best 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

Urban, Community and Regional Planning Graduate Programs in America

1-25 of 113 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 ,

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Graduate School •

• • Rating 4.62 out of 5   26

University of Wyoming

LARAMIE, WY

• • Rating 4.42 out of 5   24

School of Building Arts - Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah College of Art and Design •

SAVANNAH, GA

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... .

Pratt Institute

BROOKLYN, NY

• • Rating 4.6 out of 5   25

Savannah College of Art and Design

• • Rating 4.46 out of 5   74

The Schools of Public Engagement at The New School

The New School •

NEW YORK, NY

• • Rating 4.67 out of 5   6

Showing results 1 through 25 of 113

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

• 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.

Current Students

Doctor of philosophy in urban studies and planning, funding and responsibilities for dusp doctoral students, degree requirements, sample schedule by milestones, important early dates (guide by semester), past dissertations, additional resources.

Building 7, MIT

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning offers a degree in a Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning which is an advanced research degree in planning or urban studies and is focused on training individuals for research and teaching in the areas of applied social research and planning.

Daniel Engelberg

Enjoli Hall

Carmelo ignaccolo.

Aarthi Janakiraman

Justin Kollar

Kevin Lujan Lee

Arianna Salazar Miranda

Chenab Navalkha

Soyoung Park

Lidia Cano Pecharroman

Benjamin Preis

Gokul Sampath

Wonyoung So

Andrew Stokols

Anna Waldman-Brown

Lizzie Yarina

The Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning program emphasizes the development of fundamental research competence, flexibility in the design of special area of study, and encouragement of joint student/faculty research and teaching. The program is tailored to the needs of individual students, each of whom works closely with a custom ecosystem of scholars in their field and a mentor in the Department.

DUSP graduates are well prepared for (and go on to work in) a wide range of careers in academia, government, and industry.

Admissions for the doctoral program emphasizes academic preparation, professional experience, and the fit between the student's research interests and the department's research activities. Nearly all successful applicants have previously completed a master's degree. Admission to the doctoral program is highly competitive. 

Core criteria and guidelines for doctoral admission decisions:

• Application strength: cohesiveness of statement, compelling research topics, preparedness for doctoral level work.
• Alignment with Departmental research priorities: achieving racial justice, tackling the climate change, enhancing democratic governance, and closing the wealth gap
• Could an applicant work with more than one DUSP faculty on their committee?
• Does applicant have a strong match with at least one lead faculty?

11.001J    Introduction to Urban Design & Development

11.002    Making Public Policy

11.005    Introduction to International Development

11.200    Gateway I

11.201    Gateway II

11.202/203    Microeconomics

11.205/11.188    Introduction to Spatial Analysis

11. 220   Quantitative Reasoning  

11.222    Introduction to Critical Qualitative Methods 

• Cross-cutting substantive areas – research of interest to multiple DUSP program groups and strategic priorities
• If you reach out to a faculty member directly and they have not responded before you complete your application, please note that no response does not reflect a judgement. Faculty have many time commitments and may be unable to answer your request quickly.
• Please do note DUSP students offer Peer Application Support Services (PASS) , supporting students who may face structural barriers in applying, including (but not limited to) international applicants, first generation college students, and applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, queer, disabled, and/or a person of color. 
• Faculty members do on occasion recruit students for their externally funded research, but those student's admission is still decided by committee.  

Learn more via the Admissions page, here.

Each doctoral student has an assigned faculty academic advisor with whom they should develop a plan of study. All faculty are concerned with promoting good personal and academic relationships between students and advisors. Faculty advisors are responsible for: approving the registration for the doctoral student at the beginning of each semester, reviewing the student's progress, meeting with their advisee on a regular basis, and alerting the student and Department Headquarters if any issues arise concerning satisfactory progress towards completing the student's degree requirements.

If the student is nonresident, the student and faculty should communicate on a regular basis with each other concerning the progress being made, the timing to be determined jointly by the student and faculty member.

Advisees may request switching advisors. Initiating a change in advisors is the responsibility of the student. The student should:

• Talk to the other faculty member about her/his willingness to serve as a doctoral advisor;
• Inform the current advisor about the desired change in advisors (ideally the decision would be made in discussions with the current and future advisor);
• If the issue becomes complicated, discuss the move with the Head of the PhD Committee;
• Inform the Doctoral Program Academic Advisor .

Addition resources for roles, relationships, and advising best practices may be found here . Student support resources may be found here . Additional information on doctoral student advisee/advisor relationship may be accessed via the DUSP Handbook.

The Department admits five to seven students a year to the doctoral program. All admitted students receive funding for five academic years, including the option of summer work. In addition, some students are admitted with five academic years of funding as part of a research project sponsored by a faculty member and/or external funding.

Departmentally-funded students commit to completing five teaching assistantships and three research assistantships during their time as students at DUSP. The department also issues a call for optional funded summer work during the spring term. 

For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing and food as well as transportation, please visit the SFS website .

Required Coursework

In their first (fall) semester, students are required to take 11.233. There are no exceptions nor substitutions to this requirement. The output of this class is a research proposal that can form the basis for the required first-year research paper.

The Doctoral Research Seminar focuses on writing a research paper - the first year paper (FYP) - on a subject of the student's choice. The paper's purpose is to assess the student's ability to independently make a reasoned argument based on evidence that they have collected and to allow the student to work closely with a faculty advisor.

Students are expected to finish the paper in the spring of their first year, and students CANNOT register for their third semester of courses until this paper has been completed.

Methods Courses

All PhD students must complete one graduate-level class in quantitative methods and one graduate-level class in qualitative methods from a list of approved subjects by the end of their fourth semester. Enrolled doctoral students may consult the PhD Wiki pages for community collected information on methods courses of interest to DUSP PhD students:

• Quantitative Methods Courses
• Qualitative Methods Courses

In addition, students are strongly encouraged to enroll in DUSP's Advanced Seminar on Planning Theory (11.930).

Field Exams (General Exams)

General Exams will ordinarily be taken either in late spring of the second year or in early fall of the third year. These examinations contain a written and an oral component. All PhD students are expected to prepare for an examination in two fields. The first field is theory oriented and must be a discipline or equivalent systematic approach to social inquiry. The second field is typically customized to student specializations.

• City Design & Development
• International Development
• Urban Information Systems
• Public Policy and Politics
• Health and Global Communities
• Urban History
• Urban and Regional Economics
• Urban Sociology
• Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management
• Housing and Real Estate Development
• Labor and Employment Policy
• Neighborhood and Community Development
• Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
• Planning in Developing Countries
• Regional Development
• Transportation and Land Use

Dissertation  

Summary and Full Dissertation Proposal

Within three months after successful completion of the general examinations, each PhD candidate is expected to submit to the PhD Committee a five-to six-page preliminary dissertation research proposal summary.

