Table Of ContentGuide to Undergraduate and
Graduate Education in
Urban and Regional Planning
19th Edition - 2013
About this Guide government or private activity that seeks to affect the
future, or respond to community change. The majority
of planners work in traditional planning areas such
This Guide was prepared as a public service by the
as community development, land use, transportation
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP),
planning, environmental/natural resources planning,
a consortium of university based programs offering
economic development, urban design, housing, historic
degrees and credentials in urban and regional planning.
preservation and community activism. However,
ACSP hopes to encourage a wide range of high school
individual planners may have a wide variety of
and undergraduate students to consider a degree in
responsibilities within these broadly defined specialties.
planning which will lead them to a rewarding and
Other planners work in less traditional areas, often with
challenging career.
people from other disciplines in fields such as healthy
communities, energy development or school planning.
The Guide is a resource designed to help you explore
Some planners become generalists. They develop a
this possibility, learn about the variety of educational
level of expertise in several substantive areas. Others
programs that lead to different careers in planning and
become specialists and define themselves as housing or
related fields, and identify the programs that best match
transportation or environmental planners.
your needs, interests, and career goals.
Most planners share a common set of skills and
WhAt do PlAnners do?
values even though they may specialize in one or two
substantive areas. Using their “planning toolkit” they:
Planning is a systematic, creative way to influence the
future of neighborhoods, cities, rural and metropolitan • involve all affected parties in important planning
areas, even the country and the world. Urban and decisions;
regional planners use their professional skills to serve • help communities develop their own vision of
communities facing social, economic, environmental, the future, preparing plans responsive to shared
and cultural challenges by helping community community objectives;
residents to: • analyze qualitative and quantitative information
to suggest possible solutions to complex
• develop ways to preserve and enhance their problems;
quality-of-life; • evaluate the cost-effectiveness of proposed
• find methods to protect the natural and built projects and plans; and
environment; • present recommendations to public officials
• identify policies to promote equity and equality; and citizen groups in a comprehensive and
• structure programs to improve services to understandable way.
disadvantaged communities; and
• determine methods to deal effectively with
growth and development of all kinds. Planners work in government, with non-profit agencies,
and in private industry. Those in the public sector
often work for city or county governments or regional
Having a planning degree enables you to do many planning agencies but there are also planning jobs at
types of jobs and be involved in almost any kind of the State and Federal level. International organizations
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like the United Nations and the World Bank also comprehensive plans which are designed to coordinate
employ planners. Planners with jobs in the private all the important activities in which a community
sector can work with utility companies, law firms, engages–housing, recreation, transportation, water and
real estate developers, and planning consultants. air quality, and so forth. Some land use planners help
Planners also work in the non-profit sector and with develop or administer local regulations which establish
non-governmental agencies like the United Way or the kind of housing, industrial, and retail facilities that
community development organizations or advocacy can be built in cities and counties. Others develop ways
groups for the elderly. to finance public services while still other land use
planners evaluate the impact of proposed residential
In their jobs, some planners have responsibility or commercial development and suggest ways for
for specific geographic areas such as individual communities to respond.
neighborhoods in a city or region; within those areas
they may provide assistance on a variety of substantive Many land use planners coordinate their activities with
issues from land use to transportation. Other planners other kinds of planners in order to protect open space
have substantive responsibilities–such as housing or and agricultural land in the face of increasing demands
environmental planning–and provide assistance in their for new homes and businesses.
specific specialization to many communities within a city
or region. Some planners work on projects that will be environmental Planning
completed within a year or two while others focus their
Environmental planners work to enhance the physical
efforts on projects many years in the future.
environment and minimize any negative impacts of
development. Some environmental planners focus
While you may think of planning as an urban activity,
on scientific and technical questions while others
it actually occurs in communities of all sizes. Many
develop policies and programs to encourage the public
planners work in small cities, in rural areas, and for
to protect natural resources. Some planners develop
Indian Nations. Others work in suburban neighborhoods
expertise in one aspect of resource management
at the periphery of large regions while still others have
while others attempt to identify the environmental
jobs in the dense core of major metropolitan areas.
