s MCP program requires students to complete an internship within or outside of the Philadelphia region. This requirement helps to place the program on the list of the best urban planning schools in the nation. As the sixth largest city in the U.S., Philadelphia is an exciting city in which to study city planning, comprised of many diverse neighborhoods.

• Weitzman School of Design
• Master of City Planning
• Housing, Community & Economic Development
• Land Use-Environmental Planning
• Public Private Development
• Smart Cities
• Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning
• Urban Design
• 75% of students obtained planning employment within one year of graduation
• Lisa Servon, Chair, (215) 898-8329 or [email protected]

Harvard University , Cambridge, MA

Harvard’s MUP program administers joint degree programs with the Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Students may also cross-register in courses offered by neighboring Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This flexibility contributes to its place on this list of best master’s programs in urban planning. The school’s Community Service Fellowship Program provides summer internships in the U.S. and overseas travel grants.

• Graduate School of Design
• Master in Urban Planning
• Environment, Climate & Health
• International & Comparative Planning
• Real Estate & Urban Development
• Transportation & Infrastructure
• Urban Analytics
• 77% of graduates obtained planning employment within one year of graduation
• Ann Forsyth, Director at (617) 496-3587 or [email protected]

Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY

Hunter College’s MUP program does not offer specializations, but does require students to complete both a planning studio and an internship prior to graduation. These reasons help to place the school among our top urban planning schools. Students may design their own curriculum plan with the help of an advisor.

• Department of Urban Policy & Planning
• 87% of graduates obtained planning employment within one year of graduation
• Nicholas Dagen Bloom, PhD., Program Director at (212) 396-6077 or [email protected]

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the oldest and largest planning departments in the country, and on our list of top degree programs in the country. It offers joint degree programs with Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Recreation, Sport and Tourism, and Juris Doctor.  Internships are suggested and a capstone project is required.

• College of Fine & Applied Arts
• Land Use & Environmental Planning
• Community Development for Social Justice
• Local & Regional Economic Development
• Transnational Planning Stream
• Rolf Pendall, Head at (217) 333-3890 or [email protected]

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , New Brunswick, NJ

Students in the MCRP program at Rutgers must maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to graduate. This is one reason this program is on our list of best urban planning schools. Additionally, students must satisfy a professional report requirement. Between 40 and 50 MCRP degrees are typically awarded by Rutgers University each school year.

• Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
• Master of City and Regional Planning
• Community Development & Housing
• Design & Development/Redevelopment
• Environmental Planning
• International Development
• Transportation Policy & Planning
• Urban Informatics
• 97.5% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Kathe Newman, Program Director at (848)932-2799 or [email protected]

Cornell University , Ithaca, NY

Workshops and research projects are encouraged in Cornell’s MRP program, one of the reasons it is on our list of top urban planning schools. Internships are required, and study abroad opportunities are offered. Students must complete an Exit Project Paper prior to graduation, usually a professional report, research paper or master’s thesis.

• College of Architecture, Art & Planning
• Designing the City
• Economic Development Planning: Communities and Regions
• Land Use and Environmental Planning
• International Studies in Planning
• 100% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Jeffrey M. Chusid, Chair at (607) 254-5378 or [email protected]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA

MIT’s MCP program requires students to complete a studio or workshop in their second and third semesters. This plus the individuality of each student tailoring their own specializations helps place it on our list of top urban planning schools. Field work and internships are also encouraged. Dual degrees with Master of Science in Transportation and Master of Architecture are possible.

• School of Architecture & Planning
• Master in City Planning
• Specializations are tailored to each individual student and developed with an advisor
• Christopher Zegras, Dept. Head at (617) 452-2243 or [email protected]

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

The MUPP program at UIC requires that students complete an internship and a portfolio or thesis prior to graduation. This is one reason the school places among our top urban planning schools. A dual degree is available in Public Health. Other degrees offered by the college include Master of City Design and Doctorate in Urban Planning & Policy.

• College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
• Master in Urban Planning & Policy
• Community Development
• Spatial Planning
• Urban Transportation
• Environmental Planning & Policy
• 84% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Nik Theodore, Head at (312) 996-8378 or [email protected]

University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA

The MURP program at UCLA is one of the most published institutions in urban studies and urban planning, with faculty members having extensive experience. This is just one reason the program is on our list of top urban planning schools. Field work is required for students without industry experience. Joint degree programs exist with Juris Doctor, Business Administration and Latin American Studies, Public Health, and Architecture and Urban Design.

• Luskin School of Public Affairs
• Master of Urban and Regional Planning
• Community Economic Development and Housing
• Design and Development
• Environmental Analysis and Policy
• Regional and International Development
• Transportation Policy and Planning
• 92% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Chris Tilly, Chair at (310) 206-7150 or [email protected]

University of California-Berkeley , Berkeley, CA

Berkeley’s MCP program is internationally known for its innovative research and degree programs, landing it on our list of top urban planning schools. Students work on experiential learning and participate in international forums regarding critical issues. Faculty members have won many awards and are internationally recognized as top academics and researchers in the field of urban planning.

• Department of City & Regional Planning
• Environmental Planning & Healthy Cities
• 91% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Daniel Chatman, Co-Chair at (510) 642-2454 or [email protected]

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC

Students in the final year of UNC-Chapel Hill’s MCRP program must submit a professional master’s project in their area of specialization. This is just one reason this program has landed on our list of top urban planning programs. A problem-solving capstone workshop must also be completed prior to graduation.

• Master of City & Regional Planning
• Housing & Community Development
• Natural Hazards
• Real Estate
• 94% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Noreen Mc Donald, Chair at (919) 962-4781 or [email protected]

George Washington University , Arlington, VA

GWU’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Urban Planning is a fairly young program, having been around for just 10 years. However, its focused interdisciplinary urban planning curriculum, proximity to access federal government agencies and officials in Washington, D.C. and great opportunity for networking and careers places this program on our list of top urban planning schools.

• College of Professional Studies
• Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Urban Planning
• 99% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Sandra Whitehead, Program Director at (202) 994-2083 or [email protected]

Tufts University , Medford, MA

Tufts’ MA in EUP and MS in EPP programs allow for students to enroll full- or part-time, one of the reasons the programs have landed on our list of top urban planning schools. An internship is required, as is a capstone or master’s thesis, prior to graduation. Field projects are also offered to students, allowing them to work on real-world problems and challenges.

• Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
• Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy
• Master of Science in Environmental Policy & Planning
• 96% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Julian Agyeman, Interim Chair at (617) 627-3394 or [email protected]

California State Polytechnic University , Pomona, CA

Cal Poly’s MURP program is one of the only PAB-accredited programs offering most of its classes in the evening hours, making it perfect for part-time students who work. This is one reason it has landed on our list of top urban planning schools. Planetizen has rated this program as the most diverse in the nation. Internships are optional but recommended.

• College of Environmental Design
• Master of Urban & Regional Planning
• Planning & Public Policy
• Entrepreneurship & Leadership
• 68% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Gwen Urey, Chair at (909) 869-2725 or [email protected]

Texas A&M University , College Station, TX

Texas A&M’s MUP program requires students to complete an internship prior to graduation, just one reason it’s on our list of top urban planning degree programs. It offers areas of emphasis or optional certificates in specializations. The school is located in one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation, making the program innovative and timely.

• College of Architecture
• Transportation and Active Living
• Resilient Communities
• Housing, Community and Economic Development
• Sustainable Urbanism
• Environmental Hazard Management
• Transportation Planning & Policy
• Historic Preservation
• Health Systems Design & Planning
• Facilities Management
• Andrew Rumbach, Coordinator at (979) 845-1019 or [email protected]

University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN

The University of Minnesota’s MURP program gives students the technical and analytical skills they need to develop strategic thinking about urban planning. This is one reason it’s included in our list of top urban planning schools. Graduates have had the highest passage rate in the nation on the AICP examination for the past ten years. Dual degrees are available in a variety of areas, including Public Policy, Master of Science in Civil Engineering, and Master of Landscape Architecture.

• Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs
• Land Use & Urban Design
• Self-Designed Concentrations
• 97% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Ryan Allen, Director at (612) 625-5670 or [email protected]

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

The MURP program at the University of Florida offers both on-campus and fully online options. It also offers concurrent degrees in Transportation Engineering and joint degrees in Juris Doctor and other areas. This is one reason this program has landed on our list of top urban planning schools. In addition to the concentrations listed below, certificates may be obtained in each area.

• College of Design, Construction and Planning
• Geographic Information Systems
• Wetland Sciences
• Kathryn Frank, Director at (362) 294-1485 or [email protected]

University of Massachusetts-Amherst , Amherst, MA

Students in UMass-Amherst’s MRP program must complete a thesis or capstone project prior to graduation, one of the reasons this program is on our list of top urban planning schools. Research and studio projects that students have completed in the past may be browsed online . The program may be completed in two years, or one year for those who have an undergraduate degree in Sustainable Community Development.

• of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
• Community & Equity Planning
• Economic & Regional Development Planning
• Student Designed Concentration
• 85% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Mark Hamin, Program Director at (413) 545-6608 or [email protected]

University of Central Florida , Orlando, FL

UCF’s MSURP program offers students direct experience through the required studio and capstone courses, which must be completed before graduation. This is one of the reasons this school is on our list of top urban planning schools. The school also offers maximum flexibility, with classes offered in-person, online and in evening hours to fit all schedules.

• School of Public Administration
• Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning
• Classes offered in-person, online, and evenings
• 89% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Nasrin Lakhani, Manager, Academic Support Services, School of Public Administration, (407) 823-0912 or [email protected]

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

University of Michigan’s MURP program offers students a broad view of urban planning, with the opportunity to focus in one of nine areas. This is one reason it is included in our list of top urban planning schools. Critical thinking skills are emphasized. An Optional Practice Training (OPT) extension of 24 months is offered to students interested in practical work experience.

• Alfred Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning
• Social Justice & Urban Development
• Sustainability, Resilience, Adaptation, & Climate Change
• Applied Planning Skills
• Community and Economic Development
• Housing and Equitable Development
• Global and Comparative Planning
• Physical Planning and Design
• 83% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation
• Larissa Larsen, Chair at (734) 276-9038 or [email protected]

Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Iowa State’s MCRP program offers students optional internships and the chance to study abroad, two of the reasons it places among our top 25 urban planning schools. Dual degree programs are offered with architecture, business, landscape architecture, sustainable agriculture, sustainable environments, and urban design. An online master’s in Community Development is also offered by the school.

• College of Design
• Master of Community & Regional Planning
• Francis Owusu, Chair at (515) 294-7769 or [email protected]

University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA

UCI offers MURP students the opportunity to study abroad, as well as capstone courses that are required for practical experience prior to graduation – two reasons this school is included among our top urban planning schools. As no area of concentration is required, some students develop into urban planning generalists, while others choose a focus area of their own design.

• School of Social Ecology
• Virginia Parks, Chair at (949) 824-4384 or [email protected]

Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, GA

Georgia Institute of Technology’s MCRP program provides students with many opportunities for hands-on learning, one of the reasons it has placed among the top 25 urban planning schools. Full-time students are encouraged, but part-time hours may be accepted under exceptional circumstances.

• Environment and Health
• Housing and Community Development
• Land Use Planning
• Transportation
• 95% of graduates obtained employment within one year of graduation

Gulsah Akar, Chair at (404) 894-2351 or [email protected]

©2023 URBANPLANNINGDEGREE.COM All Rights Reserved.

About Us - Contact

PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Design

The PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Design is a 39-credit program that prepares students to teach at the university level in departments of urban planning, architecture, historic preservation, landscape architecture, or real estate development. The program will qualify graduates to conduct research and participate in high-level decision making in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

The PhD program is highly selective and individualized. Adequately prepared students will generally need four semesters of formal coursework leading to comprehensive exams and all students are expected to spend a minimum of two years in residence. Students admitted to the PhD Program are expected to have completed a master’s degree in a related field including (but not limited to) urban planning, architecture, historic preservation, or landscape architecture. Students are expected to enter the PhD program with two semesters of graduate level quantitative research methods. 

The PhD program is integral to the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education and our nationally recognized Architecture, Urban Studies and Planning, Historic Preservation, and Real Estate Development Programs. These affiliations enable our students to take advantage of a rich interdisciplinary environment.

Fields of Specialization

Students are expected to develop two fields of specialization, a major and a minor field. The following major fields are based on the University of Maryland faculty's particular strengths. However, other fields can be developed with the guidance and approval of the faculty mentor.  Emeritx Professors will not serve as the main academic advisors.

Land Use Planning:

This field includes the theoretical underpinnings of land use and the segregation of uses, as well as the study of the theory, history, and practice of policies intended to regulate the amount, pace, location, pattern, and quality of growth in U.S. metropolitan areas. This includes the study of legal and constitutional issues, public costs and benefits, the role of externalities, political conflicts, equity concerns, and socioeconomic impacts of zoning and other forms of land regulation and growth management.

Urban Spatial Structure:

Students in this specialization will study the factors that determine and influence urban and regional spatial structure. Of special interest is the role that changing technology plays in shaping urban form.

Economic Development:

Students in this specialization will focus on the theory and practice of local urban and regional economic development, including the study of theories of regional growth, intra-national population migration, business location decisions, and community development. This field also includes the study of economic development politics.

Environmental Planning:

This specialization analyzes opportunities and challenges related to making cities more sustainable and resilient in terms of environmental conservation, economic prosperity, and social equity. The specialization aims to equip students to enhance the natural and built environment minimizing the negative impacts of growth and development. Environmental planning centers environmental justice and includes questions related to natural resources and physical infrastructure, and policies and programs to protect and recover ecosystems and natural resources, hazard mitigation, disaster recovery, and climate adaptation and mitigation.