• The proposal should include the dissertation topic, the importance of the topic, the research method, the types of information to be used, the means of obtaining the required information (surveys, statistical testing, literature, etc.), and a selected bibliography.
• The preliminary dissertation proposal must be approved and signed by the dissertation advisor on the student's committee. The dissertation committee must be chaired by a member of DUSP and include at least one other member of the MIT faculty.
• Membership of the general examination and dissertation committees need not overlap.

Within one year after passing the general examinations, the student must submit a full proposal to their dissertation committee and for approval by the PhD Committee. Full proposals should expand upon the topics covered in the preliminary proposals and must be signed by all members of the student's dissertation committee. An external reviewer will be invited to provide feedback as well.

• In this proposal (usually 25-30 pages in length), the student should provide details on the research design and preliminary ideas (e.g., hypotheses) that will guide the research effort. They should also discuss the relevant literature and potential data sources.
• All students are expected to organize a colloquium in which they discuss their dissertation proposal before their full committee, the external reviewer, and other interested members of DUSP and MIT more generally. The student is expected to notify all DUSP members of the time and place of the colloquium and the dissertation proposal cannot be approved until the colloquium has been held. No colloquia will be held during the last two weeks of the semester, or final exam week, or during the summer. 

Oral Dissertation Defense

After the dissertation committee and the student indicate that the dissertation is completed, the committee chair will ask for the student to appear for an oral examination. The oral examination will customarily last for two hours and will be attended by all members of the dissertation committee. Other faculty and/or students may be allowed to attend the oral examination at the discretion of the dissertation committee. If revisions, normally slight, to the dissertation are suggested by the committee, the committee chair may be solely in charge of approving the revised document. If major revisions are needed, all members of the committee need to review the revised document, and, in some cases, another oral examination may be required. 

Guidelines for preparation of the dissertation document are available from DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator. The student must follow these guidelines carefully. All final dissertation document are submitted electronically. Students will be removed from the degree list for graduation if the appropriate dissertation documents are not met by the deadline set each semester by DUSP. All PhD dissertations are graded on a satisfactory basis. 

Written Dissertation Options 

In addition to the traditional monograph (i.e. a book-length manuscript), students may opt for a three-paper dissertation. 

The three-paper option is based on three related publishable papers and is designed to be used in situations where the thesis material is better suited to three papers on the same general topic rather than turning the dissertation into a book. A dissertation cannot be comprised of essays on three totally separate topics.

• Both the summary and full dissertation proposal are still required, with a dissertation committee consisting of a chair and two readers. The three-papers option should represent different aspects of the same topic.
• A student wishing to submit a three-paper dissertation should propose this plan at the time they submit the initial dissertation summary proposal or, if a decision to do so is made only subsequently, the student should indicate this plan as part of the full dissertation proposal that is submitted to the PhD Committee in advance of the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium.
• One paper in a three-paper dissertation may be co-authored. In such cases, as part of the full Dissertation Proposal, the student should explain the rationale for the proposed co-authorship. The PhD committee representative charged with evaluating the dissertation proposal will be asked to review this to determine the significance of the student's role in the collaborative paper. If there is a change in the plan for co-authorship after the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium has taken place, this must be cleared with the PhD Committee.
• In meeting the criterion of “publishable papers,” the dissertation may include a paper that has been previously published, as long as this paper has been completed as part of the student's doctoral program at MIT.
• A student's First Year Paper may not be used for one of the three papers submitted for the dissertation, unless it has been significantly revised and updated.
• Finally, the three-paper dissertation itself must contain a section that explains how the three papers are related.

A note on completing your dissertation during the summer:

Please be aware that most DUSP faculty are on nine-month contracts, and are not paid to teach or work with students during June, July, and August. Accordingly, any student seeking to complete PhD thesis work over the summer in order to be placed on the September degree list must be certain about the willingness of the advisor and readers to take on this responsibility. Any student seeking this arrangement must submit a form signed by all members of the advising team, attesting to their willingness and summer availability. This form should be submitted to the PhD Academic Administrator no later than the Spring thesis due date. Failure to do so may result in removal from eligibility for the September degree list. If this happens, a student would need to submit their thesis and hold the defense during the fall term, and would need to pay the pro-rated fall semester's tuition if beyond the funded five academic years.

• Advisor sign-off required
• Advisor sign-off required 
• With members of PhD Committee required 
• Determine first and second field exams interests
• Assemble general exams committee
• General exam committee sign-off required
• Complete course work p reparation for general exams
• Complete second-year review statement and meeting
• Dissertation committee and external reviewer sign-off required

Year Three+

• Complete further coursework - if helpful to dissertation 
• Research and write dissertation
• Dissertation chair and committee members
• Revise dissertation as necessary  
• Dissertation chair and/or committee sign-off required
• Revise dissertation as necessary 
• Submit completed dissertation to department

First Semester

• Meet with your assigned faculty advisor
• Determine who will be your faculty advisor for your First-Year Paper (FYP)
• Complete FYP research proposal 

Second Semester

• Work on FYP, including fieldwork during IAP if necessary 
• Submit your First-Year Paper
• Schedule your First-year Review
• At least two weeks before First-year Review at the end of second semester.
• Take any recommended actions after First-year Review meeting   

Third Semester

• OPTIONAL schedule a presentation of your First-Year paper in the PhD Colloquium series
• Determine your first and second field exams interests
• Your chair must be a member of DUSP faculty
• at least another two faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the MIT faculty

Fourth Semester

• Schedule your first and second field examinations 
• sent to the members of your exam committee
• sent to DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator at least one month before taking your general exams
• with PhD Committee member and your advisor 
• take any necessary actions following meeting
• Take   your first and second field examinations
• within three months of finishing general exams
• Explore and decide who will chair your Dissertation Committee
• Think about and discuss with your Dissertation Chair who else will sit on your Dissertation Committee

Fifth Semester

• If exams are not completed in your second year, please note you must complete your general exams by the end of your fifth semester. Please refer to semester four for more details.
• Meet with your Dissertation Committee chair to discuss your dissertation proposal
• Write a draft dissertation proposal for feedback from your Dissertation Committee
• ​​​​​​​Circulate your dissertation proposal to your Dissertation Committee
• Schedule a colloquium on your dissertation proposal

This embedded table shows recent dissertation research by the doctoral community. A more complete listing of DUSP dissertation work can be found here.

Additional resources for DUSP doctoral students may be found in DUSP's Resources, Policies, and Procedures page under general ,  funding sources , professional development , students , and doctoral students .  