implications of a range of government policies or
proposed land use changes.
sPeciAlizAtions
Other environmental planners focus on cleaning up
Today planners may move back and forth between jobs polluted areas or resources, or work on preventing
in the public, non-profit, and private sectors over the contamination and the destruction of ecosystems. Many
course of their career. They may also work for different environmental planners work to integrate a concern
levels of government at different times. They may about pollution and the conservation of non-renewable
change their specialties or their focus long after they resources into the plans developed in other substantive
leave school in response to on-the-job experiences, or areas like housing, transportation or economic
the opportunity for new challenges. development.
Many planners develop a specialized body of expertise, economic development Planning
and that is reflected both in the professional world Economic development planners, in North America and
and in the programs included in this Guide. There are internationally, work to improve a community or region
a variety of possibilities; these are the most common by expanding and diversifying the economic activities
planning specializations: that support the families living there. Many planners do
so by helping develop plans to attract businesses that
land use Planning create new jobs and provide additional tax revenues;
others work to keep businesses from leaving distressed
There are many different kinds of land use planning jobs.
areas.
Some land use planners develop ways to encourage
growth or development in certain communities or
along appropriate corridors while others work to Economic development planners at the local level
discourage growth in environmentally sensitive areas often work to promote the special features of their
or where supporting services cannot be effectively community, sometimes by encouraging tourism or
provided. Some land use planners work on long-range additional recreational opportunities. Some planners
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develop projects that bring housing and commercial income levels. Planners concerned with the social
enterprises as well as jobs into disadvantaged aspects of a community often combine their interest in
neighborhoods. Some economic development planners housing with efforts to increase the overall quality of life
help communities find ways to finance the cost of new for low-income or minority neighborhoods.
development while others work to overcome regulatory
and other barriers to new projects. Many housing and community planners work to
improve multiple aspects of a targeted neighborhood,
Economic development planners often work in combining many substantive planning skills from
conjunction with land use, housing, social and economic development to urban design. For example,
community planners to address the needs of distressed community and housing planners may work to improve
communities or declining business districts. transit service in disadvantaged communities, develop
job training programs for unemployed residents, or
transportation Planning provide better public health facilities in low income
neighborhoods. These planners often work with land
Transportation planners help develop programs to
use and transportation planners.
meet the current transportation needs of families and
businesses, locally and across a region; they also work to
predict future travel patterns in order to identify the need cAreer Possibilities
for additional transportation services and facilities. Some
transportation planners are very technically oriented and Career paths in planning are very diverse. In addition to
work with advanced computer technology; others deal the substantive areas described above, your planning
with the social and economic aspects of travel. Some degree will help you find work in:
focus on one mode such as bicycling or public transit
while others attempt to plan for multiple modes.
• geographic information systems
• public and community health
Transportation planners working for local governments • historic preservation
often respond to traffic congestion; others develop ways • coastal management
to finance new facilities. Some transportation planners • mediation and negotiation
help develop programs that are designed to encourage • criminal justice
people to drive less, or provide home-to-work options • public finance
for welfare recipients trying to find jobs, or organize • public policy and management
special transportation services for the elderly. • urban design
• elementary and secondary education
Many transportation planners coordinate their • labor force development
activities with environmental, land use, and economic • human services
development planners. • law
housing and community development A variety of resources are available to help you explore
the career possibilities to which an education in
Planning
planning might lead.
Many planners practice in these overlapping areas.
Housing planners help develop strategies to increase
• For ACSP’s own collection of planner and planning
the supply of affordable housing and expand home
educator biographies, visit Education and Careers
ownership among low income or disadvantaged groups.
in Planning.
These planners often try to create incentives and remove
• On their website the APA has a section called
constraints on private home builders or work with public
Jobs and Practice which describes: the profession;
or non-profit organizations to build housing units for
career fundamentals; planning education; how
low income families or senior citizens.
to search for and land a planning job; and how
planning fits into other associated careers.