International Planning:

This specialization explores urbanization abroad, particularly the developing world. Students in this specialization explore planning, urban spatial structure, urban development, historic preservation, and urban design challenges in the newly industrializing countries and the newly independent states of Eastern Europe, and how the political, social, cultural, and economic conditions within and among regions and countries affect the development, design, and implementation of plans. Within the proposed Ph.D. program there will be special emphasis on the relationship between social, cultural, and economic conditions and improving the quality of urban life.

Urban Design:

This specialization includes the study of both historical and contemporary issues of design in an urban environment, including the means by which urban form and design is regulated through codes, guidelines, and review processes. Students in this specialization will explore the relationship between buildings, culture, context, the urban condition, and their influence on the making of the urban form. This field includes an emphasis on the relationship between human behavior and built form and also encompasses a special focus on design strategies and initiatives that revitalize cities and mitigate urban sprawl. It also includes the exploration of how sprawl and growth management can and do inform urban design.

Urban Community Social Development:

This specialization focuses on revitalizing the central city to make it a more attractive place to live and work, and to slow the outward migration that necessitates suburban growth management. This specialization gives special attention to the social and cultural character of communities, in addition to their physical and economic requirements, and concentrates on developing strategies to draw more people to central city communities. Because concern about declining schools, fears about safety, and anxiety about racial differences are three strong forces motivating outward movement, education, public safety, and race relations will be central to this study.

Transportation Planning and Policy :

This specialization focuses on the theory of travel and transportation systems and their interactions with the built environment, including land use, urban design, and the natural environment. This specialization provides students with a broad, multi-faceted understanding of the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity outcome of transportation policy and planning. It also covers travel behavior analysis, public transportation policy, planning, and management, travel demand forecasting, transportation finance, sustainable transportation, and energy and environmental issues in the transportation sector.

Housing Policy:

The housing policy specialization draws upon the program’s strengths in the areas of Smart Growth to prepare students to analyze housing markets and evaluate policies designed to ensure that housing is delivered in a manner that is efficient, equitable, and sustainable.

Architectural History:

Based on the broad spectrum of expertise of the design, history and preservation faculty, this specialization focuses on the history and preservation of the built environment in the United States and Canada - envisioned as a significant element of social, cultural, religious, economic, and political history - both from a vernacular and a “high style” perspective and from a cross-cultural angle.

Comprehensive Exams Policy

Doctoral students are required to take a set of written comprehensive exams shortly after completion of their coursework.   To pass the exams, students must demonstrate a mastery of advanced planning and design theory, and the important work in their major and minor fields. At least four faculty members serve on the exam committee of which two must be from the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. The examining committee will include the student’s advisor, at least two additional members familiar with the student's major or minor fields, and the student’s planning theory professor. The selection of the committee is made by the student, with the approval of the student’s advisor. The comprehensive exam is a three-day take-home exam.

To prepare for the examination, students are required to prepare a reading list for their chosen major and minor fields, plus urban planning theory, in consultation with their advisor and committee members. This reading list will reflect the agreed-upon scope of work that students are expected to know for the exam. All of the committee members must review this reading list and agree that it includes the relevant, important work in the students’ chosen fields.

Each committee member should write one question in the area of each student’s major or minor field. The committee member may write several questions among which the student should select one. The advisor should collect all questions from the committee members, review the questions for clarity, comprehensiveness, and fairness, and pass the exam to the student. Generally, the total exam includes two questions from the major field, one question from the minor field, and a planning theory question. At the end of three days (72 hours), the student should return the exam to his/her advisor. The advisor will pass the exam to the committee.

The questions will be graded by the committee, with each committee member responsible for grading the question they asked. The advisor is responsible for reading and grading all questions. The examining committee should take no longer than two weeks to assess the exam. The options are (1) pass, (2) rewrite, or (3) fail. A student may receive a pass, rewrite, or fail on each question separately. Students are allowed to rewrite a question one time only. Only one committee member is required for a decision to rewrite. At least two faculty members must concur if a failing grade is given. The case where the student fails one or more questions constitutes an exam failure. Once successfully passing the comprehensive exam, students must complete the required paperwork to be formally admitted to candidacy.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students must complete and pass their comprehensive exam before they advance to candidacy and begin to take URSP899 dissertation research courses. Click here to fill out the application for advancement to candidacy.

Dissertation

The dissertation must demonstrate the ability to do independent research on an original topic approved by the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the graduate program.

The student will assemble a dissertation committee made up of at least five faculty members with expertise in the student's proposed research area. According to the university requirement: "The Committee must consist of a minimum of five members; additional committee members may be required or invited to serve at the discretion of the program. All members of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Maryland under one of the following membership categories: Regular Member; Adjunct Member; Special Member. At least three of the committee members must be Regular Members of the University of Maryland Graduate Faculty." Once a prospectus is finished, it must be approved and signed off by the student's PhD committee. Students will orally defend their dissertation proposal. The oral defense is informal. Students are expected to propose planning-related research and theory construction, which will lead to significant, original, and relevant contributions to the field. The core course Advanced Planning and Design Theory is designed to assist students in the preparation of a thesis proposal.

Visit the Courses page to view all courses offered by the PhD Program. 

For a list of courses offered this semester, visit  Testudo . 

Department of City and Regional Planning

PhD Program

The Carolina Planning PhD program trains students in urban and regional social theory and research methods. Our program is highly selective and individualized; each year between three and six students begin the program with 20-25 PhD students in residence at any given time.

Our program is situated in one of the largest, most diverse planning departments in the country with students from all over the United States and the world. Our PhD students are distinguished by the strong skills they develop during rigorous training in planning theory, research design, and mixed-methods research techniques. Most of our PhD students have previous graduate training (e.g. a Master’s degree) and work or research experience in planning or a related field.

As a result, our graduates sit in leadership positions throughout the United States and the world, contributing to the understanding of urban and regional issues, formulating innovative public policy, and managing research programs in domestic and international contexts.

What do our graduates do? About 50 percent of the program’s graduates become faculty members in research universities. Others pursue careers in international agencies, think-tanks, government, or consulting. Nearly 20 percent work outside of the United States or are engaged in multinational projects. Our PhD graduates include department chairs, deans, officers of national academic and professional organizations, and many well-published scholars.

Dr. Todd BenDor is the Director of the PhD program and Admissions.

Meet Our Students

Amanda Ullman

Amanda’s research focuses on just energy transitions in Latin America.

Jo (Joungwon) Kwon

Jo’s research interests reside in visualizations as a tool to support climate action plans.

Kshitiz Khanal

Kshitiz pursues research on the applications of machine learning and geospatial analytics in energy and environmental planning

Course of Study

Each student develops an individualized program statement to reflect his or her specific area of interest and career aspirations. The UNC Planning PhD program has three primary phases:

• First, students and their program committees jointly determine the area of specialization and appropriate course work during the first semester in the program. Written comprehensive exams are taken at the end of a student’s coursework program, testing knowledge of planning theory, research methods and a specific area of specialization.
• Students must then conceptualize, fully design, and propose a significant independent research project (PhD dissertation) that contributes to knowledge in the field of city and regional planning.
• Finally, students must complete and defend their dissertations.

Adequately prepared students with master’s degrees in planning or related fields generally need four semesters of formal course work. Students without master’s degrees generally take another semester or two. During this time, students take courses in advanced planning theory, policy-oriented research design, and data analysis techniques.

Our program draws on the intellectual resources of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a leader in the social sciences. Carolina Planning students really get four universities in one: student may take courses in any department at Duke University, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University. Students often take courses in Departments of Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Public Health, Sociology, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and Public Policy. Students also take three PhD seminars that train students in research, grant writing, and career development.  The following provides a short summary of the required coursework.

2 Research Design Courses

1 qualitative methods, 2 quantitative methods, 1 advanced planning theory.

For more details about program requirements, please read the PhD Program Guidelines .

• PhD Program Committee Conference
• Year 1 Coursework

• Complete paper on area of dissertation research
• Form comprehensive exam committee
• Year 2 Coursework

• Take oral comprehensive exams
• Take written comprehensive exams
• Form dissertation committee  and prepare dissertation proposal

• Prepare and revise dissertation
• Defend dissertation

WHERE DO DCRP PHDS GO?

Current Affiliations of DCRP PhD Graduates Since 1998

• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• West Virginia
• Accounting & Finance

Architecture

• Computer Science
• Criminal Justice
• Drama/Theater
• Early Childhood
• Educational Leadership
• Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Exercise Science
• Film & Photography

Foreign Language

Graphic design.

• Health Administration
• Hospitality Management
• Human Resources
• Instructional Technology
• International Business
• Mathematics
• MBA Programs
• Public Administration
• Public Health
• Social Work
• Special Education
• Sports Management
• Urban Planning
• Foreign Languages
• Co-op programs
• College life on a budget
• Colleges to be careful about
• Paying for college
• Paying for graduate school
• Transferring credits
• How Do You Tell Real Schools From Diploma Mills?
• About this site
• How our rankings work

2023 Affordable Urban Planning Degrees

Scroll down to see the most affordable urban planning degrees, as well as info on the different types of urban planning degrees and program accreditation.

Also on this page:

Find online degree programs

Tell us what you're looking for and we'll get you started!

Employing a multidisciplinary approach, planners develop programs and plans for the use of land in rural and urban spaces. Urban planners may be involved in creating new housing developments, schools, and parks; assessing proposals for manufacturing facilities; preserving historic districts; implementing innovative transportation solutions; or revitalizing downtown neighborhoods. With every project, they must take into account factors such as budget constraints, environmental issues, and the social impact of their decisions. Their job is to make the best use of land and resources for the communities they serve.

If this sounds like your kind of career, we’re here to help. In our short guide to affordable planning programs, you’ll find all kinds of information on degrees, accreditations, and certifications. Here you can explore your bachelor degree options, learn why a master’s degree is important, and decide whether AICP certification is right for you. As a bonus, we’ve also included a list of useful sites for planning professionals.

School Selections

University of california-irvine.

• see their urban planning programs
• Irvine, California

The Department of Planning, Policy and Design at UC Irvine blends the fields of public policy, design and planning to creatively look for ways to solve problems in the natural and built environment. The department offers an undergraduate major in Urban Studies and offers a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a Ph.D. in Planning, Policy and Design. A dual degree program, resulting in an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Master's in Planning, is available; students in the engineering section of that program specialize in transportation systems or water resources. Many local governments and agencies provide paid or unpaid internships for students in the master's program.

30,836 Students

Texas A & M University-College Station

• College Station, Texas

Seven research centers support ongoing work in urban planning at the Texas A&M University-College Station. Students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning utilize these centers for internships, field work, and service-learning opportunities. The school offers a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning, Master of Urban Planning, Master of Land and Property Development, and Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Science. The MLPD program is a unique curriculum that combines business with physical planning. The MUD program requires a thesis or research project. Numerous graduate certificates are offered as well. Urban planning students may qualify for the Center for Heritage Conservation Fellowship, History Maker Homes Endowed Scholarship, or the King Endowed Memorial Student Research Scholarship

63,813 Students

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, which brings a social science approach to the study of urban planning. The school offers a Master and Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning. Master's students have the option to study interdisciplinary tracks that connect four areas of specialization. These are design, real estate, hazards, international development, and Geographic Information Systems. Students take part in community engagement class projects, helping identify sustainable, practical solutions to real-world problems. Six research centers offer internship and research opportunities. The school offers the Stipe Assistantship in Historic Preservation ($10,000), Master's teaching and research assistantships ($11,100), and Doctoral assistantships ($18,000).

29,084 Students

University of California-Los Angeles

• Los Angeles, California

Students earning a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California Los Angeles are expected to select an area of concentration by the end of their first term, selecting from these options: Community Economic Development and Housing; Design and Development; Environmental Analysis and Policy; Regional and International Development; or Transportation Policy and Planning. Students who do not have a background in planning must complete 300 hours of fieldwork. The program requires students to complete 18 courses and write a thesis or pass comprehensive exams. The department offers international study programs and internships. The Ph.D. program is designed to be flexible, with students allowed to select the classes and research projects that best suit their interests and goals.

41,908 Students

University of Illinois at Chicago

• Chicago, Illinois

The University of Illinois-Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs offers advanced study in urban planning and community development through its Master in Urban Planning and Policy. The degree is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. Students complete an area of specialization in one of the following: globalization and international planning, economic development, community development, spatial planning and design, urban transportation, or environmental planning and policy. All master's candidates are required to complete an internship and choose a master's project in applied research or a traditional thesis. Eight research centers in the specialization areas support faculty and student research. A foreign exchange program with University College Dublin is also available. Master's students are eligible for the Anna B. Memorial Scholarship ($3,000).

29,048 Students

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Resilient Communities Project at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities provides students in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program an opportunity to work with municipalities on a collaborative, sustainable solution to a community problem. The school also offers research opportunities at the State and Local Policy Program and Project on Regional and Industrial Economics. The program requires students to complete a 400-hour professional internship and a capstone project. Students may choose a degree concentration in areas of environmental planning, housing and community development, land use and urban design, or transportation planning, or design an interdisciplinary program. Graduate certificates complement the degree. Graduate student support is available through the Berrie Fellowship, Howard Award, and Humphrey Fellowship programs.