We welcome any questions you have about the DUSP doctoral program. 

• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding registration, enrollment, leaves, exams and/or other student requirements should be addressed to Sandra Elliot  .
• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding regarding the doctoral student process should be addressed to the PhD Committee co-Chairs ( see DUSP Governance )

• Academics >
• Graduate Programs >

PhD in Urban and Regional Planning

• UB Directory

The PhD in Urban Planning program at the University at Buffalo provides a dynamic and multidisciplinary academic experience, equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and research expertise to tackle complex urban challenges. With a focus on innovation and critical thinking, students engage in rigorous coursework, independent research, and collaborative projects spanning urban design, sustainability, social equity, and economic development. Mentored by renowned faculty, students benefit from cutting-edge facilities and the vibrant community of Buffalo, New York, gaining real-world experience and forging connections in the field. Flexible and tailored to individual interests, the program prepares graduates to lead positive change in urban environments, advancing sustainable development and social justice.

Duration of Study

• 4-yr Program (72 credit hours)

Cost of Study

• Domestic: $5,655 - $12,130
• International: $12,130

*per semester tuition rates and does not include fees

Admissions requirements

• Application fee: $75
• No GRE required

Student Life

• 3/20/24 Information for Future Students
• 11/5/19 The studio experience
• 3/28/24 Student organizations

See our work

• 10/9/17 Planning for the Health and Social Inclusion of LGBT Older Adults

Research and Faculty

Let us answer your questions.

Please fill out the form below and our PhD recruitment team will be happy to answer any questions.

The Department of Urban Planning and Design

"Terra Fluxus" by Shizheng Geng (MAUD '21) and Youngju Kim (MAUD '21)

It was at Harvard University that the first formal North American programs in city and regional planning (1923) and urban design (1960) were established. Since then, Harvard has played a leading role in the education of urban planners and urban designers. The Department of Urban Planning and Design is home to both professions, offering a professional degree in urban planning and a post-professional degree in urban design. It is also home to the new Master in Real Estate degree.

Degree Programs

Maud / mlaud master of architecture in urban design / master of landscape architecture in urban design.

The program leading to the Master of Architecture in Urban Design and the Master of Landscape in Urban Design is intended for individuals who have completed a professional program in Architecture or Landscape Architecture and who have a strong interest in engaging the practice and theory of contemporary urbanism.

MUP Master in Urban Planning

Accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and open to students with an undergraduate degree, the two-year professional Master in Urban Planning degree program emphasizes planning to develop, preserve, and enhance the built environment. Students learn how to understand, analyze, and influence the variety of forces-social, economic, cultural, legal, political, ecological, and aesthetic, among others-shaping the built environment.

MRE Master in Real Estate

The Master in Real Estate (MRE) is a 12-month degree program for individuals seeking to acquire or sharpen traditional real estate skills while learning how real estate can advance beneficial spatial, social, and environmental outcomes in cities and metropolitan areas worldwide.

MUP and MLA/MArch/MDES/MPA/MPP/JD/MPH Concurrent and Joint Degrees

Students in the Master in Urban Planning (MUP) program can undertake concurrent degrees with other departments at the GSD and joint degrees with certain schools outside the GSD. Concurrent and joint degree students must be in full-time residence for at least one additional year beyond the longer of the two degree programs.

Inside Urban Planning and Design

Composed of internationally experienced scholars and practitioners, the Department’s faculty explores the built environment from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and points of view. The Department’s pedagogically innovative combination of interdisciplinary studios, lecture courses, seminars, and independent study, coupled with a relatively small student size of roughly 180 individuals drawn from around the world, creates an intimate, engaged educational atmosphere in which students thrive and learn.

Students take full advantage of the curricular and extracurricular offerings of the GSD’s Department of Architecture and Department of Landscape Architecture. The Department of Urban Planning and Design also draws upon the significant resources of Harvard University as a whole. The Urban Planning program administers joint degree programs with the Kennedy School, the Law School, and the School of Public Health. Students often cross-register in courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Business School, the Kennedy School, the Law School, and the School of Public Health. Students also cross-register in courses offered by the neighboring Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ann Forsyth , Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design

Please visit the official Department of Urban Planning and Design Facebook page.

“H.U.D., Sweat, and Tears” team is runner-up in affordable housing competition

Harvard Graduate School of Design student Avanti Krovi (MUP ’21) and teammates from the University…

May 3, 2021

Announcements

I decided that I needed to serve my neighbors and harness the skills I had learned in my first year as a transportation and public realm–focused master in urban planning student for a truly just cause.

David Bemporad

Apr 21, 2021

Stephen Gray talks “Shaping Equitable Cities” in Harvard magazine cover story

Back in his hometown: Stephen Gray in downtown Cincinnati. Photo: Aaron Conway/aaconn studio. Courtesy of…

Mar 11, 2021

Students, Faculty Receive 2021 Harvard Mellon Initiative Awards for Urban-Focused Research

The Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative recently awarded 29 grants for urban-focused…

Mar 29, 2021

Power and Justice in the Lone Grid State: Abby Spinak and Sarah Stanford-McIntyre on the crisis in Texas

Newspapers this week are swamped with headlines like, “What Went Wrong…

Feb 19, 2021

The African American Design Nexus’ Harlem StoryMap traces the neighborhood’s Black-designed places

Black Harlem, storied and resilient, has been chronicled from many perspectives. Missing until now has…

Feb 17, 2021

We can no longer continue to rebuild in the same way we always have. We have to take and learn from the failures of our infrastructures and begin to develop those in new ways now.

Toni Griffin

Dec 2, 2020

GSD students collaborate with Kabul University in Afghanistan to confront the most extreme conditions of urbanization

Design paradigms are best tested in extreme conditions, as Rahul Mehrotra…

Jan 29, 2021

Land for a City on a Hill: Alex Krieger’s iconic tour of Boston

  Watch as Alex Krieger, professor and former chair of the Department of Urban…

Dec 4, 2020

Urban Planning students win grand prize in affordable housing hackathon

A team of Master in Urban Planning students consisting of Zoe Iacovino (MUP/MPP ’23), Ryan…

This Land Is Your Land : Students interrogate why “urban” and “Indigenous” are cast as opposing identities

Until the last decade, Native American, First Nations, and other Indigenous architecture has been a…

Nov 27, 2020

There is a raison d’etre for cities not so easily dislodged. The human thirst for live engagement with people and place is not easily quenched. In the past, in crisis after crisis, urban resilience has proved the skeptics wrong.

Jerold Kayden

Nov 19, 2020

Hidden Territories: Uncovering the racist legacy of the American landscape

The term “landscape” historically referred to pictures of the world—vistas or views—and so it is…

Nov 20, 2020

With student advocates’ help, Cambridge set to build more affordable housing

Last month, the city council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to…

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 . 