Many housing planners try to encourage mixed use
• The CIP has a page called Planning as a Career
developments offering services and jobs closer to
at their website which also lists many planning
where people live; others promote projects that provide
jobs, and what skills and values you may need if
housing opportunities for people from a mixture of
planning is the career for you.
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Will i Get A Job? Yes!! the magazine published by the American Planning
Association (APA). Canadian students will find Plan
Canada, the magazine published by the Canadian
There are promising career opportunities in every
Institute of Planners (CIP), to be equally useful.
planning specialization, although sometimes there
is more need for one specialization than another.
Most planning degree programs help you get a “jump Find out more directly from students currently
start” on finding a job at graduation by involving you obtaining planning degrees who are involved in such
in real-world planning projects; by encouraging or planning student organizations (PSO) through the
requiring you to do a planning internship as part of your American Planning Association and CAPS, the Canadian
education; they might suggest summer and/or part- Association of Planning Students, which hosts annual
time jobs providing similar opportunities which will also conferences for planning students.
help build your resume. These activities show you how
different kinds of planners actually do their jobs, as well To briefly get an idea of the depth of important topics
as give you the opportunity to interact with practicing related to planning, scan the index in the back of this
planners who might offer you a job when you graduate. Guide! In Index A, Faculty Interests, interests have been
In fact, many planning internships turn into full-time sorted into groups and alphabetically - both because
jobs after graduation. the line between subfields aren’t always clear, and
because faculty describe themselves and their interests
You can lay the groundwork for a successful job search differently. Some faculty interests will obviously
long before you graduate. If you attend local and overlap with your own – for example if your interest is
state or provincial meetings of the American Planning “neighborhood planning” you’ll find that is a popular
Association (APA) or the Canadian Institute of Planners topic. But you may also share interest with those
(CIP) you will meet professional planners involved in a who declare “housing and community development,”
variety of projects–and learn about current and future “housing,” “community planning,” or “neighborhood
job openings. It’s a great idea to join APA or CIP as a planning.” Another example is “environmental planning”
student because you get all the benefits of membership which can also be described as “ecology,” “sustainability,”
at a low student fee. “conservation,” or “smart growth.”
As an APA member you will receive professional To more thoroughly research different kinds of jobs you
publications like Planning, have opportunities to present can obtain with a planning degree, and to explore in
your work at conferences, meet a mentor and obtain greater depth a variety of important planning topics,
career guidance. Student Membership also enables you find the latest edition of Local Planning: Contemporary
to network with frontline planners. In addition, APA Principles & Practice edited by Gary Hack, et al. and
offers Jobs Online, an extensive database of jobs from published by the International City Management
internships to planning director. Association (ICMA). An excerpt from the web description
says this book “focuses on emerging issues and future
hoW cAn i Find out More challenges, offering useful, current examples of leading
planning practices. The organization and content of the
About PlAnninG?
book will help planners and non-planners who manage
the work of planners apply well-reasoned strategic
There are many ways to determine if a career in planning thinking to their planning challenges, and will help
is right for you. If your university sponsors a career day, students of the profession bridge theory and practice.”
practicing planners may well attend. Seek them out and This book is a collection of chapters from nearly 100
ask what they do and what their focus is. Attend a local local, regional and national practicing professionals.
meeting of the American Planning Association (APA) or
Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP). Introduce yourself
A PlAnner’s educAtion
to some of the planners present and discuss their jobs
and responsibilities; question the kind of issues they
What kind of an education should a planner have?
tackle. Find out if a planning job would allow you to
achieve your personal goals. Today most people need a professional Masters Degree
in Planning to get the best planning jobs, although a
Bachelors degree (BA or BS) can provide an entry into
You can also read about a host of planning issues
the profession. Universities offering both Bachelors
and how planners are addressing them in Planning,
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and Graduate degrees are profiled in this Guide. People might be interested in a school that has a fair number
commonly enter Masters programs in planning with of international students or faculty with comparative
many different kinds of Bachelor’s degrees; it is not research interests. You might prefer to be part of a small,
necessary to have a BA/BS in Planning to do graduate intimate program rather than a large one. If you are
work in planning. Some planners are educated first in interested in research or think that you might want to
the social sciences like public administration, sociology, go on for a PhD in Planning, which would allow you to
economics, geography, or government; others are teach at a university, you might want to consider those
trained first in the design professions like architecture, programs that offer both Masters and Doctoral degrees.
