Planning programs ranking

This program has two tracks: a credit-hour standard track, for students without a bachelor's degree in planning; and a credit-hour accelerated track, for students with an undergraduate degree in planning. Students can choose between two available concentration areas - sustainable and comprehensive planning or economic development, or craft an individualized area of concentration.

The Architecture and Planning Scholarship and the C. Eugene and Maybelle E. Hamilton Memorial Scholarship supports qualified urban planning students variable award amounts. The University of Oklahoma-Norman allows students in the Master of Regional and City Planning program flexibility in course selection to tailor courses to individual interests.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning-accredited program offers a thesis option, with 48 credits required, or a non-these option of 50 credits with a learning portfolio requirement.

Those taking the non-thesis route are encouraged to complete an internship or directed reading course during a summer semester. Two specializations are offered, physical planning and community and economic development and students may combine their master's degree with a Master of Business Administration, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Architecture or Juris Doctor degrees. Florida State University offers a Master of Science in Planning to prepare students for careers as specialists or generalists in the field of planning and a Ph.

They also complete an internship that requires hours of work in a professional setting and complete a capstone project. Applied geography includes the sub-fields of land use, Geographic Information Systems GIS , environmental management, location analysis, and transportation systems.

Undergraduate students have the option to earn certificates in GIS, environmental interpretation, location analysis, and water resources policy. Master's students choose a concentration area in land management, resource and environmental studies, or geographic information science. Teaching and research fellowships are available. The undergraduate program focuses on planning analysis and presentation of information, and students may specialize in local neighborhoods, public participation, housing, environmental quality, hazardous waste, contemporary legal issues, or preservation planning.

The MUEP is a professional, interdisciplinary program preparing students to work in the private or public sector. Students in the Ph. Departmental scholarships include the Matthew G. Bailey Scholarship Award. The University of Oregon offers a Master of Community and Regional Planning, which instructs policy-oriented planners who are seeking positions of leadership within the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.

For example, many graduates of this program become environmental planners, emergency services directors, planning consultants, private developers, or employees of economic development corporations. The program takes two years to complete, and it enrolls around 25 - 30 students annually. The program features applied learning opportunities like the Community Planning Workshop, which requires students to work on real projects for paying clients, as well as the Sustainable Cities Initiative, which helps students to plan more sustainable cities.

The University of Colorado-Denver sets high goals for students in its Ph. The goal of the program is to educate the next generation of leaders in the fields of planning, architecture, and landscape architecture by giving them a critical understanding of the social and political forces that influence their profession.

Admission to the program is competitive and based in part on available funding. The university also offers a Master of Urban and Regional Planning in an interdisciplinary program built around three university initiatives: Healthy Communities, Urban Revitalization, and Regional Sustainability. The MURP program is designed to be hands-on, and the Colorado becomes a classroom as students work with planning professionals and local communities.

Associate degrees are often offered at a reasonable price from community colleges. A high school diploma or GED is required to apply. For quality assurance, you can also check if the program has PAB accreditation. Since urban planning is a multidisciplinary field, you have a lot of options when it comes to your degree.

The standard choices are the:. Different degrees have different emphases. For example, a planning degree from an architecture school may concentrate on physical planning and design. A degree from a public policy school may be concerned with sociology, public policy, and administration. The standard curriculum for the BPlan includes general education prerequisites and core courses related to planning. In your third and fourth years, you will often be allowed to concentrate in a specific area of interest e.

These will help prepare you for your future career. Many schools will consider students who have degrees in related fields such as geography, architecture , political science, public policy, sociology , and environmental design. Common titles include:. You also have the option to consider a related degree with a planning focus. As always, we recommend you talk to your graduate adviser and your professional mentors about which degree is right for your career goals.

Coursework will depend on your choice of degree and concentration. For example, in an urban planning program, you may be studying urban revitalization, urban economics, sustainability issues, transportation policy, and housing and real estate. In a rural planning program, you may investigating issues related to agriculture and the environment.

Having said that, most programs will include foundation classes in areas such as the history and theory of planning, statistics, planning law, and data analysis.

A good chunk will be spent in lab work, internships, and fieldwork. Internships and experience with real-world planning projects are particularly valuable when it comes to applying for jobs after graduation.

You will also be expected to conduct independent research and present your findings in a thesis or capstone project in your final year. In addition to local and state government agencies, you may wish to consider working for non-profit organizations, architecture practices, law firms, consulting firms, or real estate developers.

The majority of urban and regional planners end up in local government. You do not need a PhD in order to qualify for planning jobs. PhD programs are not accredited by PAB. A certificate in planning is a non-degree, academic program that takes approximately 6 months-1 year to complete. Overall, we recommend you attend a regionally accredited college or university. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. You can learn more about the difference between national accreditation and regional accreditation in: Accreditation: Understanding the Difference Between Real Schools and Diploma Mills.