• How to Apply

Ph.D. in Urban & Regional Sciences

The Ph.D. in Urban & Regional Sciences program at Texas A&M forms knowledge about some of the most pressing issues our society faces. In this program, you will become a social scientist rooted in the theoretical bases of urban, city, and community planning. 

The Ph.D. program provides expertise in the research process and its application to planning, design, and/or land development issues. Using rigorous quantitative and qualitative methodologies, you’ll examine the interactions among social-ecological systems and the built environment.

Apply Download Program Flyer Request More Information

About the Program

Our Ph.D. program is one of the largest in the country, with the most diverse range of research topics available. Because of our size, you’ll work with a cohort of students working on similar projects. At the same time, you’ll get to mentor undergraduate students by teaching courses or supervising research projects.

You’ll be mentored by a faculty member from the start of your program. Paired based on similar research interests, you’ll work closely with your mentor throughout your program. Our faculty undertake research funded by federal agencies as well as activist research, where they engage directly with the communities they are studying.

Download Program Handbook

Areas of Emphasis

• Environmental hazards and disasters
• Sustainability
• Housing and community development
• Health and wellbeing
• Transportation

Meet Our Students

The Ph.D. program admits 8–12 students per year, with about 40–45 doctoral students in residence, making our program one of the largest in the country. Our program attracts students from all over the world, and we strive to attract and retain a student body that is diverse in terms of gender identity, race/ethnicity, cultural background, and sexual orientation.

My research intersects with computer science and urban and regional science. I am especially interested in creating Artificial Intelligence models that empower all stakeholders in participatory planning for our shared future. Jiaxin Du

Housing affordability, one of the most pressing issues presently facing planners, disproportionately affects low-income and minority households. My research seeks to improve the metrics used to estimate affordability problems, thereby facilitating a deeper understanding of the disparities and inequities in housing needs. Clare Losey

My research in pedestrian thermal comfort and microclimatic street design provides a way to improve the quality of urban public spaces in the age of climate change. By designing thermally comfortable street spaces, a safe and favorable walking environment can be created with enhanced urban vitality and walkability. You Joung Kim

My research in the child-friendly community helps to understand the importance of environmental factors and health benefits of children and their families. Micro-scale environmental characteristics for creating a child-friendly community would be different from those meant for the adult population, taking into account behavior- and context-specific approaches. Amaryllis Park

Graduates of our program go on to become tenure-track professors in research-intensive universities; analysts in high-level think tanks or government agencies; or leaders in private sector organizations that serve cities, communities, or the development industry. Some of our graduates include the following:

Marccus Hendricks

Associate Professor

University of Maryland

Special Assignment in the White House Office of Environmental Quality

Fayola Jacobs

Assistant Professor

University of Minnesota

Haotian Zhong

Renmin University, China

University of Arizona

Sungmin Lee

Texas A&M University

Donghwan Gu

Post-doctoral Research er

National Institute of Standards & Technology

Nicolas Norboge

Principal Transportation Finance Analyst

NC Office of State Budget & Management

Sinan Zhong

Jennifer Evans Crawley

University of Texas at Arlington

The Ph.D. takes a minimum of 3.5 years to complete and requires 64 credit hours, including:

• 29 credits of core courses in research approaches, analytic methods, and theory
• 3 credits of professional development via teaching practicum
• 9–12 credits of electives in an emphasis area, advised by a committee chair
• 23+ credits in variable research courses while working on your dissertation

Students generally complete their degree in 5-6 years, but can finish in just 4 years. Students taking longer than 5 years are no longer eligible for departmental funding. Credit hours beyond 99 are charged out-of-state rates.

FAQ about the Ph.D. process

Doctoral students may work with any member of the department’s graduate faculty, which include all tenure-track and tenured faculty, as well as a few academic professional track faculty who have petitioned and been added to the graduate faculty. However, each faculty member only takes on a small number of doctoral students at any one time. Faculty availability may also depend on the grant support available to fund students.

Any faculty member who is a member of the graduate faculty can serve on a doctoral committee. All “core” and “affiliate” faculty can serve on doctoral committees (see the faculty section in the URSC program handbook (PDF) for a complete list of “core” and “affiliate” faculty members).

We hope that students will complete the Ph.D. program in four years. The average timeline is 5 years. For detailed information on procedural guidelines, refer to the Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Sciences handbook (PDF) .

Featured Courses

Preparing for the ph.d. program.

Students must have a master’s degree before beginning the Ph.D. program. Master’s students already in our department may be able to count some courses toward the Ph.D. if accepted.

FAQ about preparing for the program

• Research interests that align with those of our faculty.
• Strong Statement of Purpose that clearly articulates the applicant’s interest, motivation, and qualification.
• Wring sample that shows the ability and potential to produce high-quality scholarly writings independently.
• CV/Resume that is well-organized to show relevant trainings, experience, skills, etc. (including publications/presentations and relevant professional experiences).
• Competitive undergraduate and masters GPA from high quality universities.
• TOEFL scores that are competitive.
• Reference letters from those in the relevant fields with sufficient knowledge about the applicant to provide specific and informative evaluations of the applicant and to help contextualize the applicant’s qualifications/preparedness.
• GRE scores are not required but are accepted as additional evidence of scholarly excellence.

Ph.D. applicants go through a two-tiered acceptance process.

In the first tier, prospective students demonstrate that they have the relevant credentials. To do this, you should submit your application and all supporting documents by the application deadline. The admissions committee made up of faculty within the department will make the initial admission recommendations based on the evaluation of the entire application package.

In the second tier, the admissions committee will identify a faculty mentor for each recommended applicant. Preference is given to applicants whose interests align with current faculty research. Only those applicants with a committed faculty mentor or co-mentors will be offered an admission.

Typically, eight to twelve applicants are admitted into the program each year depending on funding available, and the applicants are notified by the end of March.

Learn more about the Ph.D. of Urban and Regional Sciences application requirements.

You do not need to, but we encourage you to contact individual faculty members who can potentially serve as your mentor(s) in advance via emails or meeting at conferences. These faculty may request an interview with you before you apply to the program.

Submit your application at Texas A&M GradCas along with a non-refundable application fee .

Your application should include the following:

• Transcripts from all colleges or universities you have attended
• Required test scores (TOEFL) (New for fall 2024! The GRE will not be required for Fall 2024 admissions but will be re-evaluated on a yearly basis for reinstatement)
• Three letters of recommendation that include specific information on applicant skills and performance (academic references are preferred)
• Statement of purpose that describes applicant’s educational goals specifically related to our program, their research interests and potential faculty mentors, and their career goals after finishing the Ph.D.
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Writing sample that is sole authored and is produced without the use of Generative AI tools.

