I’ve wanted to be an urban planner since about third grade, and, although I know many people change their minds once in college in regards to what they want to major in, I am serious about the discipline and have had two urban planning-related internships. It seems that, as an undergraduate major, urban planning is incredibly rare, but urban studies (and related majors like urban design, landscape architecture, urban ecology, etc) aren’t unheard of. I’m a senior in high school, and am only applying to schools (at least at the moment) with good programs in the discipline. My current list (I probably won’t be applying to all of these, I have to do one more round of deselection) includes:
University of Maryland College Park
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Utah
University of California Berkeley
New York University
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Southern California
University of Pittsburgh
University of Chicago
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in Saint Louis
Columbia University
I’ve got a good academic record (1530 SAT, French, Spanish + Listening, Math 2, Physics subject tests, 4.52 GPA, 12 AP classes and exams by the end of this year, numerous clubs and independent interests into which I’ve invested time), and am wondering if I’m looking over any schools with really interesting or good urban studies/planning/design programs. Thank you all in advance for your responses!
ADDITIONALLY I was also wondering if any of the schools I’ve currently listed don’t have very good urban studies programs, or have any major downsides I should note before applying.
UNC has City & Regional Planning – but I think it’s mainly graduate school? You should check and see if there’s undergraduate degree as well. They do some pretty cool spatial geography and have a very big population research center – both of which might relate to your interests.
Human Ecology at Cornell might also be of interest – it’s a pretty interesting school with cross disciplinary focus.
Finally, look at Univ. of Cincinnati’s DAP (Design, Architecture & Planning) program – might be too technical but worth checking out just for a different flavor. My nephew finished industrial design in that school a couple years ago and had amazing opportunities to study and work in Chicago, New England and Berlin. And he was very employable after graduating – landed a great job in Boston immediately.
You will need a graduate degree eventually in this field, but you probably already knew that.
Congrats on all your hard work and success in high school!
An important question is, how much of a studio design component do you want?
If you want lots of studio work as well as meaningful co-ops in the field, consider the Urban Landscape program at Northeastern.
For a program that is project-based and includes some studio work, look at the Urban and Environmental Planning track within the School of Environmental Design at CU Boulder. ENVD is a relatively small program which provides lots of individual attention and a great academic “home” within the larger university.
The Environmental Analysis major at the Claremont Colleges (based at Pitzer and Pomona, but also available to Scripps students) has a track called Sustainability and the Built Environment that includes some design classes and can be tilted toward urban planning depending on how you choose your electives.
The major in Community, Environment, & Planning at UW Seattle could be worth a look as well.
Depending on your financial circumstances, the out-of-pocket for the schools on your list could vary widely. Since you’ll likely need to go to grad school in this field, getting out of undergrad debt-free should also be a significant consideration. I would trim this list very differently depending on whether you’re looking for need-based financial aid or merit aid… or if you’re actually okay with full-pay.
I know you’re trying to narrow your search instead of broadening it further, but many Geography programs offer concentration in Urban Planning.
@Lehoe, I spent some time perusing the Urban Planning (or whatever they call it) departments of the schools that you list. The breadth and variety of approaches is truly mind-boggling. Penn said it best
First I believe the following schools do not offer an undergraduate degree in urban planning, studies or whatever name they choose for their graduate programs: UMCP, U of Minnesota, U of Pittsburgh, U of Chicago, WUSTL, Columbia.
You may be able to draw on the graduate school offerings and to patch together a multi-disciplinary undergraduate degree that would put you in good standing for a Masters. However, their UG degree paths are not as straightforward as some of the others.
Second, Urban planning programs are often defined by the graduate school that they are aligned with. Roughly speaking, some fall under the school of architecture with a primary focus on design; Some are in the schools of public policy, social work or public health with a focus on policy; Some are more ecology, environment and sustainability focused.
Of course, most urban majors would encompass ALL of the above, but the emphasis of the curriculum and the career paths of the graduates would vary. It’s important to study the curriculums carefully to decide which channel appeals to you most.
Since you’ve had internships with planning firms, you might want to talk to the firms’ principals about their own educational backgrounds and what they look for in hiring.
I suggest that you look at Cornell’s BS in Urban and Regional Studies which sits within the Art, Architecture and Planning Department.
https://aap.cornell.edu/academics/crp/undergraduate/faq
I would also note that it’s not strictly necessary to major in urban studies as an undergrad in order to get accepted to a top-rated Masters program. It’s possible to get a BA, BS in just about anything from just about anywhere, then specialize in urban studies in graduate school.
Whatever you decide for undergrad, a career in planning will most likely eventually include a graduate degree, which could be in planning itself or could be in a related field such as architecture, policy or law. You’ll want to look at finances carefully too as funding for advanced degrees can be unreliable.
I agree with some of the above posters to research Miami U of Ohio, U Minnesota -TC, and U Cincinnati.
All great choices for this major.
A few more you might want to investigate include:
ASU - B.S. in Urban Planning
U Mass Amherst - B.S. in Sustainable Community Development
Ohio State - B.S. in City and Regional Planning
U Missouri Kansas City - B.S. in Urban Planning and Design
CSU Chico - B.A. in Geography—Option in Human Geography and City Planning
Portland State U - B.A./B.S. in Community Development
Thank you all for your responses, especially @momrath for their lengthy analysis of my choices! You all have given me lots to think about!
@Lehoe, I think once you decide whether you want to focus on the policy side or on the design side of urban planning you’ll be able to narrow in on a more meaningful apply list.
If you’re more interested in policy and legislation then you should research programs that are tied into schools of public policy. If more interested in the design element then look for programs that are part of schools of architecture. Right now you list includes a little of both.
Either way, evaluate your financial needs first.