50,678 Students

University of California-Berkeley

• Berkeley, California

The urban planning program at the University of California, Berkeley, is built around a mission to improve the ethics, environment and economy of cities and communities by creating spaces that are accessible, enjoyable and sustainable. The Department of City and Regional Planning offers a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies, a Master of City Planning and a Ph.D. of City Planning. The MCP program takes two years and allows students to concentrate in Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities; Housing, Community and Economic Development; Transportation Policy and Planning; and Urban Design. The university offers several concurrent graduate degree programs. The Ph.D. program encourages students to develop a specialty and to seek training in related fields such as architecture or civil engineering.

38,189 Students

University of California-Davis

• Davis, California

The University of California-Davis offers an Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning major that allows students to take a track in City and Regional Planning. In this track, undergrads gain an understanding of how cities develop and the planning that is necessary to solve problems. Courses required for this program include urban planning and public lands management, transportation planning, and urban politics and community development. The department offers a summer abroad program led by department faculty that investigates the sustainable cities of Northern Europe. Another departmental study abroad program takes students to examine ecological and social issues at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

35,186 Students

Westfield State University

• Westfield, Massachusetts

The Geography and Regional Planning Department at Westfield State University offers a foundation in geographic theory and hands-on learning in its Bachelor of Science in Regional Planning degree. Students may choose a degree concentration in environmental planning or urban and social justice. A certificate in Geographic Information Systems is also offered. Students take part in internships, independent study, and capstone research projects. They also engage the campus and wider community in collaborative projects, such as helping to create community revitalization plans. The school's Environmental Planning Club organizes a sustainability event on campus each year and a geocaching club offers extracurricular activities. Each year, the department presents the Kelly Award in Regional Planning ($1,000) and awards the Regional Planning Scholarship.

6,496 Students

Appalachian State University

• Boone, North Carolina

Appalachian State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning through its Department of Geography and Planning. Students are required to perform an internship in a professional office to earn their degree. The department also grants a non-thesis Master of Geography with a concentration in Planning that requires students to perform an internship or undertake a directed research project. Grad students can also opt for a Certificate in Planning, which requires 18 credit hours of coursework and emphasizes skills in the geospatial applications of planning. Scholarships available for planning majors include the Robert E. Reiman Planning Scholarship and the ASU Local Government Alumni Association Planning Scholarship.

17,932 Students

University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Amherst, Massachusetts

The two-year Masters in Regional Planning program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst offers service learning opportunities through a variety of on-campus research centers and interdisciplinary programs, such as the Springfield Design Center, Center for Economic Development, or the Center for Resilient Metro-Region. All of the centers work with communities throughout the region on issues of social planning and economic development. The Master's program is offered through the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. This allows the program to offer graduate students a certificate in landscape management. Studio courses are a requirement of the Planning Accreditation Board-accredited program. These may be completed on campus or through international courses, such as a climate change field study in Brazil or a tour of urban development in Amsterdam.

29,269 Students

SUNY at Albany

• Albany, New York

SUNY Albany offers a Master of Regional Planning, a two-year program designed to prepare students for a professional planning practice. Students can choose to specialize in one of three areas: Environmental and Land-Use Planning; Housing, Local Economic Development and Community Planning; or Transportation Planning. The interdisciplinary program emphasizes sustainability, public involvement and creativity. Students gain technical skills and have the opportunity to intern and practice their skills in a real-world setting. The program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. Planning students can also enter a joint master's program that allows them to earn an MRP and a law degree. The Department of Geography and Planning also offers an undergraduate major in Urban Studies and Planning.

17,178 Students

Iowa State University

Iowa State's Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning is a professional program covering the theory, methods and applications of planning practice. When possible, studios and other classes work with local communities on real world problems. Students in the program can choose from five focus areas: community development and social policy, ecological and environmental planning, regional and international planning, physical planning and urban design, or transportation and land use. The program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. While not required, students are urged to participate in an internship. Iowa State also offers a Master of Community and Regional Planning that allows students to concentrate in land use and transportation, community design and development, or rural and environmental planning.

35,714 Students

University of Florida

• Gainesville, Florida

The University of Florida's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program provides students with traditional lecture/seminar classes, studio work in a team environment as students apply their knowledge to real-world situations, professional experience through an internship, and research work for a capstone project. The program, accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board, is known for its emphasis on environmental planning, growth management and transportation, housing, community and economic development, information technologies for planning, and urban design. The university also offers an online program designed for professional planners, a combined degree program that allows undergrads to work on their MURP during their junior and senior years, and a Ph.D. in Design, Construction and Planning with a concentration in Urban and Regional Planning.

50,645 Students

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Champaign, Illinois

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recognizes that issues of international planning are a vital part of training for urban planning professionals. That is why it offers an integrated transnational planning courses within other areas of specialization. The school offers a Bachelor of Arts, Master, and Ph.D. of Urban Planning, with the BAUP and MUP degrees accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. Research opportunities and service learning are available through the Land Use Evolution and Impact Assessment Model and Regional Economic Applications Laboratory research centers. Master's students have the option to pursue an area of emphasis in community development for social justice, land use and transportation planning, local and regional economic development, or sustainable design and development.

45,842 Students

University of Iowa

• Iowa City, Iowa

University of Iowa's BSE in Civil Engineering has an Urban and Regional Planning track. In addition to maintaining several hundred scholarships, the College of Engineering distributes grants to undergrads who pursue unpaid internships, either domestically or abroad. The college also hands out scholarships for study abroad through its Global Engineering program, and underclassmen receive free tutoring in STEM courses. Students angling toward an MS in Civil Engineering can join the fast-track degree program, which lets them count some courses toward both degrees and graduate in five years. Alternatively, as undergrads they can enroll in the joint master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning, which has five areas of concentration to choose from.

30,844 Students

Michigan State University

• East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State offers a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and a Ph.D. in Planning, Design and Construction with a concentration in Urban and Regional Planning. The undergraduate program focuses on practical skills to prepare students for the workplace, including a capstone practicum course where students work with a local community on a planning project. Master's students gain the research and analytical skills needed to be innovative leaders in the field. MURP students can concentrate in areas such as golf course planning, community development, environmental and resource economics, economic development, or urban transportation planning. Students interested in planning law can choose the dual degree option for a MURP and a J.D.

50,538 Students

Minnesota State University-Mankato

• Mankato, Minnesota

The Urban and Regional Studies program at Minnesota State University takes an interdisciplinary approach to regional and urban issues by combining class work, research and field work for undergrads who are interested in community development or other planning jobs. Students are also encouraged to take internships, take part in community service projects, undertake independent study and participate in field projects. The major requires students to complete 33 semester hours, including taking four courses in the focus area they choose. Minnesota State also offers an M.A. in Urban Planning, a two-year professional program. The Urban and Regional Studies Institute typically hires three or four graduate assistants a year. The institute also offers tuition scholarships for full-time graduate urban planning students.

15,313 Students

CUNY City College

• New York, New York

City College offers a Master of Urban Design program that is delivered as a two-semester, full-time course of study. The main focus of the program is a design studio. In the first semester, students work on a design project for a large New York City site. During the semester break, students visit another city that is facing unique stresses, which have ranged from New Orleans to Hanoi. Students work on a design for the site in the second semester. The program is open to applicants who hold a professional degree in architecture or landscape architecture. Students must take two required courses and two electives each semester.

15,778 Students

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Charlotte, North Carolina

The University of North Carolina-Charlotte's Master of Urban Design is a 36-credit graduate program that can be completed in as little as three semesters. The degree is designed for students with a background in architecture, planning, landscape design, or related fields. The curriculum is balanced between studio and seminar classes. Faculty coordinate a five-week travel immersion program that in recent years has included study of high-density urbanism, historic regeneration, and new town movements in multiple cities in China. Research opportunities are provided through the Center for Integrated Building Design Research, the City Building Lab, daylighting and Energy Performance Lab, d-Arts, and Lab for Innovative Housing. Graduate students may qualify for research assistantships ($1,000-$3,000) or teaching assistantships ($1,000-$1,500).

27,983 Students

University of Georgia

• Athens, Georgia

The Master of Environmental Planning and Design at the University of Georgia emphasizes a studio-based integrative planning process focused on environmental principles. The program creates professionals who can make long-range goals for a region that incorporate community input as well as important cultural, historical and design elements. In each of their four semesters in the program, students take planning classes and participate in a design studio looking at a real world problem that reflects that semester's concentration, such as city, neighborhood or region. The program requires 58 credit hours. Students in the program can work an optional internship. The university's Center for Community Design & Preservation allows students to work on conceptual design projects and historic resource surveys.

36,130 Students

University of Idaho

• Moscow, Idaho

The Master of Science in Bioregional Planning and Community Design at the University of Idaho is an interdisciplinary program to prepare community leaders who can plan for sustainable development, efficient management of natural resources and sustainable quality of life for residents. The program is unique in North America because of its interdisciplinary nature, which involves nine different colleges within the University of Idaho. Students choose a specialty such as regional planning and multi-jurisdictional governance, community design, community and economic development, or transportation and sustainable infrastructure. Students take part in bioregional planning studios, where they work with a regional client, such as a city, on a planning need, putting their skills to work and gaining real-world experience.

11,372 Students

University at Buffalo

• Buffalo, New York

The School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo offers a 52-credit Master of Urban Planning. The program is open to students who have completed an undergraduate degree in any discipline and offers thesis or professional project options. An interdisciplinary graduate certificate in historic preservation studies and dual degree programs with the Master of Architecture and Law degrees. Students may seek specialization in economic and international development, environmental and land use planning, GIS and spatial analysis, neighborhood planning and community development, or urban design and physical planning, with several research centers on campus to support field work and service learning projects. Financial aid is offered through the Smith Scholarship ($1,000), and the IDeA Center Fellowship.

29,796 Students

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

• Pomona, California

At Cal Poly Pomona, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning is part of the College of Environmental Design. The department offers baccalaureate as well as master's degrees in urban and regional planning. The Bachelor of Science program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and provides students with broad-based classroom instruction as well as substantial field work opportunities. The master's program is accredited by the American Planning Association and offers the following areas of specialization: transportation policy, environmental policy, housing and community development, or land use and design. The department's alumni organization provides several merit- and need-based scholarships (with variable amounts) to urban and regional planning students. The URP Graduate Fellowship Fund provides support for master's thesis projects as funds allow.

23,717 Students

The University of Texas at Austin

• Austin, Texas

Students seeking a Master's or Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas-Austin will enter a small program of about 100 students. The school has a student-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, allowing for a great deal of mentorship and guidance. The program's focus is sustainable development processes and practices that help to balance growth with environmental and population equity. The Center for Sustainable Development supports these efforts through ongoing research, and provides employment opportunities for graduate research assistants. The curriculum requires students complete an intensive planning practicum and coursework in an area of specialization, such as social and economic equity or historic preservation. Graduate students may apply for posts as teaching or research assistants.

50,950 Students

University of Southern Maine

• Portland, Maine

The University of Southern Maine offers a Master of Policy, Planning and Management with a concentration in sustainable development and geospatial technologies. The 36-credit degree program requires 18 credits of core courses in subjects such as sustainable development, public finance, public service management and quantitative methods. Specialization course requirements include three core courses: a sustainable development workshop, a course in remote sensing and an introductory GIS or ArcGIS course. Students are also required to complete 18 credits of electives, with course options in urban geography, global planning issues, town design, food planning and natural resource conservation. Students can also complete a one to three-credit internship as an elective. The University also offers a graduate certificate in community planning and development and a minor in planning and GIS.

7,739 Students

Rutgers University

• New Brunswick, New Jersey

49,428 Students

The University of Texas at Arlington

• Arlington, Texas

With its location in the heart of the fourth largest metropolitan region in the United States, the University of Texas-Arlington offers a unique opportunity to study issues of urban sprawl, pollution, economic development, equity, and aging infrastructure. The school offers a Master of Community and Regional Planning accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board. Students gain hands-on experience in planning development and design through the Institute of Urban Studies, which helps develop skills in data gathering and analysis, small group facilitation, and report preparation. In addition, the school offers certification in development review, Geographic Information Systems, public budgeting and financial management, and urban non-profit management. Scholarships include the Geisel Endowed Scholarship and the Mebus Public Service Graduate Fellowship.

41,988 Students

San Diego State University

• San Diego, California

The Master of Urban and Regional Planning at San Diego State University is designed for flexibility so that students can adapt the program to their personal aspirations and interests by taking courses in other departments. The required internship also allows students to match an intern position with their interests and career goals. Students in the program gain skills in design, economic analysis and quantitative techniques. They also learn about fiscal affairs and intergovernmental relationships, preparing them for a job in any section of the economy. To earn the degree, students must complete at least 48 credit hours and write a thesis or pass a comprehensive exam.

34,254 Students

San Jose State University

• San Jose, California

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning at San Jose State University's College of Social Sciences offers a minor in urban studies, as well as the following certificate programs: applications of technology in planning, community design and development, environmental planning, real estate development, and transportation and land use planning. On the graduate level, the department offers a Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program. To accommodate the schedules of students who are also working full time, classes meet in the evenings (after 4 pm) once a week. MUP students can apply for a number of scholarship opportunities including the California Planning Foundation (CPF) Scholarships and the Don and Ann Rothblatt Scholarship. Award amounts for these scholarship programs vary from year to year.

32,773 Students

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Lincoln, Nebraska

The Master of Community and Regional Planning program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln does not require a specific undergraduate degree but welcomes those who have a background in social sciences, statistics, and economics. The program offers the option of completing a thesis, a professional project, or a comprehensive written and oral exam. Students can specialize in environmental studies, Great Plains studies, or water resources planning and management, and a graduate certificate in public management is available. Established study abroad programs are offered in seven countries, though students may also propose a unique international experience. The school offers the Clark K. Independent Grocer Community Planning and Design Fund for a research project and the Mutunayagam Memorial Fellowship Fund.