urban design, and landscape architecture. Still others If you are interested in learning through hands-on
have their undergraduate degree in professions such experiences, by linking through to their individual web
as public health, social work, nursing, or engineering. sites try to identify programs offering a large number
Many people with undergraduate degrees in the Arts or of project courses or requiring a professional project
Humanities (English, Art, History) also choose to pursue (or “capstone”) report instead of a thesis to graduate.
a graduate planning degree. Perhaps you have an interest in another subject related
to planning, like public health or law, so look for
Some people use the new skills they acquire in programs with dual degrees in planning and these other
graduate school to expand the emphasis of their fields. And of course, you have to consider financial and
undergraduate degree while others develop new other practical details–scholarships and grants, and the
approaches. For example, those with economics total cost of education, etc.
training may become economic development planners
while those with degrees in biology or chemistry may The Guide is set up to help you quickly evaluate a large
choose to become environmental planners. But it is number of planning programs by comparing the major
not unusual for someone trained at the undergraduate factors likely to be of most interest to students: the
level as an architect to become a social policy planner type of students in the program, the background and
or for someone with a BS in nursing to become a specializations of the faculty, the costs of attending,
housing planner! and the possibility of financial assistance. But the brief
entries in the Guide can only help you narrow down your
There are many universities where you can gain the choices. Make sure to link through to schools of interest
education and professional training you need to to gather more detail.
become a planner. Today there are hundreds of planning
programs or planning departments that are members of Once you have identified a number of programs that
the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) might meet your needs, we strongly suggest you contact
or of the Association of Canadian University Planning them directly. Start by visiting their websites; then
Programs (ACUPP). contact the chair of the program or individual faculty
who work in the areas in which you have an interest.
thinGs to consider
Students often ask: “What’s the best school for...” this
When choosinG the or that specialization. There is no one answer. The
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning does not
best PlAnninG ProGrAM
rank schools because every planning program in the
For You Guide has its own strengths and resources. There is
simply no effective way to say that one school offers a
better degree than another. Planning students bring
To determine the planning program that will best
their own goals, background, and experiences to their
provide you with the education and training you want,
educational career–so different individuals will get very
decide which issues you would like to highlight in your
different things from any individual planning program.
educational program and the professional specialization
Only you can decide the best school for your needs,
you think you might want to follow. Then look at the
interests and resources.
programs listed in this Guide to see which ones stress
the specializations where your strongest interests lie.
You may be interested in the background of the other
students in the program; for example, if you would
like to work or study for awhile in another country you
V
WhAt is An Accredited have long worked with local communities to provide
students with practical experience.
PlAnninG ProGrAM?
In 2013, 84 degrees in planning from 74 U.S. universities
Consider attending a planning program accredited by were accredited by the PAB. Sixteen Canadian schools
either the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) in the U.S., offer accredited degrees. Some Canadian schools
or the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) in Canada. are accredited by both organizations. Most of these
These organizations review Master’s or Bachelor’s programs are described in detail in the body of this
planning programs to assure prospective students, Guide.
employers, and the public that the education and
training they provide measure up to the profession’s
This Guide also contains listings for universities outside
standards. These standards are cooperatively developed
North America. These programs may be very interesting
by practicing planners and planning academicians.
to you, however, programs outside of North America are
Sometimes attending an accredited school can make a
not eligible for either PAB or CIP accreditation.
difference in your career.
The PAB does not evaluate PhD programs for
Not all accredited schools teach the same courses or
accreditation because the primary focus of the doctoral
emphasize the same subjects–in fact, the differences
degree is usually not professional practice. However,
between the schools appeal to different student
the CIP does evaluate Canadian PhD programs for
interests. But the curriculum at all accredited schools
accreditation.
will provide you with a core set of theories, methods,
and techniques which properly prepare you for a career
tiPs For understAndinG
as a practicing planner. Graduating from an accredited
program will make you more attractive to agencies or
this Guide
firms hiring planners. In addition, you will be able to
join the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
• Schools are sorted alphabetically: Arizona State
sooner after leaving school if you attend an accredited
University near the beginning of the Guide - the
school. Being a certified planner can advance your
University of Arizona closer to the end.
professional career.