Read more about the Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Sciences application requirements

Applications must be received by December 1 to be reviewed for Fall admission and considered for scholarships or funding offered. Letters of recommendation for completed applications must arrive by December 15.

Applications incomplete (including missing letters of reference) on December 16 will not be reviewed.

Doctoral students are typically funded as research assistants through externally funded grants by their faculty mentors (from National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Health, etc.) or through departmental assistantships as teaching or research assistants. University fellowships are also available for exceptional candidates.

Assistantships provide tuition for 9 credit hours, health insurance, and a monthly stipend. Monthly stipends range from about $1,400 a month to $2,000 a month depending on funding source and student skills. Some assistantships also cover fees. LAUP typically provides four years of support if the student is in good standing, which is equivalent to about $85,000 over four years. Work assignments include both research and teaching opportunities. International and domestic students receiving financial assistance are eligible for in-state tuition.

For a better understanding of your total cost of attendance, please visit the Texas A&M University  cost and tuition rates webpage . This webpage will provide you with an opportunity to review estimated cost of attendance information for undergraduate, graduate and professional students, as well as other resources such as the tuition calculator and billing and fee explanations.

Learn more about potential grants and other financial resources.

For more information about the Ph.D. in Urban & Regional Sciences program, please contact Michelle Meyer , Ph.D. Program Coordinator, at [email protected] .

Questions about application requirements and process can be directed to Thena Morris at [email protected] .

Centered on research

At Texas A&M, you’ll have access to active research communities housed in centers and institutes across the university. These research hubs unite students and faculty, introducing the next generation of researchers to researchers around the world.

Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center

Center for Health Systems and Design

Institute for Sustainable Communities

Center for Infrastructure Renewal

Center for Housing and Urban Development

Center for Heritage Conservation

Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Institute of Data Science

Helpful Resources

Computer requirements.

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

Megan McIntyre

Megan McIntyre is a second-year PhD student in the City and Regional Planning Depar. Her comparative research agenda focuses on … Read more

Kshitiz Khanal

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

Jo (Joungwon) Kwon

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

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

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

UCLA Urban Planning Rises to No. 1

UCLA Urban Planning Rises to No. 1 Latest ranking of top graduate planning programs by Planetizen puts UCLA Luskin in the top spot

UCLA Luskin Urban Planning  has been ranked No. 1 in North America, according to the latest survey of the nation’s top graduate programs in urban planning by Planetizen.

“Urban Planning’s rise to the top spot in the nation is a clear reflection of the excellence of the faculty and staff,” said Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris , distinguished professor of urban planning. “I am particularly proud that this is also one of the most diverse Urban Planning departments in both its students and faculty, and that the program is driven by the call for social justice.”

Planetizen, a planning and development network based in Los Angeles, is the only entity that ranks urban planning programs. This is the first time that UCLA Luskin Urban Planning has led the rankings.

“I am very happy to see us at the top of this list,” said Michael Manville , incoming department chair and professor of urban planning. “There’s always an arbitrary element to rankings like this — all of the top planning programs are excellent — but I view our No. 1 ranking as a clear sign of how high the quality in our program is, and that’s a testament to the great people we have here.”

The 2023 ranking for UCLA includes the top position in four categories — West Coast universities, largest programs, top big city programs and all public universities. UCLA Luskin Urban Planning is listed among the Top 10 in these other categories: ranking by educators (3), student body diversity (6), most alumni (2) and most selective (7).

The guidebook also lists 28 specialties in which at least three courses are offered in a subject area. These 18 specialties include UCLA: climate action, community development, economic development, environmental/natural resources/energy, equity/inclusion/social justice, food systems planning, housing, healthy cities/communities, infrastructure planning, land use/physical planning, land use/planning law, international/global development, real estate development, regional planning, rural/small town planning, sustainability planning, technology/GIS and transportation planning.

More information about the rankings and methodology is available online .

Other top planning programs are MIT (2), Rutgers (3), UC Berkeley (4), the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (5), University of Georgia (6), Harvard (7) and USC (8). The Planetizen guidebook, which comes out every five years, ranked UCLA at No. 4 in 2014 and 2019.

Share this:

You might also like.

Leave a Reply

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

3250 Public Affairs Building - Box 951656 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656

Campus Resources

• Maps, Directions, Parking
• Academic Calendar
• University of California
• Terms of Use

The statements on this page represent the views of people affiliated with the Luskin School of Public Affairs and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of California, or UCLA or its Chancellor.

Posts and comments by individuals at UCLA on social media channels may not reflect the opinions or policies of UCLA , the University of California or the Luskin School, nor its benefactors and academic partners.

• Board of Advisors
• Diversity, Disparities and Difference
• UCLA Luskin in the News
• Luskin Forum Online
• Open Positions
• Public Policy
• Social Welfare
• Undergraduate Program
• Urban Planning
• Master of Public Policy
• Master of Social Welfare
• Double Degree With Sciences Po
• PhD in Social Welfare
• PhD in Urban Planning
• Undergraduate Programs
• Faculty Executive Committee
• Fellowships
• Student Support
• Graduate Resource Library
• Alumni Relations
• Commencement
• Research Centers & Affiliated Research
• CalSWEC Public Child Welfare Program
• Global Public Affairs (GPA)
• Data Analytics Certificate
• Luskin Lecture Series
• Luskin Summit
• Luskin Sacramento Briefing
• Public Policy at 25
• Public Service Weekend
• Academic Personnel
• Financial Services
• Emergency Safety
• Events Calendar
• Reserve a Room
• Human Resources
• For New Staff and Faculty
• Information Technology

• 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
• 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

Main navigation

• Undergraduate Programs
• Bachelor of Commerce
• MBA Programs
• MM in Analytics
• MM in Finance
• MM in Retailing
• Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management
• Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting
• McGill-HEC Montréal Executive MBA
• McGill Executive Institute
• International Masters for Health Leadership
• International Masters Program for Managers
• PhD in Management
• McGill Personal Finance Essentials
• McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship
• Career Management
• Marcel Desautels Institute for Integrated Management (MDIIM)
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• Laidley Centre for Business Ethics and Equity (LCBEE)
• Sustainability
• Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative (E&I)
• Managing Disruption: Analytics, Advanced Digital Technologies and AI (AAAI)

SGI’s Inaugural Sustainable Transportation Roundtable on the Future of Urban Mobility

• Add to calendar
• Tweet Widget

What are the key technical, economic, and societal challenges that arise when transitioning to sustainable and inclusive urban mobility?