25,260 Students

The University of Texas at San Antonio

• San Antonio, Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio offers a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning. The goal of this program is to prepare students for careers and leadership roles in public and private sectors with the intent to plan and design communities as well as regions. This program is a collaboration of the Department of Public Administration in the College of Public Policy and the College of Architecture, Construction, and Planning. Students in this program will take courses such as Community Planning and Design, History and Theory of Urban and Regional Planning, and Land Use Policy.

28,787 Students

University of Central Florida

• Orlando, Florida

The urban planning programs at the University of Central Florida emphasize sustainability and socially responsible planning. The university offers a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning that allows students to concentrate in environmental planning, health and human services planning, or transportation planning. The program takes an interdisciplinary approach, as faculty with expertise in areas such as engineering, sociology and health administration lead classes. Students can enroll in the 48-credit-hour program on a part-time basis, taking two classes a semester for eight semesters. UCF also offers a Graduate Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning, a 15-credit-hour program. Undergraduates may minor in Urban and Regional Planning by completing seven core classes.

62,953 Students

Kansas State University

• Manhattan, Kansas

Through its College of Architecture, Planning and Design, Kansas State University offers a Master of Regional and Community Planning, a Master of Science in Community Development and an undergraduate minor in community planning. The Master of Regional and Community Planning is available in two tracks of study. The five-year track is designed for recent high school graduates or those who have not earned a bachelor's degree, and the two-year track is designed for those who already hold a bachelor's degree. Both programs are accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). The 36-credit M.S. in Community Development is an online, collaborative degree offered through a partnership between KSU's Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning and the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance.

24,146 Students

East Carolina University

• Greenville, North Carolina

The Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning at East Carolina University requires 33 credit hours of classes covering theory, methods, law, design, geographic information systems and environmental planning. Students take nine credit hours of electives in an area of emphasis, either coastal planning or community planning. During their senior year, planning majors take part in an applied planning studio and write a capstone professional paper. Internships are encouraged and academic credit may be available. For graduate students who want to study planning, the university offers a Master of Arts in Geography with a Planning Concentration and a Master in Public Administration with a Planning Concentration, as well as a four-course certificate in development and environmental planning.

28,289 Students

University of South Florida-Main Campus

• Tampa, Florida

The School of Public Affairs at USF's College of Arts and Sciences offers a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree. Students accepted to this program can choose from the following areas of specialization: housing and community development, land use planning, local economic development, geographic information sciences (GIS), globalization and international development planning, and transportation planning. The curriculum includes coursework in community development planning, urban and metropolitan economic development, research methods for urban and regional planning, and quantitative aids for public managers. Students are given the option of writing a thesis or taking a comprehensive exam in order to graduate from the program. Full-time students can apply for graduate assistantships which include a tuition waiver as well as a stipend.

42,067 Students

Ball State University

• Muncie, Indiana

The College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University offers a Bachelor of Urban Planning and Development degree that is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board of the American Collegiate Schools of Planning. A Master of Urban and Regional Planning programs is also available. This program has two tracks: a 48-credit-hour standard track, for students without a bachelor's degree in planning; and a 36-credit-hour accelerated track, for students with an undergraduate degree in planning. Students can choose between two available concentration areas - sustainable and comprehensive planning or economic development, or craft an individualized area of concentration. The Architecture and Planning Scholarship and the C. Eugene and Maybelle E. Hamilton Memorial Scholarship supports qualified urban planning students (variable award amounts).

21,196 Students

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

• Norman, Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma-Norman allows students in the Master of Regional and City Planning program flexibility in course selection to tailor courses to individual interests. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning-accredited program offers a thesis option, with 48 credits required, or a non-these option of 50 credits with a learning portfolio requirement. Those taking the non-thesis route are encouraged to complete an internship or directed reading course during a summer semester. Two specializations are offered, physical planning and community and economic development and students may combine their master's degree with a Master of Business Administration, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Architecture or Juris Doctor degrees. Scholarships include the Flex-Ability Concepts Scholarship and the Buskuhl Scholarship.

27,428 Students

Florida State University

• Tallahassee, Florida

Florida State University offers a Master of Science in Planning to prepare students for careers as specialists or generalists in the field of planning and a Ph.D. in Planning to prepare students for a role as a teacher or researcher in the field. Students in the master's program select one or more areas of specialization such as Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management; Housing and Community Development; Land Use and Comprehensive Planning; Planning for Community Health; Planning for Developing Areas; or Transportation Planning. They also complete an internship that requires 400 hours of work in a professional setting and complete a capstone project. FSU also offers an accelerated MSP program for undergrads in any major.

40,830 Students

Texas State University-San Marcos

• San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University-San Marcos offers a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and a Master of Applied Geography through its Department of Geography. Applied geography includes the sub-fields of land use, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), environmental management, location analysis, and transportation systems. Undergraduate students have the option to earn certificates in GIS, environmental interpretation, location analysis, and water resources policy. Master's students choose a concentration area in land management, resource and environmental studies, or geographic information science. Research and community engagement activities are offered through The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, and the James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research. Teaching and research fellowships are available.

37,979 Students

• Tempe, Arizona

Arizona State University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in urban planning, including an accelerated program that results in a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP). The undergraduate program focuses on planning analysis and presentation of information, and students may specialize in local neighborhoods, public participation, housing, environmental quality, hazardous waste, contemporary legal issues, or preservation planning. The MUEP is a professional, interdisciplinary program preparing students to work in the private or public sector. Students in the Ph.D. in Urban Planning program do research in areas including transportation planning and policy; urban design and sustainable cities; and spatial and economic analysis. Departmental scholarships include the Matthew G. Bailey Scholarship Award.

51,984 Students

University of Oregon

• Eugene, Oregon

The University of Oregon offers a Master of Community and Regional Planning, which instructs policy-oriented planners who are seeking positions of leadership within the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. For example, many graduates of this program become environmental planners, emergency services directors, planning consultants, private developers, or employees of economic development corporations. The program takes two years to complete, and it enrolls around 25 - 30 students annually. The program features applied learning opportunities like the Community Planning Workshop, which requires students to work on real projects for paying clients, as well as the Sustainable Cities Initiative, which helps students to plan more sustainable cities.

24,032 Students

University of Colorado Denver

• Denver, Colorado

The University of Colorado-Denver sets high goals for students in its Ph.D. program in Design and Planning. The goal of the program is to educate the next generation of leaders in the fields of planning, architecture, and landscape architecture by giving them a critical understanding of the social and political forces that influence their profession. Admission to the program is competitive and based in part on available funding. The university also offers a Master of Urban and Regional Planning in an interdisciplinary program built around three university initiatives: Healthy Communities, Urban Revitalization, and Regional Sustainability. The MURP program is designed to be hands-on, and the Colorado becomes a classroom as students work with planning professionals and local communities.

23,671 Students

Types of Planning Degrees

Associate’s degree in planning.

An associate’s degree in planning is a 2-year undergraduate program that provides students with a grounding in basic planning subjects. In addition to general education, your courses might cover areas such as computer graphics, codes/zoning/inspections, geographic information science, and environment/sustainability. Associate degrees are often offered at a reasonable price from community colleges. A high school diploma or GED is required to apply.

Associate degree programs in urban planning are rare, and are usually intended to help you earn credits for a bachelor’s degree. If you’re lucky, you may be able to find work as a planning technician or site planning assistant, but to get anywhere in the profession you will need a higher degree. If you’re aiming for a bachelor’s, make sure your credits will be transferable to the BA or BS of your choice.

Bachelor’s Degree in Planning

A bachelor’s degree in planning is a 4-year program that grounds students in both the theory and practice of urban/city planning. You’ll find planning programs in architecture schools , design schools , public policy schools, and even geography departments. A high school diploma or GED is required to apply.

Although there are a few entry-level positions open to baccalaureate graduates, most students earn a bachelor’s in order to advance to graduate work. A master’s degree is the standard requirement for jobs in the field of planning. For quality assurance, you can also check if the program has PAB accreditation .

Degree Options

Since urban planning is a multidisciplinary field, you have a lot of options when it comes to your degree. The standard choices are the:

• Bachelor of Planning (BPlan)
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Urban Planning
• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Urban Planning

However, you may also wish to consider related degree titles such as:

• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geography with an Emphasis on Urban Planning
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geography and Sociology
• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Architectural Studies
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Environmental Design

Different degrees have different emphases. For example, a planning degree from an architecture school may concentrate on physical planning and design. A degree from a public policy school may be concerned with sociology, public policy, and administration . For advice on which area is right for you, check out the APA’s breakdown of 20 planning divisions .

Sample Coursework

Since planning students typically go on to graduate work, most universities aim for a broad, interdisciplinary approach in the bachelor’s. The standard curriculum for the BPlan includes general education prerequisites and core courses related to planning. For example, you could be taking classes in the history and theory of urban planning, engineering, urban design, ethics, statistics, land use, urban ecology, sustainability planning, growth management, community development, and/or site planning.

In your third and fourth years, you will often be allowed to concentrate in a specific area of interest (e.g. geographic information systems (GIS), international development, historic preservation, etc.). Look for programs that incorporate studio/lab sessions, internships, and fieldwork experiences. These will help prepare you for your future career.

Career Options

It can be tough to find a job with a bachelor’s degree in planning. Most positions require a master’s degree, although you may be able to work as an assistant or junior planner while you earn money for graduate school.

Master’s Degree in Planning

A master’s degree in planning is a 2-year graduate program that is intended to prepare students for a career in planning. Although a bachelor’s degree is necessary, you don’t need to have a BPlan in order to apply for a master’s program. Many schools will consider students who have degrees in related fields such as geography, architecture , political science, public policy, sociology , and environmental design.

A master’s degree and ~1 year of professional experience (e.g. internships) are the standard requirements for planning practitioners.  For quality assurance, you can also check if the program has PAB accreditation .

When it comes to choosing a master’s degree, you’re going to be overwhelmed with choice. Common titles include:

• Master of Urban Planning (MUP)
• Master of City Planning (MCP)
• Master of Community Planning (MCP)
• Master of Regional Planning (MRP)
• Master of Town Planning (MTP)
• Master of Planning (MPlan)
• Master of Environmental Planning (MEP)
• Master of Arts (MA) in Planning
• Master of Science (MS) in Planning

All of these are generally considered to be professional master’s degree programs – i.e. the highest qualification you need to apply for professional planning positions.

You also have the option to consider a related degree with a planning focus. For example, if you’re interested in government work, you may wish to consider the:

• Master of Public Policy Administration (MPPA)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)

There are also joint degree programs where you can combine a master’s in planning with a degree in law, engineering, public policy, health management, or a related field. As always, we recommend you talk to your graduate adviser and your professional mentors about which degree is right for your career goals.

Coursework will depend on your choice of degree and concentration. For example, in an urban planning program, you may be studying urban revitalization, urban economics, sustainability issues, transportation policy, and housing and real estate. In a rural planning program, you may investigating issues related to agriculture and the environment. Having said that, most programs will include foundation classes in areas such as the history and theory of planning, statistics, planning law, and data analysis.

You won’t be spending all of your time in class. A good chunk will be spent in lab work, internships, and fieldwork. Internships and experience with real-world planning projects are particularly valuable when it comes to applying for jobs after graduation. You will also be expected to conduct independent research and present your findings in a thesis or capstone project in your final year.

With a master’s degree and strong work experience, you’re in a good position for careers. In addition to local and state government agencies, you may wish to consider working for non-profit organizations, architecture practices, law firms, consulting firms, or real estate developers. The majority of urban and regional planners end up in local government.

Sample job titles for master’s graduates include:

• Transportation Planner
• Natural Resource Manager
• Tribal Planner
• Land Use & Code Enforcement Planner
• Urban Design Planner
• Economic Development Planner
• Housing Policy & Projects Planner
• Economic Development Specialist
• Historic Preservation Officer

Doctoral Degree in Planning

A PhD in Planning is a 4-7 year graduate program intended for planners who wish to teach at the university level or pursue a career in high-level research and/or public policy. Unlike the master’s degree, which is aimed at professional training, the PhD is focused on research and scholarly investigation. You do not need a PhD in order to qualify for planning jobs.

PhD programs are not accredited by PAB . However, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) maintains a list of schools that offer PhD planning programs .

Certificate in Planning

A certificate in planning is a non-degree, academic program that takes approximately 6 months-1 year to complete. Most certificates in planning are offered at the graduate level, to students who already hold a bachelor’s degree. You may wish to earn a certificate in order to fulfill continuing education requirements, amass course credits for a master’s, specialize in a particular area (e.g. real estate development, landscape development, etc.), or hone your skills.

Important Accreditations

Regional accreditation.

Overall, we recommend you attend a regionally accredited college or university. Regional accreditation is a “seal of approval” granted to institutions by one of 6 regional accrediting bodies (e.g. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools).

You can learn more about the difference between national accreditation and regional accreditation in: Accreditation: Understanding the Difference Between Real Schools and Diploma Mills .

Benefits of Regional Accreditation

By attending a regionally accredited school, you will find it easier to:

• Transfer credits (many regionally accredited schools don’t accept credits from nationally accredited institutions)
• Qualify for scholarships, funding, student loan, and tuition reimbursement
• Apply for respected graduate schools
• Look good in the eyes of headhunters and recruiters

Remember that regional accreditation is given to an overall institution. To see if the planning program is accredited, you should look for PAB accreditation as well.

Planning Accreditation Board

The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) is the sole body that accredits university programs in North America that offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in planning. Every year, the PAB reviews new programs and decides whether they meet certain standards for the profession. These standards have been created with input from the public and the American Planning Association (APA), the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).