Remember that regional accreditation is given to an overall institution. To see if the planning program is accredited, you should look for PAB accreditation as well. The department is one of the oldest, largest, and most renowned in the nation. The pioneering approach to planning taken by the University of North Carolina adopts a social science emphasis. The challenges and problems of planning are evaluated utilizing the principles and methodologies of the social sciences and incorporate the concepts of architecture and landscape design.

The multidisciplinary approach develops a broad perspective in the program graduates enabling them to become respected leaders in the field of planning.

Throughout the years, the department has broadened its approach and perspectives to include the emerging needs and advancing technologies of current societies. The Department of City and Regional Planning offers degree programs with varying curriculum and specializations including planning in developing countries, real estate development, public policy analysis and history, design and preservation of the built environment. The two-year master of city and regional planning degree program provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to become effective and successful planning professionals.

Students select an area of specialization in community development, economic development, environmental planning, transportation planning or land use planning and design. The dual degree programs combine corresponding areas of study with relevance to the planning field such as business, public administration, public health and law providing graduates with the skills to address the complexities of the complicated field.

Both paths provide a solid urban planning foundation. Boston University is one of the more flexible urban planning schools. Students can attend either full-time or part-time, and a blended program incorporating in-person and online learning is anticipated to be added sometime in The MUA requires only 36 credit hours to graduate and can be completed in only one year of study.

Students will learn the history and theory of planning, urban analytics, and are expected to attend the Boston Urban Symposium. Those without prior professional experience are highly recommended to seek internships supplied by the program.

The MCP is a more strenuous track, requiring 64 credit hours. Its classes focus more on aspects of plotting the growth of cities. A thesis is required for graduation. In addition, Boston University offers an applied sustainability graduate certificate. The certificate shows that students have mastered the art of maintaining environments without using up resources, both manmade and natural.

An eco-friendly mindset is a must. Georgetown University is one of the more accepting urban planning schools. Students are not required to have previous professional experience or have completed any sort of urban planning coursework in their undergraduate studies.

No internship is required for graduation, though they will happily help students into one as either an extracurricular activity or as part of an independent study course. Concentrations for the program include urban design and land use; housing, community and economic development; and international development. Overall, students will be required to take 14 courses over two years, though a month accelerated program is also an option.

An urban and regional planning thesis is mandatory for graduation, and you are expected to present it both written and orally. Students in the program are encouraged to conduct at least one semester of independent primary research. An aspect of the program that students are definitely going to want to keep an eye on is their regular speaker series.

Distinguished professionals come to lecture on a diverse set of topics like sustaining public transit, investment planning in cities, and dealing with earlier planning initiatives that have been disrupted over time.

Some form of urban planning has been taught at the University of Florida since , with the current College of Design, Construction and Planning then called the College of Architecture being founded in Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

A Best Schools rank of 22 out of 2, schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall. There were about 55 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. There were about 65 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. There were about 69 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.

Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Schools rank of 26 out of 2, colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall. There were about 5 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year.

NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. This university ranks 7th out of colleges for overall quality in the state of New York. There were roughly 41 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Schools rank of 35 out of 2, schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were roughly 45 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Schools rank of 13 out of 2, colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall. There were approximately 5 urban and regional planning students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year.

College Factual provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Potential differences range from the ability to tailor credits for graduation to specific interests, take classes in related fields of study, work at internships in locally-specific and regionally-specific workplaces, and to take classes in the evening to continue working throughout the process of earning a master's degree.

Each of these programs reveal distinctions in ambition and approach, as well—some established by the pedagogical tradition of the institution, but also by the specific challenges and opportunities facing the regions, cities, and towns each program calls home. There is a master's program to match any of the numerous unique interests and passions that attract students and professionals to the planning field. Another theme that emerges with every new edition of the Guide is the ongoing evolution of the field of planning, a professional field with tremendous influence over the quality of life in communities all over the world.

In a series of interviews with students attending graduate programs published in the Guide, students repeatedly reference environmental concerns and equity in housing and transportation. Similar ambitions for the field are also frequently mentioned in the introductory text for program profiles.

The numerous participants in the Guide celebrate all varieties of communities—from small towns to suburbs to big cities. Planners and future planners who care deeply about their communities are looking for new ways to help residents of these communities live healthy, prosperous lives. The vision for the future expressed in the Guide clearly responds to the ongoing challenges of the world produced by the 20th century history of planning, and intends to innovate beyond the status quo in the United States.

Search for graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs in urban planning and related fields from around the world in Planetizen's Online Directory of Urban Planning Programs.

Lee D. Einsweiler, principal and co-founder of Code Studio, offers practiced insight on the relationship between planning and implementation, as well as guidance for a fulfilling career navigating the two.

None of the fastest growing cities in the world are found in North or South America. A proposed transit line that would connect three New York City boroughs not named Manhattan has new, powerful political support.