The marginalization of walking: the loss and recovery of sustainable urban mobility

‘Lightning Talks’

Norton’s keynote speech was followed by a ‘Lightning Talks’ round in which ten graduate students were each given five minutes to introduce their approach to sustainable transportation. Speakers included Lexi Kinman, Daniel Romm, Jerome Laviolette, Dan Qiang, Hannah Rebentisch, Maxime Belanger De Blois, Dominique Boulet, Pegah Salsabilian, Noah Kelly, and Paul Redelmeier. The round provided insight into various emerging trends, innovative solutions, and critical inquiries that inform the future of urban mobility. Topics ranged from the use of bus data to the prospect of free transportation for unhoused riders, and discussion delved into the work of platforms like Curbcut , a tool dedicated to advancing urban sustainability. Three afternoon panels explored themes of education, urban street space allocation, and regional rail.

Sustainable principles in transportation education and the evolving design of Montreal’s streets

Regional rail roundtable

“We have to consider that Montreal has a very consolidated system, so transit intervention is usually about small improvements regarding travel times,” said Victoriano. He warned against gentrification and displacement in Canada, a topic that Cantin expanded upon as a member of the modeling and planning division at ARTM. Cantin commended the development surrounding Montreal’s South Shore as well as projects like the REM, though he advocated for better communication between jurisdictions and stakeholders. Hodkinson expressed concern about the tendency for large-scale projects to include private entities or semi-private entities whose profit interests do not reflect public interests.

Policymakers and stakeholders must bear in mind that history reflects the success of streets that prioritize walking, cycling, and public transit as they continue to overcome technical, political, and economic barriers to implementing sustainable transportation systems.

The SGI’s successful Sustainable Transportation Roundtable event effectively brought together interdisciplinary experts to collaborate on solutions and bridge industry, academic, and policy gaps to set a crucial precedent for future initiatives and discussions on sustainable transportation. We extend our gratitude to all participants for their invaluable contributions to this vital conversation.

Learn more about the Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) at McGill Desautels

Department and university information, desautels faculty of management mcgill university.

• Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
• Master of Management in Analytics (MMA)
• Master of Management in Finance (MMF)
• Master of Management in Retailing (MMR)
• Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Program (GMSCM)
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management (GCHM)
• Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting (GCPA Program)
• Executive MBA
• McGill Executive Institute (MEI)
• International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL)
• International Masters Program for Managers (IMPM)
• Desautels at a Glance
• Marcel Desautels
• Administration & Governance
• Desautels Strategic Plan 2025
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Academic Integrity
• International Advisory Board
• Desautels Global Experts
• Delve Thought Leadership
• Search the Desautels directory
• Areas of specialization
• Desautels 22: Top-tier Publications
• Research publications
• Research centres
• McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE)
• Desautels alumni
• Get involved
• Support Desautels
• News and social
• Desautels Stories
• DesautelsConnect on 10KC
• Working at Desautels
• Student Hub
• Casual payroll

• MyU : For Students, Faculty, and Staff

News Roundup Spring 2024

CEGE Spring Graduation Celebration and Order of the Engineer

Forty-seven graduates of the undergraduate and grad student programs (pictured above) in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering took part in the Order of the Engineer on graduation day. Distinguished Speakers at this departmental event included Katrina Kessler (MS EnvE 2021), Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and student Brian Balquist. Following this event, students participated in the college-wide Commencement Ceremony at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT

The University of Minnesota’s Crookston, Duluth, and Rochester campuses have been awarded the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, joining the Twin Cities (2006, 2015) and Morris campuses (2015), and making the U of M the country’s first and only university system at which every individual campus has received this selective designation. Only 368 from nearly 4,000 qualifying U.S. universities and colleges have been granted this designation.

CEGE contributed strongly to the College of Science and Engineering’s efforts toward sustainability research. CEGE researchers are bringing in over $35 million in funded research to study carbon mineralization, nature and urban areas, circularity of water resources, and global snowfall patterns. This news was highlighted in the Fall 2023 issue of  Inventing Tomorrow  (pages 10-11). https://issuu.com/inventingtomorrow/docs/fall_2023_inventing_tomorrow-web

CEGE’s new program for a one-year master’s degree in structural engineering is now accepting applicants for Fall 2024. We owe a big thanks to DAN MURPHY and LAURA AMUNDSON for their volunteer work to help curate the program with Professor JIA-LIANG LE and EBRAHIM SHEMSHADIAN, the program director. Potential students and companies interested in hosting a summer intern can contact Ebrahim Shemshadian ( [email protected] ).

BERNIE BULLERT , CEGE benefactor and MN Water Research Fund founder, was profiled on the website of the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF). There you can read more about his mission to share clean water technologies with smaller communities in Minnesota. Many have joined Bullert in this mission. MWRF Recognizes their Generous 2024 Partners. Gold Partners: Bernie Bullert, Hawkins, Inc., Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and SL-serco. Silver Partners: ISG, Karl and Pam Streed, Kasco, Kelly Lange-Haider and Mark Haider, ME Simpson, Naeem Qureshi, Dr. Paul H. Boening, TKDA, and Waterous. Bronze Partners: Bruce R. Bullert; Brenda Lenz, Ph.D., APRN FNP-C, CNE; CDM Smith; Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA MN); Heidi and Steve Hamilton; Jim “Bulldog” Sadler; Lisa and Del Cerney; Magney Construction; Sambatek; Shannon and John Wolkerstorfer; Stantec; and Tenon Systems.

After retiring from Baker-Tilly,  NICK DRAGISICH  (BCE 1977) has taken on a new role: City Council member in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. After earning his BCE from the University of Minnesota, Dragisich earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Dragisich retired in May from his position as managing director at Baker Tilly, where he had previously served as firm director. Prior to that, he served as assistant city manager in Spokane, Washington, was the city administrator and city engineer in Virginia, Minnesota, and was mayor of Chisholm, Minnesota—all adding up to more than 40 years of experience in local government. Dragisich was selected by a unanimous vote. His current term expires in December 2024.

PAUL F. GNIRK  (Ph.D. 1966) passed away January 29, 2024, at the age of 86. A memorial service was held Saturday, February 24, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T), where he started and ended his teaching career, though he had many other positions, professional and voluntary. In 2018 Paul was inducted into the SDSM&T Hardrocker Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, joining his mother Adeline S. Gnirk, who had been inducted in 1987 for her work authoring nine books on the history of south central South Dakota.

ROGER M. HILL  (BCE 1957) passed away on January 13, 2024, at the age of 90. His daughter, Kelly Robinson, wrote to CEGE that Roger was “a dedicated Gopher fan until the end, and we enjoyed many football games together in recent years. Thank you for everything.”