Do you need to go to a PAB-accredited program in order to get a job? No. However, it tells prospective employers that you have:

• Knowledge in areas such as the structure and functions of urban settlements; the history and theory of planning processes and practices; the administrative, legal, and political aspects of plan-making and policy implementation; and a specialization of your choice
• Skills in quantitative analysis and computers, problem formulation and solving, plan-making and program design, ethics, communication, and application of knowledge to practice

In addition, graduates of a PAB-accredited program can take the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification exam earlier in their careers than students from non-accredited programs.

Find a PAB-accredited professional program .

Licensure & Certification

State licensure.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) :

“As of 2012, New Jersey was the only state that required planners to be licensed, although Michigan required registration to use the title ‘community planner.’”

You can learn more about these licensing processes from New Jersey’s State Board of Professional Planners and Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs .

AICP Certification

Once you have your degree in hand, you might consider becoming board certified through the APA’s professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) . You’ll often see these initials after the job titles of professional planners. Some employers like to see AICP certification, since it tells them that you have met certain schooling/experience requirements and have mastered a set of planning skills.

How to Become AICP-Certified

In order to earn AICP certification, you must:

• Be a current member of the American Planning Association (APA)
• Be engaged in professional planning, either currently or in the past, as defined by AICP
• Have completed one of the combinations of education and corresponding years of professional planning experience ( listed on the AICP site )
• Pass the AICP Comprehensive Planning Examination
• Pay AICP dues
• Maintain your certification every 2 years through continuing education

AICP also offers Advanced Specialty Certification in transportation planning, environmental planning, and urban design.

AICP certification is a great planning credential, but you may not need it for a job. For instance, if you’re interested in running a large planning agency, you may wish to focus your attention on law, public policy, and business management. Talk to your mentors about your options. Regardless of your choice, you should still consider becoming a member of the American Planning Association (APA) . This is a major networking hub for planners.

Helpful Planning Organizations

• American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
• American Planning Association (APA)
• Planning Accreditation Board (PAB)
• Data Sources for Our Rankings
• collegescorecard.ed.gov/data
• clep.collegeboard.org
• getcollegecredit.com
• nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter
• How it works

Alumni at 2019 Reunion. Photo credit: Michael Kahan

Considering graduate school?

Graduate school.

Urban Studies is an undergraduate program; our alumni attend top graduate schools in a wide range of fields, including: 

• Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Harvard Business School
• Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
• University of Chicago Graduate Booth School of Business
• Sloan School of Management, MIT
• Yale School of Management
• Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington
• MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
• Department of City & Regional Planning, UC Berkeley
• Harvard Graduate School of Design
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of City and Regional Planning
• USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development
• Georgia Tech
• UCLA Department of Urban Planning
• Stanford Law School
• University of California at Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall)
• University of Chicago Law School
• New York University School of Law
• University of Pennsylvania Law School
• University of Oregon School of Law
• Hastings College of the Law
• University of Notre Dame Law School
• Santa Clara University School of Law
• Washington University Law School
• Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley
• University of Virginia School of Architecture
• University of Washington Department of Architecture
• School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
• Yale School of Architecture
• Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• MIT Department of Architecture

Other degrees, including Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Education, Master of Public Health, Master of Public Policy, Doctor of Medicine, and Doctor of Philosophy

• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Columbia Medical School
• Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University
• Harvard School of Public Health
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• California Institute of Integral Studies
• Tufts University
• Williams College
• University of Cambridge

Graduate Scholarships Information

Urban Studies alumni planning to pursue graduate studies may wish to apply for fellowships and scholarships to support their work.  In many cases, funding may be available directly from the student’s graduate school. 

Stanford Resources

• For scholarships and fellowships to support graduate study at universities in the United States, see the  Undergraduate Research Programs Fellowships  page
• For information on fellowships and scholarships to support international study, see the  Bechtel International Center’s scholarships  page

Additional Fellowships

• American Planning Association Scholarships and Fellowships    The leading professional association in the field of Urban Planning offers a number of fellowships nationally, regionally, and in specific fields of study.  Their web page also offers links to other fellowship programs of interest to urban planning students.  
• National Urban Fellows, Inc.  a rigorous, full-time graduate program comprised of two semesters of academic course work and a nine month mentorship, leading to a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Bernard M. Baruch College, School of Public Affairs, City University of New York. Note: This program is for graduates with 3-5 years work experience.

Alumni Spotlight

Stefan norgaard: graduate student.

What your background in Urban Studies has done for you :

Courses taught by Professor Clayton Nall (American Transportation Politics), Michael Rosenfeld (Urban Underclass), Danno Glanz (Urban Design), and Thomas Hansen (Global Urbanism) remain front of mind as I embark on study and practice at the intersection of critical urban theory, politics, power, and development. I remain good friends with many of Urban Studies colleagues as well

• Recommendations
• Notifications
• My Favorites

Favorites, recommendations, and notifications are only available for UCLA Graduate Students at this time.

Access features exclusively for UCLA students and staff.

As a student, you can:

• Add funding awards to your favorites list
• Get notified of upcoming deadlines and events
• Receive personalized recommendations for funding awards

 We're Sorry

You've signed in with a UCLA undergraduate student account.

UCLA Graduate Programs

Graduate Program: Urban and Regional Planning

UCLA's Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning offers the following degree(s):

Master of Urban and Regional Planning (M.U.R.P.)

With questions not answered here or on the program’s site (above), please contact the program directly.

Urban and Regional Planning Graduate Program at UCLA 3250 Public Affairs Building Box 951656 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656

Visit the Urban Planning Department’s faculty roster

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Visit the registrar's site for the Urban Planning Department’s course descriptions

• Admission Requirements
• Program Statistics

(310) 825-4025

[email protected]

MAJOR CODE: URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

• Academic Programs
• Undergraduate Programs
• USC Price in D.C.
• Master’s Programs
• Online Learning
• Dual Degree Programs
• Graduate Certificate Programs
• Doctoral Programs
• Executive Education
• Admission Information
• Information Sessions
• Schedule an Admissions Visit
• Funding Your Education
• Department of Public Policy and Management
• Health Policy and Management
• Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development
• Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis
• Research at USC Price
• Economic Development
• Environment
• Health Care
• Nonprofits & Philanthropy
• Real Estate
• Social Innovation
• Transportation
• Urban Planning & Spatial Analysis
• Career Services
• Our History
• About the Dean
• Board of Councilors
• Dean’s Cabinet
• Statement of Core Values
• Students On a Mission
• Life in Los Angeles
• Newsletter Archive
• Academic Integrity
• Student Advocacy and Bias Reporting
• Impact Report
• Commencement
• Student Affairs
• Postdoctoral Fellows
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Accessibility at Price
• Global Engagement
• Our Podcasts
• ROTC Programs
• Nautical Science

Master of Urban Planning

Shape Your World

Top education for future leaders, request information.

The Price School’s Master of Urban Planning (MUP) degree program prepares future leaders to improve the quality of life for urban residents and their communities worldwide.

Our Master of Urban Planning degree is unlike any other. USC Price has consistently been ranked in the top echelons of national rankings, including #2 for urban policy, and our dedicated alumni serve as leaders in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Our community provides a lifetime network that is local, statewide, national and global in scope. As a student, you will learn from USC Price’s award-winning faculty who are paving the way to critically leverage new data and visualization to make cities more just, livable, and sustainable. With your success in mind, the USC Price MUP faculty and staff will encourage you to think and act bigger than ever before.

Learn about the application process →

Application Deadlines

Apply Now! Community Impact Scholarship

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy is pleased to announce the Price Community Impact Scholarships.

Incoming master students who plan to enroll in one of the following on-campus programs at the University Park Campus in Los Angeles, CA for the 2024-2025 academic year are encouraged to apply:

• Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLN)
• Master of Science in Public Policy Data Science (MS PPDS)
• Dollinger Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• Master of Public Policy (MPP)
• Master of International Public Policy (IPPAM)
• Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

To learn more about our Price Community Impact Scholarship including eligibility requirements, visit this page .

Program Director, David Sloane

Professor Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis (213) 440-3075 [email protected]

Distinctive Focus on Social Justice and Data Innovation

We equip our students with an education shaped by our values. The Master of Urban Planning program is guided by two cross-cutting values throughout our core curriculum and concentrations: social justice and spatial data visualization innovation. These intrinsic values build upon USC Price’s legacy of rigorous analysis and professional training in sectors such as transportation, housing and real estate, economic development, arts and culture, and environmental sustainability.

Why data innovation?   Because urban planning is being reshaped by an explosion of data and platforms. Traditional forms of understanding and communicating are insufficient in our increasingly digital and social media infused landscapes of governance and living.

Why social justice? Because we are united by the conviction that the next generation of urban planning and policy-makers must be a part of the solution instead of perpetuating problems. Too often, smart cities and big data can run the risk of exacerbating enduring patterns of inequality. That’s why the USC Price MUP core curriculum centers social justice with an interdisciplinary approach to analysis and collaborative action, aiming to change both our pedagogy and ultimately professional practice.

Customize and Specialize Your MUP Degree

Overall, the MUP offers six areas of concentration : arts and culture, design and the built environment, economic development, planning for climate change and sustainability, housing and real estate development, and mobility and transportation planning.

You might also pursue one of 11 dual degrees in fields like architecture, landscape architecture, public health, public administration, public policy and real estate development, among others. Or maybe you will earn one of several graduate certificates in conjunction with your MUP, or focus your work on international themes.

Put Your Knowledge to the Test

As an MUP student, you will work with clients and produce planning reports on real-world problems. Examples include planning studios where students created a business model for truck transportation, repurposed a community clinic site, researched affordable housing, and redeveloped the Los Angeles’ Civic Center. International labs also offer opportunities for hands-on experiences, such as working on ecotourism in Costa Rica, historic preservation in India, air quality planning in Beijing and more.

Core Curriculum Values

Social Justice Data Innovation

Concentrations

Arts & Culture Design of the Built Environment Economic Development Planning for Climate Change and Sustainability Housing & Real Estate Development Mobility & Transportation Planning

Professional Development

In ternships Studios Capstone Lab

Professor Liz Falletta with students outside her class. (Courtesy: Deirdre Flanagan)  Full set of images

Unique class partnership aims to creatively address housing shortage

USC Price partnered with a design firm and local governments to teach urban planning students about architecture and development. In the unique class, students also help guide local policymakers hoping to address Southern California’s housing shortage.

“I have always believed that there is a huge need for urban planning professionals in civic leadership. As an urban planner, I have always chosen to serve in communities that I believed were up and coming and where I could make the largest impact.”

Employment After Graduation

Our recent graduates are succeeding in multiple fields and sectors. 

Launch Your Career

The Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis hosts professional development panel discussions for students. Each panel feature practice leaders who will describe their career path and introduce students to career opportunities.

Research Centers and Opportunities

Urban Data Lab

Urban Data Lab uses computational data science and spatial analysis to explore urban transportation patterns around the world, critically interrogate how big data reshapes housing affordability, and leverage technology platforms for more just, collaborative city planning.

METRANS Transportation Center

METRANS’ mission is to solve transportation problems of large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. With three key objectives – to foster independent, high quality research to solve the nation’s transportation problems; train the next generation transportation workforce; and disseminate information, best practices, and technology to the professional community – this partnership between USC and CSULB brings together two large urban universities with complementary strengths.

Population Dynamics Research Group

The Population Dynamics Research Group uncovers demographic trends that drive major changes in society, providing insights that lead to effective policies. These population patterns underlie areas like immigration, education, the environment, and urban growth. The Popdynamics team monitors the future using the decennial U.S. Census, the American Community Survey, and our own carefully crafted Demographic Futures projections which incorporate layers of demographic analysis and include greater detail than the census provides.

USC Center for Sustainability Solutions

The Center for Sustainability Solutions develops policy, technological, and behavioral solutions to the most pressing sustainability problems of the Southern California region and the world.  It brings together scholars and stakeholders from sustainability organizations around the world to collaborate on basic and applied research aimed at making a real-world impact

Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB)

Committed to expanding the visualization of public policy and urban planning, the USC Price School launched its Spatial Analysis Lab for research. SLAB’s research experiments with developing alternative cartographies to bring attention to overlooked urban spaces and people. It also critically studies how our visual narratives interface with social institutions and public discourse.

Sol Price Center for Social Innovation

The Sol Price Center for Social Innovation was established with the recent gift to name the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. This new center aims to advance ideas, strategies, and practices that enhance the quality of life for people in urban communities. The center will provide opportunities for direct student engagement across all of the Price School’s primary disciplines.