• In the top right corner of the page, there
While all accredited planning programs cover the same
will be icons indicating each degree
set of core materials and techniques, they do so in BA/BS
offered by the university. If the icon has the PAb
different ways. Planning programs vary greatly in the
letters PAB or CIP underneath the degree
issues they emphasize, the research they foster, and the
acronym, that particular degree is accredited by
professional projects in which they engage. As a result,
the Planning Accreditation Board or the Canadian
programs may differ markedly in the kinds of topics
Institute of Planners.
to which you will be exposed, the other students with
whom you attend class, and the kind of educational
• The degree acronyms are: BA/BS for a Bachelor
experience you will have.
of the Arts or a Bachelor of Science; MA/MS for
Masters of the Arts or Masters of Science; and PhD
For example, planning programs located near the ocean
for a doctoral degree. Remember, the PAB does
may offer a concentration in coastal resource planning;
not accredit doctoral degree programs.
programs located in farm states may focus on rural and
small urban planning issues; those along the Mexican or
• All links in the Guide are live links for your
Canadian border may stress comparative planning. Of
convenience. When you have questions we
course, other planning programs may offer these same
strongly suggest using the links through to the
concentrations in response to the backgrounds and
school’s web site or use the email addresses
research interests of their faculty. Individual programs
directly to faculty in that school or department.
also vary in the extent to which they emphasize practice
in studios and workshops or in the degree to which they
• The left-hand column begins the general
expose students to research and policy analysis. Some
information about the program: admission
programs have established international ties; others
requirements, deadlines for application,
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availability of financial assistance, application fees, • The faculty entries also give you a very brief idea
tuition rates, etc. of the person’s credentials and particular interests
or areas of study (listed as specializations). These
• The Guide next describes each of the degrees give you a snapshot of the teaching, research,
offered by the university. In general, the text tells if and professional or service activities of the
the program or degree is: accredited, how old it is, faculty with whom you might be studying. While
and the total number of degrees granted over the most planning professors have a PhD, not all
last few years. It shows substantive specializations do, particularly if they are or have been active
available for each degree, prerequisites necessary practitioners.
to get into the program, how many units or hours
needed to obtain the degree in question (breaking • At the end of the listing, most schools have charts
those totals down into required (core) courses, with data about student enrollment and student
restricted (specialization) and unrestricted composition. The charts give you an idea of the
electives), and the final product required — such number and diversity of the students in each
as a thesis, an essay or professional report, or a planning degree program the university offers.
capstone project.
• The Guide contains two separate entries for
faculty. The text describing Planning Faculty
includes those people who spend at least half
their time teaching in one or more of the listed
planning programs. The second set of faculty
descriptions, Other Affiliated Faculty, includes
those who teach in other university programs
- like engineering, geography, or social work -
for the majority of their time or those who are
practicing professionals who teach occasionally
or part-time in the university’s planning program.
Sometimes this category includes retired (emeriti)
professors or university administrators who teach
planning courses occasionally.
• If the faculty member has taken a professional
certification exam through the American Institute
of Certified Planners, the icon AICP will appear
with his/her name. This generally indicates
that the faculty member is very interested in
professional planning practice. The icon FAICP
means the faculty member has been named a
Fellow of the AICP, a very prestigious honor for a
professional planner.
• The first words in italics below a faculty member’s
name indicate his/her title, which in many cases
indicates rank and seniority. The most senior (in
U.S. schools) are professors followed by associate
and then assistant professors. If someone is listed
as visiting or adjunct it generally means that s/he is
not a permanent member of the faculty. If someone
is listed as emeritus it means that s/he has retired-
-retired professors vary greatly in the number of
courses they teach.
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