KAUSER JAHAN  (Ph.D. 1993, advised by Walter Maier), PE, is now a civil and environmental engineering professor and department head at Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Jahan was awarded a 3-year (2022- 2025), $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The grant supports her project, “WaterWorks: Developing the New Generation of Workforce for Water/Wastewater Utilities,” for the development of educational tools that will expose and prepare today’s students for careers in water and wastewater utilities.

SAURA JOST  (BCE 2010, advised by Timothy LaPara) was elected to the St. Paul City Council for Ward 3. She is part of the historic group of women that make up the nation’s first all-female city council in a large city.

The 2024 ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium combines several competitions for students involved in ASCE. CEGE sent a large contingent of competitors to Chicago. Each of the competition groups won awards: Ethics Paper 1st place Hans Lagerquist; Sustainable Solutions team 1st place overall in (qualifying them for the National competition in Utah in June); GeoWall 2nd place overall; Men’s Sprint for Concrete Canoe with rowers Sakthi Sundaram Saravanan and Owen McDonald 2nd place; Product Prototype for Concrete Canoe 2nd place; Steel Bridge (200 lb bridge weight) 2nd place in lightness; Scavenger Hunt 3rd place; and Aesthetics and Structural Efficiency for Steel Bridge 4th place.

Students competing on the Minnesota Environmental Engineers, Scientists, and Enthusiasts (MEESE) team earned second place in the Conference on the Environment undergraduate student design competition in November 2023. Erin Surdo is the MEESE Faculty Adviser. Pictured are NIKO DESHPANDE, ANNA RETTLER, and SYDNEY OLSON.

The CEGE CLASS OF 2023 raised money to help reduce the financial barrier for fellow students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a cost of $175 per test taker. As a result of this gift, they were able to make the exam more affordable for 15 current CEGE seniors. CEGE students who take the FE exam pass the first time at a rate well above national averages, demonstrating that CEGE does a great job of teaching engineering fundamentals. In 2023, 46 of 50 students passed the challenging exam on the first try.

This winter break, four CEGE students joined 10 other students from the College of Science and Engineering for the global seminar, Design for Life: Water in Tanzania. The students visited numerous sites in Tanzania, collected water source samples, designed rural water systems, and went on safari. Read the trip blog: http://globalblogs.cse.umn.edu/search/label/Tanzania%202024

Undergraduate Honor Student  MALIK KHADAR  (advised by Dr. Paul Capel) received honorable mention for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

AKASH BHAT  (advised by William Arnold) presented his Ph.D. defense on Friday, October 27, 2023. Bhat’s thesis is “Photolysis of fluorochemicals: Tracking fluorine, use of UV-LEDs, and computational insights.” Bhat’s work investigating the degradation of fluorinated compounds will assist in the future design of fluorinated chemicals such that persistent and/or toxic byproducts are not formed in the environment.

ETHAN BOTMEN  (advised by Bill Arnold) completed his Master of Science Final Exam February 28, 2024. His research topic was Degradation of Fluorinated Compounds by Nucleophilic Attack of Organo-fluorine Functional Groups.

XIATING CHEN , Ph.D. Candidate in Water Resources Engineering at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory is the recipient of the 2023 Nels Nelson Memorial Fellowship Award. Chen (advised by Xue Feng) is researching eco-hydrological functions of urban trees and other green infrastructure at both the local and watershed scale, through combined field observations and modeling approaches.

ALICE PRATES BISSO DAMBROZ  has been a Visiting Student Researcher at the University of Minnesota since last August, on a Doctoral Dissertation Research Award from Fulbright. Her CEGE advisor is Dr. Paul Capel. Dambroz is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Soil Science at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil, where she studies with her adviser Jean Minella. Her research focuses on the hydrological monitoring of a small agricultural watershed in Southern Brazil, which is located on a transition area between volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Its topography, shallow soils, and land use make it prone to runoff and erosion processes.

Yielding to people in crosswalks should be a very pedestrian topic. Yet graduate student researchers  TIANYI LI, JOSHUA KLAVINS, TE XU, NIAZ MAHMUD ZAFRI  (Dept.of Urban and Regional Planning at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), and Professor Raphael Stern found that drivers often do not yield to pedestrians, but they are influenced by the markings around a crosswalk. Their work was picked up by the  Minnesota Reformer.

TIANYI LI  (Ph.D. student advised by Raphael Stern) also won the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation (DDET) Fellowship for the third time! Li (center) and Stern (right) are pictured at the Federal Highway Administration with Latoya Jones, the program manager for the DDET Fellowship.

The Three Minute Thesis Contest and the Minnesota Nice trophy has become an annual tradition in CEGE. 2023’s winner was  EHSANUR RAHMAN , a Ph.D. student advised by Boya Xiong.

GUANJU (WILLIAM) WEI , a Ph.D. student advised by Judy Yang, is the recipient of the 2023 Heinz G. Stefan Fellowship. He presented his research entitled Microfluidic Investigation of the Biofilm Growth under Dynamic Fluid Environments and received his award at the St. Anthony Falls Research Laboratory April 9. The results of Wei's research can be used in industrial, medical, and scientific fields to control biofilm growth.

BILL ARNOLD  stars in an award-winning video about prairie potholes. The Prairie Potholes Project film was made with the University of Delaware and highlights Arnold’s NSF research. The official winners of the 2024 Environmental Communications Awards Competition Grand Prize are Jon Cox and Ben Hemmings who produced and directed the film. Graduate student Marcia Pacheco (CFANS/LAAS) and Bill Arnold are the on-screen stars.

Four faculty from CEGE join the Center for Transportation Studies Faculty and Research Scholars for FY24–25:  SEONGJIN CHOI, KETSON ROBERTO MAXIMIANO DOS SANTOS, PEDRAM MORTAZAVI,  and  BENJAMIN WORSFOLD . CTS Scholars are drawn from diverse fields including engineering, planning, computer science, environmental studies, and public policy.

XUE FENG  is coauthor on an article in  Nature Reviews Earth and Environment . The authors evaluate global plant responses to changing rainfall regimes that are now characterized by fewer and larger rainfall events. A news release written at Univ. of Maryland can be found here: https://webhost.essic. umd.edu/april-showers-bring-mayflowers- but-with-drizzles-or-downpours/ A long-running series of U of M research projects aimed at improving stormwater quality are beginning to see practical application by stormwater specialists from the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. JOHN GULLIVER has been studying best practices for stormwater management for about 16 years. Lately, he has focused specifically on mitigating phosphorous contamination. His research was highlighted by the Center for Transportation Studies.