Best Universities for Urban and Regional planning in the World

Updated: February 29, 2024

• Art & Design
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
• Mathematics

Below is a list of best universities in the World ranked based on their research performance in Urban and Regional planning. A graph of 3.9M citations received by 287K academic papers made by 1,321 universities in the World was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University College London

For Urban and Regional planning

2. University of Manchester

3. University of Toronto

4. Arizona State University - Tempe

5. London School of Economics and Political Science

6. Delft University of Technology

7. University of Hong Kong

8. Utrecht University

9. University of Cambridge

10. Newcastle University

11. Ohio State University

12. University of British Columbia

13. University of Melbourne

14. University of California - Berkeley

15. University of Sheffield

16. Beijing Normal University

17. University of Amsterdam

18. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

19. University of Oxford

20. National University of Singapore

21. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

22. Wuhan University

23. Peking University

24. University of California - Los Angeles

25. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

26. Lund University

27. University of Washington - Seattle

28. Hong Kong Polytechnic University

29. Cardiff University

30. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

31. Polytechnic University of Milan

32. University of Sussex

33. New York University

34. National Research University Higher School of Economics

35. University of Glasgow

36. St. Petersburg State University

37. University of Queensland

38. Monash University

39. University of New South Wales

40. University of Wales

41. Catholic University of Leuven

42. University of Leeds

43. University of Birmingham

44. Harvard University

45. Nanjing University

46. Zhejiang University

47. Tongji University

48. University of Maryland - College Park

49. Tsinghua University

50. Sun Yat - Sen University

51. Pennsylvania State University

52. Autonomous University of Barcelona

53. University of Southern California

54. Queensland University of Technology

55. Cornell University

56. Durham University

57. University of Tokyo

58. University of Pennsylvania

59. Australian National University

60. Rutgers University - New Brunswick

61. Michigan State University

62. University of Wisconsin - Madison

63. Wageningen University

64. Moscow State University

65. University of California - Santa Barbara

66. University of Lisbon

67. Columbia University

68. Stockholm University

69. King's College London

70. University of Groningen

71. Erasmus University Rotterdam

72. Chinese University of Hong Kong

73. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

74. Griffith University

75. Stanford University

76. University of Reading

77. University of Helsinki

78. Aalborg University

79. Texas A&M University - College Station

80. East China Normal University

81. University of Bristol

82. Sapienza University of Rome

83. Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

84. Free University Amsterdam

85. Georgia Institute of Technology

86. University of Cape Town

87. University of Utah

88. Loughborough University

89. University of Strathclyde

90. University of Montenegro

91. Ghent University

92. University of Sydney

93. University of California - Davis

94. Humboldt University of Berlin

95. University of Antwerp

96. University of Copenhagen

97. University of Georgia

98. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

99. Vienna University of Economics and Business

100. University of Illinois at Chicago

Environmental Science subfields in the World

MA & PhD in Architecture

Ucla architecture and urban design offers two academic graduate degrees: the master of arts in architecture (ma) and doctor of philosophy in architecture (phd)..

The programs produce students whose scholarship aims to provoke and operate within architecture’s public, professional, and scholarly constituencies. Both programs are supported by the Standing Committee, made up of five faculty members: Michael Osman (interim program director), Cristóbal Amunátegui , Dana Cuff , Samaa Elimam , and Ayala Levin . A number of visiting faculty teach courses to expand the range of offerings.

Applications for the MA/PhD program (Fall 2024 matriculation) are completed via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission , and are due January 6, 2024. Candidates will be notified of decisions in March 2024; admitted candidates who wish to accept the offer of matriculation must submit their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

All MA and PhD students are required to enroll in a two-year colloquium focused on methods for writing, teaching, and researching in the field of architecture. The six courses that constitute the colloquium train students in the apparatus of academic scholarship. Over the two-year sequence, students produce original research projects and develop skills in long-format writing.

Research Opportunities

The intellectual life of the students in the MA and PhD programs are reinforced by the increasing number of opportunities afforded to students through specialized faculty-led research projects. These include cityLAB-UCLA and the Urban Humanities Institute .

MA in Architecture

This program prepares students to work in a variety of intellectual and programmatic milieus including historical research, cultural studies, and interdisciplinary studies with particular emphasis on connections with geography, design, art history, history of science and literary studies, as well as studio and design based research.

Beyond the core colloquium, MA students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA AUD and across campus. The MA program is a two-year degree, culminating in a thesis. The thesis is developed from a paper written by the student in their coursework and developed in consultation with the primary advisor and the standing committee. In addition to courses and individual research, students often participate in collective, project-based activities, including publications, symposia and exhibitions.

The program is distinguished by its engagement with contemporary design and historical techniques as well by the unusual balance it offers: fostering great independence and freedom in the students’ courses of study while providing fundamental training in architectural scholarship.

Recent MA Theses

• Jacqueline Meyer, “Crafting Utopia: Paolo Soleri and the Building of Arcosanti.”
• Joseph Maguid, “The Architecture of the Videogame: Architecture as the Link Between Representational and Participatory Immersion.”
• Meltem Al, “The Agency of Words and Images in the Transformation of Istanbul: The Case of Ayazma.”
• Courtney Coffman, “Addressing Architecture and Fashion: On Simulacrum, Time and Poché.”
• Joseph Ebert, “Prolegomena to a Poiesis of Architectural Phenomenology.”
• Jamie Aron, “Women Images: From the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop to the Knoll Textile Division.”
• Gustave Heully, “Moldy Assumptions.”
• Brigid McManama, “Interventions on Pacoima Wash: Repurposing Linear Infrastructure into Park Spaces.”

MA Typical Study Program

Phd in architecture.

This program prepares students to enter the academic professions, either in architectural history, architectural design, or other allied fields. PhD students are trained to teach courses in the history and theory of architecture while also engaging in studio pedagogy and curatorial work. In addition to the colloquium, PhD students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design and across campus. They select these courses in relation to their own research interests and in consultation with their primary advisor. The priorities for selection are breadth of knowledge and interdisciplinary experience that retains a focused area of expertise. To this end, the students identify Major and Minor Fields of study. The Minor Field is generally fulfilled by satisfactorily completing three courses given by another department and the Major Field by five courses offered by UCLA Architecture and Urban Design.

Once coursework is completed, PhD students move to the Comprehensive Exam, Qualifying Exam, and the writing of a dissertation, and final defense, if deemed appropriate by the doctoral committee. In the transition from coursework to exams, PhD students work on one paper beyond its original submission as coursework. The paper begins in the context of a departmental seminar, but often continues either in the context of an independent study, summer mentorship, or a second seminar with faculty consent. Upon the research paper’s acceptance, students begin preparing for their comprehensive exam. Before their third year, students must also satisfactorily complete three quarters of language study or its equivalent according to University standards. The particular language will be determined in consultation with the Standing Committee. The Comprehensive Exam is administered by at least two members of the Standing Committee and at most one faculty member from another Department at UCLA, also a member of the Academic Senate.

The Comprehensive Exam tests two fields: the first covers a breadth of historical knowledge—300 years at minimum—and the second focuses on in-depth knowledge of a specialization that is historically and thematically circumscribed. Students submit an abstract on each of these fields, provide a substantial bibliography, and prepare additional documentation requested by their primary advisor. These materials are submitted to the committee no less than two weeks before the exam, which occurs as early as the end of the second year. Students are encouraged to complete the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their third year of study.

The Comprehensive Exam itself consists of two parts: an oral component that takes place first, and then a written component. The oral component is comprised of questions posed by the committee based on the student’s submitted materials. The goal of the exam is for students to demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of their chosen field. The written component of the exam (which may or may not be waived by the committee) consists of a written response to a choice of questions posed by the committee. The goal of this portion of the exam is for students to demonstrate their research skills, their ability to develop and substantiate an argument, and to show promise of original contribution to the field. Students have two weeks to write the exam. After the committee has read the exam, the advisor notifies the student of the committee’s decision. Upon the student’s successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam, they continue to the Qualifying Exam.

Students are expected to take the Qualifying Exam before the beginning of the fourth year. The exam focuses on a dissertation prospectus that a student develops with their primary advisor and in consultation with their PhD committee. Each student’s PhD committee consists of at least two members of the Standing Committee and one outside member from another department at the University (and a member of the Faculty Senate). Committees can also include faculty from another institution. All committees are comprised of at least three members of UCLA Academic Senate. The prospectus includes an argument with broad implications, demonstrates that the dissertation will make a contribution of knowledge and ideas to the field, demonstrates mastery of existing literature and discourses, and includes a plan and schedule for completion.

The PhD dissertation is written after the student passes the qualifying exam, at which point the student has entered PhD candidacy. The dissertation is defended around the sixth year of study. Students graduating from the program have taken posts in a wide range of universities, both in the United States and internationally.

Recent PhD Dissertations

• Marko Icev, "Building Solidarity: Architecture After Disaster and The Skopje 1963 Post-Earthquake Reconstruction." ( Read )
• Anas Alomaim, "Nation Building in Kuwait, 1961-1991."
• Tulay Atak, “Byzantine Modern: Displacements of Modernism in Istanbul.”
• Ewan Branda, “Virtual Machines: Culture, telematique, and the architecture of information at Centre Beaubourg, 1968–1977.”
• Aaron Cayer, "Design and Profit: Architectural Practice in the Age of Accumulation"
• Per-Johan Dahl, “Code Manipulation, Architecture In-Between Universal and Specific Urban Spaces.”
• Penelope Dean, “Delivery without Discipline: Architecture in the Age of Design.”
• Miriam Engler, “Gordon Cullen and the ‘Cut-and-Paste’ Urban Landscape.”
• Dora Epstein-Jones, “Architecture on the Move: Modernism and Mobility in the Postwar.”
• Sergio Figueiredo, “The Nai Effect: Museological Institutions and the Construction of Architectural Discourse.”
• Jose Gamez, “Contested Terrains: Space, Place, and Identity in Postcolonial Los Angeles.”
• Todd Gannon, “Dissipations, Accumulations, and Intermediations: Architecture, Media and the Archigrams, 1961–1974.”
• Whitney Moon, "The Architectural Happening: Diller and Scofidio, 1979-89"
• Eran Neuman, “Oblique Discourses: Claude Parent and Paul Virilio’s Oblique Function Theory and Postwar Architectural Modernity.”
• Alexander Ortenberg, “Drawing Practices: The Art and Craft of Architectural Representation.”
• Brian Sahotsky, "The Roman Construction Process: Building the Basilica of Maxentius"
• Marie Saldana, “A Procedural Reconstruction of the Urban Topography of Magnesia on The Maeander.”
• David Salomon, “One Thing or Another: The World Trade Center and the Implosion of Modernism.”
• Ari Seligmann, “Architectural Publicity in the Age of Globalization.”
• Zheng Tan, “Conditions of The Hong Kong Section: Spatial History and Regulatory Environment of Vertically Integrated Developments.”
• Jon Yoder, “Sight Design: The Immersive Visuality of John Lautner.”

A Sampling of PhD Alumni and Their Pedagogy

Iman Ansari , Assistant Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Tulay Atak , Adjunct Associate Professor, Pratt School of Architecture

Shannon Starkey , Associate Professor of Architecture, University of San Diego

Ece Okay , Affiliate Research, Université De Pau Et Des Pays De L'adour

Zheng Tan , Department of Architecture, Tongji University

Pelin Yoncaci , Assistant Professor, Department Of Architecture, Middle East Technical University

José L.S. Gámez , Interim Dean, College of Arts + Architecture, UNC Charlotte

Eran Neuman , Professor, School of Architecture, Tel Aviv University

Marie Saldana , Assistant Professor, School of Interior Architecture, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Sergio M. Figueiredo , Assistant Professor, Eindhoven University of Technology

Rebecca Choi , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture, Tulane University

Will Davis , Lecturer in History, Theory and Criticism, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Maura Lucking , Faculty, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Kyle Stover , Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Montana State University

Alex Maymind , Assistant Professor of Architecture and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Architecture, University of Minnesota

Gary Riichirō Fox , visiting faculty member at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and lecturer at USC School of Architecture

Randy Nakamura , Adjunct Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Francisco

Aaron Cayer , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture + Planning, University of New Mexico

Whitney Moon , Associate Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Todd Gannon , Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Dora Epstein Jones , Professor of Practice, School of Architecture, the University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Hearne , Assistant Professor, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado Denver

PhD Typical Study Program

*The choice of language to fulfill this requirement must be discussed with the Ph.D. Standing Committee

Our Current PhD Cohort

AUD's cohort of PhD candidates are leaders in their fields of study, deepening their scholarship at AUD and at UCLA while sharing their knowledge with the community.

Adam Boggs is a sixth year Ph.D candidate and interdisciplinary artist, scholar, educator and Urban Humanist. His research and teaching interests include the tension between creativity and automation, craft-based epistemologies, and the social and material history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border. He holds a BFA in Sculpture Cum Laude from the Ohio State University, and an MFA in Visual Art from the State University of New York at Purchase College. Prior to joining the doctoral program at UCLA he participated in courses in Architecture (studio and history) at Princeton University and Cornell University. His dissertation analyzes the history of indigenous labor during the Mexican baroque period to form a comparative analysis with the 20th century Spanish revival architecture movement in Southern California and how the implementation of the style along the U.S.-Mexico border might function as a Lefebvrian “thirdspace” that disrupts binary thinking. In Spring 2024 he will teach an undergraduate seminar course at AUD on the history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the CUTF program.

Hanyu Chen is a second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. Her research focuses on the intersection between (sub)urban studies, heritage conservation, and the genders of the space. Specifically, it concerns the dynamics of genders in (sub)urban areas and how these dynamics are conserved as heritage. Born and raised in China for her first 18 years, Hanyu chose the conservation of comfort stations in China as her master's thesis at the University of Southern California, where she earned her master’s degree in Heritage Conservation and officially started her journey in architecture. Her thesis discusses the fluidity and genders of comfort stations and how they survive in contemporary China’s heritage conservation policies.

Hanyu also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in AMS (Applied Mathematics and Statistics) and Art History from Stony Brook University.

Yixuan Chen

Yixuan Chen is an architectural designer and a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA. Driven by an impulse to demystify both the grand promises and trivial familiarities of architecture, her research embarks on the notion of everydayness to elucidate the power dynamics it reveals. She investigates the conflicts between these two ends and focuses on modernization across different times and places.

Prior to joining UCLA AUD, she was trained as an architect and graduated from the University of Nottingham's China Campus with a first-class honors degree. Her graduation project “Local Culture Preservation Centre,” which questioned the validity of monumental architecture in the climate crisis, was nominated for the RIBA President's Medal in 2016.