JIAQI LI, BILL ARNOLD,  and  RAYMOND HOZALSKI  published a paper on N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) precursors in Minnesota rivers. “Animal Feedlots and Domestic Wastewater Discharges are Likely Sources of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Precursors in Midwestern Watersheds,” Environmental Science and Technology (January 2024) doi: 10.1021/acs. est.3c09251

ALIREZA KHANI  contributed to MnDOT research on Optimizing Charging Infrastructure for Electric Trucks. Electric options for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks (e-trucks) are still largely in development. These trucks account for a substantial percentage of transportation greenhouse gas emissions. They have greater power needs and different charging needs than personal EVs. Proactively planning for e-truck charging stations will support MnDOT in helping to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. This research was featured in the webinar “Electrification of the Freight System in Minnesota,” hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies. A recording of the event is now available online.

MICHAEL LEVIN  has developed a unique course for CEGE students on Air Transportation Systems. It is the only class at UMN studying air transportation systems from an infrastructure design and management perspective. Spring 2024 saw the third offering of this course, which is offered for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

Research Professor  SOFIA (SONIA) MOGILEVSKAYA  has been developing international connections. She visited the University of Seville, Spain, November 13–26, 2023, where she taught a short course titled “Fundamentals of Homogenization in Composites.” She also met with the graduate students to discuss collaborative research with Prof. Vladislav Mantic, from the Group of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis at the University of Seville. Her visit was a part of planned activities within the DIAGONAL Consortium funded by the European Commission. CEGE UMN is a partner organization within DIAGONAL, represented by CEGE professors Mogilevskaya and Joseph Labuz. Mantic will visit CEGE summer 2024 to follow up on research developments and discuss plans for future collaboration and organization of short-term exchange visits for the graduate students from each institution. 

DAVID NEWCOMB  passed away in March. He was a professor in CEGE from 1989–99 in the area of pavement engineering. Newcomb led the research program on asphalt materials characterization. He was the technical director of Mn/ROAD pavement research facility, and he started an enduring collaboration with MnDOT that continues today. In 2000, he moved from Minnesota to become vice-president for Research and Technology at the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Later he moved to his native Texas, where he was appointed to the division head of Materials and Pavement at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a position from which he recently retired. He will be greatly missed.

PAIGE NOVAK  won Minnesota ASCE’s 2023 Distinguished Engineer of the Year Award for her contributions to society through her engineering achievements and professional experiences.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced ten inaugural (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines awards, with a potential $1.6 billion investment nationally over the next decade. Great Lakes ReNEW is led by the Chicago-based water innovation hub,  Current,  and includes a team from the University of Minnesota, including PAIGE NOVAK. Current will receive $15 mil for the first two years, and up to $160 million over ten years to develop and grow a water-focused innovation engine in the Great Lakes region. The project’s ambitious plan is to create a decarbonized circular “blue economy” to leverage the region’s extraordinary water resources to transform the upper Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Brewing one pint of beer generates seven pints of wastewater, on average. So what can you do with that wastewater?  PAIGE NOVAK  and her team are exploring the possibilities of capturing pollutants in wastewater and using bacteria to transform them into energy.

BOYA XIONG  has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 40 Under 40 Recognition Program by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. The award was presented at the 2024 AAEES Awards Ceremony, April 11, 2024, at the historic Howard University in Washington, D.C. 

JUDY Q. YANG  received a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Award. This two-year award recognizes promising assistant professors and is intended to advance the careers of individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and their scholarly fields. 

Professor Emeritus CHARLES FAIRHURST , his son CHARLES EDWARD FAIRHURST , and his daughter MARGARET FAIRHURST DURENBERGER were on campus recently to present Department Head Paige Novak with a check for $25,000 for the Charles Fairhurst Fellowship in Earth Resources Engineering in support of graduate students studying geomechanics. The life of Charles Fairhurst through a discussion with his children is featured on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki at https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Charles_Fairhurst#00:00:14_INTRODUCTION

Related news releases

• Matthew J. Huber Student Award
• Catherine French, NAE
• Climate Change for Engineers
• Focused on the Road Ahead
• Randal Barnes receives Horace T Morace Award
• Future undergraduate students
• Future transfer students
• Future graduate students
• Future international students
• Diversity and Inclusion Opportunities
• Learn abroad
• Living Learning Communities
• Mentor programs
• Programs for women
• Student groups
• Visit, Apply & Next Steps
• Information for current students
• Departments and majors overview
• Departments
• Undergraduate majors
• Graduate programs
• Integrated Degree Programs
• Additional degree-granting programs
• Online learning
• Academic Advising overview
• Academic Advising FAQ
• Academic Advising Blog
• Appointments and drop-ins
• Academic support
• Commencement
• Four-year plans
• Honors advising
• Policies, procedures, and forms
• Career Services overview
• Resumes and cover letters
• Jobs and internships
• Interviews and job offers
• CSE Career Fair
• Major and career exploration
• Graduate school
• Collegiate Life overview
• Scholarships
• Diversity & Inclusivity Alliance
• Anderson Student Innovation Labs
• Information for alumni
• Get engaged with CSE
• Upcoming events
• CSE Alumni Society Board
• Alumni volunteer interest form
• Golden Medallion Society Reunion
• 50-Year Reunion
• Alumni honors and awards
• Outstanding Achievement
• Alumni Service
• Distinguished Leadership
• Honorary Doctorate Degrees
• Nobel Laureates
• Alumni resources
• Alumni career resources
• Alumni news outlets
• CSE branded clothing
• International alumni resources
• Inventing Tomorrow magazine
• Update your info
• CSE giving overview
• Why give to CSE?
• College priorities
• Give online now
• External relations
• Giving priorities
• CSE Dean's Club
• Donor stories
• Impact of giving
• Ways to give to CSE
• Matching gifts
• CSE directories
• Invest in your company and the future
• Recruit our students
• Connect with researchers
• K-12 initiatives
• Diversity initiatives
• Research news
• Give to CSE
• CSE priorities
• Corporate relations
• Information for faculty and staff
• Administrative offices overview
• Office of the Dean
• Academic affairs
• Finance and Operations
• Communications
• Human resources
• Undergraduate programs and student services
• CSE Committees
• CSE policies overview
• Academic policies
• Faculty hiring and tenure policies
• Finance policies and information
• Graduate education policies
• Human resources policies
• Research policies
• Research overview
• Research centers and facilities
• Research proposal submission process
• Research safety
• Award-winning CSE faculty
• National academies
• University awards
• Honorary professorships
• Collegiate awards
• Other CSE honors and awards
• Staff awards
• Performance Management Process
• Work. With Flexibility in CSE
• K-12 outreach overview
• Summer camps
• Outreach events
• Enrichment programs
• Field trips and tours
• CSE K-12 Virtual Classroom Resources
• Educator development
• Sponsor an event