She also holds a Master of Arts degree with distinction in Architectural History from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Her dissertation, “Shijing, on the Debris of Shijing,” explores the vanishing shijing places, or urban villages, where rural migrant workers negotiate their urban identity in Chinese cities, revealing shifting power relations. Additionally, she authored an article in Prospectives Journal titled "Architectural Authorship in ‘the Last Mile,’" advocating for a change to relational architectural authorship in response to the digital revolution in architecture.

Pritam Dey is an urban designer and second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. His research interest lies at the intersection of colonial urbanism, sensorial history, and somatic inquiries. His architecture thesis investigated the crematorium and temple as sensorial infrastructure, and was presented at World Architecture Congress at Seoul in 2017. Previously Dey worked in the domain of urban design, specifically informal markets, as a shaper of urbanism in Indian cities. Prior to joining the AUD doctoral program, his past research focused on investigating the role of informal and wholesale markets in shaping up urbanity in the Indian city cores and co-mentored workshops on Urbanity of Chitpur Road, Kolkata with ENSAPLV, Paris which was both exhibited at Kolkata and Paris. He also co-mentored the documentation of the retrospective landscape of Hampi with the support of ENSAPLV and French Embassy. His investigations on the slums of Dharavi title ‘The tabooed city’ was published in the McGill University GLSA Research series 2021 under the theme: the city an object or subject of law?

An urban designer and architect, Pritam Dey pursued his post graduation from School of planning and Architecture, Delhi. During his academic tenure at SPA, he was the recipient of 2018 Design Innovation Center Fellowship for Habitat design allowing him to work on the social infrastructure for less catered communities in the Sub Himalayan Villages. In 2022 He mentored a series of exhibitions on the theme of Water, Mountains and Bodies at Ahmadabad.

He was the 2022-23 Urban Humanities Initiatives Fellow at UCLA and recipient of 2023 UCLA Center for India and South Asia fellowship for his summer research.

Carrie Gammell

Carrie Gammell is a doctoral candidate working at the intersection of architectural history, property law, and political economy. Her research focuses on claims, investments, and intermediary organizations in the United States, from the Homestead Act of 1862 to the Housing Act of 1934.

Carrie is also a Senior Research Associate at cityLAB UCLA, where she studies state appropriations for California community college student housing. In the past, she contributed to Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus, a report and companion handbook that provides a comprehensive overview of the potential for land owned by school districts to be designed and developed for teachers and other employees.

Prior to joining AUD, Carrie worked as an architectural designer in Colombia and the United States, where she built a portfolio of affordable housing, multi-family residential, and single-family residential projects as well as civic and cultural renovations and additions. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Master in Design Studies (Critical Conservation) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Anirudh Gurumoorthy

Anirudh Gurumoorthy is a PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. His dissertation, tentatively titled (Un)Certain Tropics and the Architecture of Certain Commodities, 1803-1926, focuses on the spatial and environmental histories of natural history/sciences in the long-nineteenth century as it related to the political economy of empire within South Asia. He is interested in the ways the materiality of commodity extraction and production contends with how, where, and why certain ‘tropical’ animals, vegetables, and minerals are attributed with a metropolitan sense of ‘value’. Moving from the United States to Britain (and back) through various parts of the Indian Ocean world as markets for singular forms of ice, rubber, and cattle form, peak, and collapse, the dissertation ultimately aims to reveal interconnected spatial settings of knowledge, control, regulation, display, and labor where knowledge systems, technical limits, human and nonhuman action/inaction, differentiated senses of environments and value continually contend with each other to uphold the fetishes of the world market. Gurumoorthy holds a B.Arch. from R.V. College of Architecture, Bangalore, and an M.Des in the History and Philosophy of Design and Media from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Chi-Chia Hou

Chi-Chia Hou is a doctoral candidate in his sixth year at UCLA AUD. His working dissertation, “New Frontier: Architecture and Service 1893-1960,” explores his interest in architecture and wealth, changing ideas of profit and management, and social scientific discourses for measuring work and worker, self and others, and values of landed property.

His research locates moments of theorizing methodologies to manage income-generating properties in schools of agriculture, home economics, and hotel studies. The schools taught their students theories, while instilling the imminence of faithful direction of oneself, of self-as-property. The pedagogies, existing beyond the purview of Architecture, were of immense architectural consideration.

Chi-Chia Hou took a break from school in the previous academic year to learn from his daughter and has now returned to school to learn from his brilliant cohorts.

Adam Lubitz

Adam Lubitz is an urban planner, heritage conservationist, and doctoral student. His research engages the intersection of critical heritage studies and migration studies, with an emphasis on how archival information can inform reparations. His community-based research has been most recently supported by the Columbia GSAPP Incubator Prize as well as the Ziman Center for Real Estate and Leve Center for Jewish Studies at UCLA.

Prior to joining AUD, Adam worked at World Monuments Fund within their Jewish Heritage Program, and taught GIS coursework at Barnard College. His master's thesis applied field research with experimental mapping techniques in the old town of a municipality in Palestine. Adam holds MS degrees in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning from Columbia University and a BA in Urban Studies from New College of Florida.

José Monge is a PhD candidate in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design. His dissertation, titled Maritime Labor, Candles, and the Architecture of the Enlightenment (1750-1872) , focuses on the role that whale-originated illuminants, specifically spermaceti candles and oil, played in the American Enlightenment as an intellectual project and the U.S. as a country. By unravelling the tension between binaries such as intellectual and manual labor–the consumers that bought these commodities and the producers that were not able to afford them–the project understands architecture as a history of activities that moved from sea to land and land to sea, challenging assumptions about the static “nature” of architecture.

Kurt Pelzer

Kurt Pelzer is a fourth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. Their research explores the relational histories, material flows, and politics of land in and beyond California in the long nineteenth century during the United States parks, public lands, and conservation movements.

Their current scholarship traces the settler possession and exhibitionary display of a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the 1850s; an act that contested the ways Miwok peoples ancestral to California's Sierra Nevada knew and related to life and land. Their broader interests include histories of colonialism and capitalism in the Americas, environmental history, and Blackness and Indigeneity as a methodological analytic for political solidarities and possibilities.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Pelzer worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the Architecture and Design Curatorial Department participating in exhibitions, programming, and collections work. Pelzer completed a Master of Advanced Architectural Design in the History, Theory, and Experiments program from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and earned their Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from the College of Design at Iowa State University.

Shota Vashakmadze

Email Shota Vashakmadze

Shota Vashakmadze is a sixth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. His dissertation traces the conjoined histories of architectural computing, environmental design, and professional practice in the late 20th century, adopting critical approaches to architecture’s technical substrates—the algorithms, softwares, and user protocols of computation—to examine their social and political dispositions. In his scholarship and pedagogy, he aims to situate forms of architectural labor within the profession’s ongoing acculturation to environmental crisis. Most recently, he has been leading the development of the interdisciplinary “Building Climates” cluster, a year-long course sequence at UCLA, and co-organizing an initiative dedicated to fostering discourse on climate change and architecture, including a two-day conference entitled “Architecture After a Green New Deal.”

His research has been supported by the Canadian Centre for Architecture and appeared in journals including Architectural Theory Review , The Avery Review, and Pidgin Magazine. He is currently completing a contribution to a collection on landscape representation and a chapter for an edited volume on architecture, labor, and political economy.

Shota holds an MArch from Princeton University and has a professional background in architecture, landscape, and software development. Before coming to UCLA, he researched methods for designing with point cloud data and wrote Bison, a software plugin for landscape modeling.

Alexa Vaughn

Alexa Vaughn (ASLA, FAAR) is a first year PhD student in Architecture + Urban Design and a Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellow , from Long Beach, California. She is a Deaf landscape designer, accessibility specialist, consultant, and recent Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (2022-23). She is a visionary speaker, thought leader, prolific writer and researcher, and the author of “ DeafScape : Applying DeafSpace to Landscape,” which has been featured in numerous publications.

Her professional work is centered upon designing public landscapes with and for the Deaf and disabled communities, applying legal standards and Universal Design principles alongside lived experience and direct participation in the design process. She is an expert in designing landscapes for the Deaf community (DeafScape) and in facilitation of disabled community engagement. Prior to joining the A+UD program, Alexa worked for several landscape architecture firms over the course of six years, including OLIN and MIG, Inc.

Through a disability justice lens, her dissertation will seek to formally explore the historical exclusionary and inaccessible design of American urban landscapes and public spaces, as well as the response (activism, policy, and design) to this history through the present and speculative future. She will also actively take part in activist- and practice-based research with cityLAB and the Urban Humanities Institute .

Alexa holds both a BA in Landscape Architecture (with a minor in Conservation and Resource Studies) and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the University of California, Berkeley, with specialization in accessible and inclusive design. Much of her work can be found at www.designwithdisabledpeoplenow.com and on Instagram: @DeafScape.

Yashada Wagle

Yashada Wagle is a third year PhD student in Critical Studies at UCLA AUD, and a recipient of the department's Moss Scholarship. Her research focuses on imperial environmental-legislative regimes in British colonial India in the late nineteenth century. She is interested in exploring questions around the histories of spaces of extraction and production as they network between the metropole and the colony, and their relationship with the conceptions of laboring bodies therein. Her master's thesis focused on the Indian Forest Act of 1865, and elucidated the conceptualization of the space of the ‘forest’ through the lenses of its literary, legislative, and biopolitical trajectories, highlighting how these have informed its contemporary lived materiality.

Wagle holds a Bachelor in Architecture (BArch) from the Savitribai Phule Pune University in India, and a Master in Design Studies (History and Philosophy of Design and Media) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was previously a Research Fellow at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) in Mumbai, India.

In her spare time, Wagle enjoys illustrating and writing poetry, some of which can be found here .

Dexter Walcott

Dexter Walcott is a registered architect currently in his fifth year with the Critical Studies of Architecture program at UCLA. His research focuses on the Latrobe family and early nineteenth century builders in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. He is interested in the role of the built environment in histories of labor, capitalism, steam-power, and industry.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Joy is a fifth-year PhD student in architecture history. Her research explores geology as antiquity from early 19th – 20th century British colonial Hong Kong and China. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a focus in German from Middlebury College in 2017, and is a graduate of The New Normal program at Strelka Institute, Moscow in 2018. Previously, she has taught in the Department of Architecture at University of Hong Kong, as well as the Department of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

After working as a curatorial assistant at Tai Kwun Contemporary in 2019, she has continued the practice of art writing and translation, collaborating with many local Hong Kong artists as well as international curators such as Raimundas Malašauskas. In her spare time, she practices long-distance open water swimming. In 2022, she completed a 30km course at the South of Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

The MA and PhD programs welcome and accept applications from students with a diverse range of backgrounds. These programs are designed to help those interested in academic work in architecture develop those skills, so we strongly encourage that you become familiar with fundamental, celebrated works in the history and theory of architecture before entering the program.

Applicants to the academic graduate programs must hold a Bachelor’s degree, or the foreign equivalent. All new students must enter in the fall quarter. The program is full-time and does not accept part-time students.

Applications for the MA and PhD programs (Fall 2024 matriculation) will be available in Fall 2023, with application deadline of January 6, 2024; please revisit this page for updates. Accepted candidates who wish to enroll must file an online Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

How to Apply

Applying to the MA and PhD programs is an online process via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission (AGA).

Completing the requirements will take some time, so we strongly recommend logging in to the AGA in advance to familiarize yourself with the site and downloading the documents and forms you will need to complete your application.

You can also download this checklist to make sure you have prepared and submitted all the relevant documents to complete your application.

Your Statement of Purpose is a critical part of your application to the MA and PhD programs. It is your opportunity to introduce yourself and tell us about your specific academic background, interests, achievements, and goals. Our selection committee use it to evaluate your aptitude for study, as well as consideration for merit-based financial support.

Your statement can be up to 1500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• What is your purpose in applying to the MA or PhD program? Describe your area(s) of research interest, including any areas of concentration and specialization.
• What experiences have prepared you for this program? What relevant skills have you gained from these experiences? Have your experiences led to specific or tangible outcomes that would support your potential to contribute to this field (e.g. performances, publications, presentations, awards or recognitions)?
• What other information about your past experience might help the selection committee in evaluating your suitability for this program? E.g. research, employment, teaching, service, artistic or international experiences through which you have developed skills in leadership, communication, project management, teamwork, or other areas.
• Why is UCLA Architecture and Urban Design the best place for you to pursue your academic goals?
• What are your plans for your career after earning this degree?

Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to provide additional information to help the selection committee evaluate your aptitude for study. It will also be used to consider candidates for UCLA Graduate Division fellowships related to diversity. You can read more about the University of California Diversity Statement here .

Your statement can be up to 500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• Are there educational, personal, cultural, economic, or social experiences, not described in your Statement of Purpose, that have shaped your academic journey? If so, how? Have any of these experiences provided unique perspective(s) that you would contribute to your program, field or profession?
• Describe challenge(s) or barriers that you have faced in your pursuit of higher education. What motivated you to persist, and how did you overcome them? What is the evidence of your persistence, progress or success?
• How have your life experiences and educational background informed your understanding of the barriers facing groups that are underrepresented in higher education?
• How have you been actively engaged (e.g., through participation, employment, service, teaching or other activities) in programs or activities focused on increasing participation by groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education?
• How do you intend to engage in scholarly discourse, research, teaching, creative efforts, and/or community engagement during your graduate program that have the potential to advance diversity and equal opportunity in higher education?
• How do you see yourself contributing to diversity in your profession after you complete your academic degree at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design?

A Curriculum Vitae (résumé of your academic and professional experience) is recommended but not required.

Applicants must upload a scanned copy of the official transcripts from each college or university you have attended both in the U.S. and abroad. If you are accepted into the program you will be required to submit hard copies. These can either be sent directly from each institution or hand-delivered as long as they remain in the official, signed, sealed envelopes from your college or university. As a general rule, UCLA Graduate Division sets a minimum required overall grade-point average of 3.0 (B), or the foreign equivalent.

As of this Fall 2023 cycle, the GRE is NOT required as part of your application to UCLA AUD. No preference will be given to those who choose to submit GRE scores as part of their application.

However, if you do take the GRE exam and wish to include it as part of your application: More information on this standardized exam can be found at www.ets.org/gre . In addition to uploading your GRE scores, please direct ETS to send us your official score sheets. Our ETS codes for the GRE are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 4401

We recommend you take the exam at least three weeks before the application deadline as it usually takes 2-3 weeks for ETS to send us the test scores.

If you have received a Bachelor’s degree in a country where the official language of instruction and primary spoken language of daily life is not English, you must submit either a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Exempt countries include Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This is a requirement that is regardless of your visa or citizenship status in the United States.

To be considered for admission to the M.Arch. program, international students must score at least a 92 on the TOEFL or a 7 on the IELTS exam. Because processing, sending, and receiving TOEFL and IELTS scores can take several weeks, international students must schedule their exam no later than October 31 in order to meet UCLA deadlines. TOEFL scores must be sent to us directly and uploaded as part of the online submission. Our ETS codes for the TOEFL are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 12

If your score is less than 100 on the TOEFL or 7.5 on the IELTS, you are also required to take the English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) on arrival at UCLA. The results of this test will determine any English as a Second Language (ESL) courses you need to take in your first term of residence. These courses cannot be applied towards your minimum course requirements. As such, you should expect to have a higher course load than students not required to take ESL courses.

If you have earned a degree or completed two years of full-time college-level coursework in the following countries, your TOEFL / IELTS and ESLPE requirements will be waived: U.S., U.K., Canada (other than Quebec), Australia, and New Zealand. Please provide official transcripts to demonstrate course completion. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any other documentation to demonstrate language proficiency.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. These letters should be from individuals who are familiar with your academic and professional experiences and can evaluate your capacity to successfully undertake graduate studies at UCLA. If you do not have an architecture background please note that we are looking for letters that evaluate your potential as a graduate student, not necessarily your architecture experience.

Letters of recommendation must be sent electronically directly to UCLA by the recommender. When logged in, you can enter the name and email address of each of your recommenders. They will be contacted by email with a request to submit a letter on your behalf. You can track which letters have and have not been received. You can also send reminders to your recommenders to send their letters.

Writing samples should illustrate an applicant’s capacities for research, analytical writing and scholarly citation. Texts may include seminar papers, theses, and/or professional writing.

Please complete and submit the Department Supplement Form to confirm your intention to apply to the MA or PhD program.

Master of urban planning and design

The PAB-accredited Urban Planning and Design graduate program focuses on the physical planning and design of the built environment. The MUPD program is structured around planning studios which foster an energetic, collaborative and creative environment and pursues excellence through innovative teaching. 

Our studio culture enables us to develop and employ new ideas and technologies and promotes innovation by involving students in a variety of local, regional, and international projects. The MUPD program engages students in interdisciplinary collaboration and experiential learning.

The curriculum allows students to master the essential knowledge, skills, and competencies of the required coursework through an innovative model that couples rigorous academic learning with professional engagement.

Program Brochure

Description

Program of Study

Application Requirements

MUPD Dual Degree Programs:

• JD + MUPD Dual Degree
• MPA + MUPD Dual Degree

Public information

19 Best Urban Planning Master’s Programs – 2024

April 25, 2024

If you’re interested in advancing your career in urban planning, then a master’s degree can be a great next step. To note, it is still absolutely possible to establish a career in urban planning with only an undergraduate degree in urban planning-related studies. However, having a master’s in urban planning does have the power to boost your earning potential in the workplace and help you access leadership roles. It can be difficult to decide and sift through which programs are right for you, especially if you’re deciding between an in-person and online program. Luckily, we’ve compiled two lists on the best urban planning master’s programs below:

Best 10 In-person Urban Planning Master’s Programs

1) university of southern california.

Sitting in Los Angeles, California, the University of Southern California offers a Master of Urban Planning through the Sol Price School of Public Policy. The MUP consists of 48 credits and encourages engaged work experience through internships and studio exposure. Concentrations at USC’s Master of Urban Planning program include: arts & culture, design of the built environment, economic development, environmental planning & analysis, house & real estate development, and mobility & transportation planning. There is a distinct focus on social justice and data innovation. Lastly, on the outcomes front, 93% of graduates from USC’s Master of Urban Planning are employed within a year of graduation.

2) University of Albany, State University of New York

The University of Albany in Albany, New York offers a Master of Regional Planning under their Department of Geography and Planning. The Master of Regional Planning program is interdisciplinary, offering specializations in environmental & land use planning, community planning, and transportation planning. With an emphasis on creativity, public involvement and sustainability, the 48-credit program encourages hands-on involvement through their Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab. Students will gain innovative skills to tackle commercial and public projects like New York State hazard mitigation planning.

3) University of Pennsylvania

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, UPENN’s Weitzman School of Design offers a Master of City Planning. Students in the Master of City Planning program are required to complete an internship in or outside of the Philadelphia area. The MCP curriculum allows for students to specialize in: (1) Housing, Community & Economic Development, (2) Land Use-Environmental Planning (3) Public Private Development (4) Smart Cities (5) Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning and (6) Urban Design. Students can also pursue dual degrees within the Weitzman School of Design or with other Penn schools. Lastly, 75% of students are employed within a year of graduation.

Best Urban Planning Master’s Programs (Continued)

4) harvard university.

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts has a Master in Urban Planning program at their Graduate School of Design. The flexibility in Harvard’s MUP program gives students the option to take classes at the neighboring Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Joint degrees are possible with the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Law School. Concentrations include: Environment, Climate & Health; Housing, Community & Economic Development; International & Comparative Planning; Real Estate & Urban Development; Transportation & Infrastructure; Urban Analytics; Urban Design.

5) Hunter College, City University of New York

Located in New York City, Hunter College offers a Master of Urban Planning under their Department of Urban Policy & Planning. The MUP program focuses on theory, hands-on skills development, planning specializations, and studio collaboration. Students enrolled in Hunter College’s Master of Urban Planning program are required to complete an internship and planning studio. There is also the creative flexibility for students to design their own curriculum with their advisor. 87% of students who graduate become employed within a year.

6) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, situated in Champaign, Illinois, has one of the nation’s oldest urban planning departments. The Department of Urban & Regional Planning offers a Master of Urban Planning at the College of Fine & Applied Arts. Students have the option to complete joint degrees in Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Recreation, Sport and Tourism, and Juris Doctor. Concentrations include Land Use & Environmental Planning, Transportation Planning, Community Development for Social Justice, Local & Regional Economic Development, and Transnational Planning Stream.

7) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Rutgers, located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, offers a Master of City and Regional Planning. The program is given through the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, where students must maintain a 3.0 GPA to graduate. The Master of City and Regional Planning has the following concentrations available: Community Development & Housing, Design & Development/Redevelopment, Environmental Planning, International Development, Transportation Policy & Planning, and Urban Informatics. Students are also expected to complete the professional report requirement, which is a short written memorandum on a planning topic.

8) Cornell University

Sitting in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning offers a Master of Regional Planning. Cornell’s Master of Regional Planning program strongly emphasizes students to actively participate in workshops and research projects. Students can choose their concentrations in Designing the City, Economic Development Planning: Communities and Regions, Land Use and Environmental Planning, or International Studies in Planning. Among the graduation requirements, students are expected to complete internships and an Exit Project Paper, and there is the option to study abroad. All of Cornell’s Master of Regional Planning graduates become employed within one year of graduation.

9) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge offers a Master in City Planning through their School of Architecture & Planning. Instead of choosing a concentration, students at MIT’s Master in City Planning program tailor their own specializations with an advisor. Internships and fieldwork are encouraged. Additionally, students are required to complete a workshop or studio in the second or third semester. There’s also the option to pursue a dual degree with a Master of Architecture or a Master of Science in Transportation. Within a year of graduation, 100% of MIT’s MCP students are successful in finding employment.

10) University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois Chicago offers a Master in Urban Planning & Policy through their College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. The MUPP program has specializations in Economic Development, Community Development, Spatial Planning, Urban Transportation, and Environmental Planning & Policy. Students enrolled in this urban planning master’s program are required to complete a portfolio and an internship before graduation. For those interested in an interdisciplinary education, there is the option to do a dual degree in Public Health. The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs also offers a Master of City Design and a Doctorate in Urban Planning & Policy.

Best 10 Online Urban Planning Master’s Programs

1) university of florida.

University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning offers an online Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning. The online program is 52 credits in length. Additionally, it gives students specialized course options if they want to choose a certain area of focus like sustainability. Students enrolled in University of Florida’s online urban planning program can take courses such as Planning Research and Design or Land Use Planning Law. Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree relevant to urban planning.

2) University of Southern California

The University of Southern California offers an online Executive Master of Urban Planning, a program ideal for urban planning professionals. This is a full-time program that lasts for 16 months and its curriculum is 24 units. Although this is an online program, students work with faculty and colleagues on urban planning projects throughout Los Angeles and beyond. The Executive Master of Urban Planning focuses on fostering the careers of urban planning leaders. Students will attain the skills required in this field, like understanding complex urban planning legal processes and analyzing advanced data.

3) University of Washington

University of Washington’s online Master of Infrastructure Planning and Management program is ideal for students interested in leading infrastructure systems. The two-year program consists of 45 credits and can be earned on part-time enrollment, and students can complete the program on their own schedule. The diverse courses offered at UW can cover GIS, natural environment or infrastructure systems thinking. Students enrolled in this online Master of Infrastructure Planning and Management program are most often working professionals.

4) Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University offers an online Master’s in Environmental Planning and Management through the Whiting School of Engineering. As a part-time program, this online urban planning master’s program consists of ten courses. Half of the courses are related to a specialization, and the other half are electives. Students become prepared to understand complex land regulations, environmental laws, real estate rules, housing laws, and more. Lastly, five years is the maximum amount of given time in which students are allowed to complete the program.

5) The University of Alabama at Birmingham

The University of Alabama at Birmingham offers a part-time, online Sustainable Smart Cities Master’s program. This online urban planning master’s degree focuses on affordable housing, green real estate infrastructure, transport and mobility, renewable energy systems and urban development. Students at UAB’s online urban planning program study how the application of major technologies in smart cities are designed and developed. There is a two-year window of completion.

6) University of Maryland Global Campus

University of Maryland Global Campus has an online Master’s in Environmental Management program with a STEM-focused curriculum. This online urban planning master’s program is suited for urban planning professionals interested in progressing as leaders in sustainable urban planning. With a five-year window of completion, the Master’s in Environmental Management consists of 36 units and gives students schedule flexibility.

7)  Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University offers an online Master of Professional Studies in Community and Economic Development. This online urban planning master’s program is a 30-credit course ideal for working professionals who wish to grow their community-building skills. With a curriculum that emphasizes theory and practice, the program covers intersectional topics like economic development planning and perspectives on development, democracy, and decision-making.

8) University of Connecticut

The University of Connecticut offers an interdisciplinary online Master of Energy and Environmental Management program. This 30-credit online urban planning master’s program provides courses in environmental law, planning and management, and geographic information systems. Further, out of the 30 credits, 27 credits are coursework and 3 credits are internship experience. Students benefit from an asynchronous course schedule, so there is 24/7 access to all coursework.

9)  University of Denver

University of Denver offers an online Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management program, with a concentration in Environmental Management. The program also has an asynchronous schedule and consists of 12 urban planning courses, which are all accessible through Canvas. Students will learn how to lead business and finance strategy, direct compliance efforts and understand regulations, and use management and reporting systems.

Choosing the best urban planning master’s program

The realities of urban planning cover an expansive array of environments and regulations, but community remains at its true core. From preserving public spaces to assessing urban or rural places, urban planning requires an adept understanding of complex subjects like public policy or environmental sustainability. So depending on your specializations or prospective ambitions, it’s important to choose the urban planning master’s program that’s right for you.

Urban Planning Master’s Program – Additional Resources 

In conclusion, we hope you have enjoyed this article on the best urban planning master’s online and in-person programs. Additionally, you may wish to explore the following articles:

• Master’s in Education Online Programs
• 15 Best MPH Programs Online
• Best Online MSW Programs
• What is a Good GRE Score?
• 9 Best Master’s in Interior Design Online Programs 
• 20 Best Master’s in Library Science Schools
• Statement of Purpose for Grad School – Examples and Advice
• Graduate School Admissions

Joanna Hong

With a BA from Pitzer College and an MA from University College London, Joanna has worked in London, Berlin, and Los Angeles covering many cultural and political issues with organizations such as Byline Media, NK News, and Free Turkey Media. A freelancer for The New York Times, her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Dazed and Confused Magazine, and The Guardian, among others. In addition, Joanna was the recipient of the 2021 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship in Fiction and is currently completing her first novel.

• 2-Year Colleges
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Essay
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Private High School Spotlight
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

I am a... Student Student Parent Counselor Educator Other First Name Last Name Email Address Zip Code Area of Interest Business Computer Science Engineering Fine/Performing Arts Humanities Mathematics STEM Pre-Med Psychology Social Studies/Sciences Submit