phd in urban planning

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Ph.D. in Urban Planning

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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

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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] .

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• Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development (Ph.D. – UPD)

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

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The Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development prepares students to become researchers, scholars, and academics who contribute new ideas and innovate solutions to contemporary urban problems. Students obtain a solid foundation from which to launch their scholarly careers through advanced courses in planning theory and social justice, land use and urban development, climate change and sustainability, housing and real estate, data science and spatial analysis, demography, transportation and infrastructure, arts, culture, and community development. 

Research in urban planning and development has a direct impact on the world around us. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum focusing on critical discourse and inquiry and analytical and theoretical training, Ph.D. students at USC Price are prepared to contribute to solutions that address the world’s most pressing policy and planning issues.

Learn about the application process →

Application Deadlines

John Romley , Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Pharmaceutical & Health Economics Faculty Director, PhD Programs

Julie Kim , Ed.D., M.Ed. Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Managing Director, Doctoral Programs

For admissions information, please email [email protected]

F ields of Study

Through advanced theoretical core courses in critical thinking, planning theory, urban development, and research methodology, Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development students gain a strong foundation from which to launch their scholarly career and develop an area of expertise.

Working closely with faculty mentors, Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development students focus on and develop substantive expertise in core areas that leverage the Price School’s renowned research strengths in fields such as:

• Arts, culture, and community development
• Climate change and sustainability
• Data science and spatial analysis
• Land use and urban design
• Planning theory and social justice
• Transportation and Mobility

All Ph.D. students are supported for four years through a combination of fellowships and graduate assistantships that provides year-round full tuition, a competitive stipend, and health and dental insurance. Students beyond their fourth year obtain support through teaching or research assistantships, or funding from USC and/or outside sources. Ph.D. students have access to stipends for conference travel.

Learn more about funding »

Research in a Supportive E nvironment

Price School faculty mentor Ph.D. students to contribute to the scholarly foundations of their chosen field. Many Ph.D. students publish and present their work at conferences, often co-authoring papers with faculty.

Recent Ph.D. Student Publications

Arthur Acolin, J. Bricker, P.S. Calem, and S.M. Wachter (2016). A Renter or Homeowner Nation? 18.1: 145-157.

Arthur Acolin and Annette M. Kim . (2021). Algorithmic justice and groundtruthing the remote mapping of informal settlements: The example of Ho Chi Minh City’s periphery. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science. 2022;49(1):151-168. doi:10.1177/2399808321998708

Cynthia Barboza-Wilkes, Bill Resh , and Carmen Mooradian (2020). Unpaid Work? Emotional Labor Assessments and Episodic Recall Bias in Public Engagement, Journal of Behavioral Public Administration , Vol. 3(2), 1-11.

Yi Chen, Bryan Tysinger, Eileen Crimmins, and Julie Zissimopoulos (2019). Analysis of Dementia in the US Population Using Medicare Claims: Insights from Linked Survey and Administrative Claims Data, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions , Vol 5(1), 197-207.

Jonathan Crisman and Annette M. Kim , (2019). Property Outlaws in the Southland: The Potentials and Limits of Guerrilla Urbanism in the Cases of Arts Gentrification in Boyle Heights and Street Vending Decriminalization in Los Angeles.  Urban Design International . 24: 159-170.  https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-019-00086-6

Julia Harten, Annette M. Kim , & Cressica Brazier. (2020). Real and fake data in Shanghai’s informal rental housing market: Groundtruthing data scraped from the internet. Urban Studies, 58(9), 1831–1845.  https://doi-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1177/0042098020918196

Andy Hong and Lisa Schweitzer , L. Marr, and W. Yang (2015). Impact of Temporary Freeway Closure on Regional Air Quality: A Lesson from Carmageddon in Los Angeles.  Environmental Science and Technology , 49(5): 3211-3218.

Hyojung Lee and Elizabeth Currid‐Halkett , & Gary D. Painter . (2019) Veblen goods and urban distinction: The economic geography of conspicuous consumption; Journal of Regional Science, 59(1): 83-117.

Matthew Miller (2015). Social Finance in Black Geographies: A Statistical Analysis of Locations in Los Angeles County.  Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy , 21: 78-91.

Noah Miller, Adam Rose , Dan Wei, Toon Vandyck and Christian Flachsland (2018). Achieving Paris Climate Agreement Pledges: Alternative Designs for Linking Emissions Trading, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy , Vol. 12, No. 1: 170-182.

Maria Francesca Piazzoni (2018). The Real Fake: Authenticity and the Production of Space , Fordham University Press.

Vincent Reina and Raphael Bostic and H. Schwartz, R.K. Green, L.M. Davis, and C.H. Augustine (2015). The Preservation of Affordable Rental Housing: An Evaluation of the MacArthur Foundation’s Window of Opportunity Initiative.  RAND Corporation report .

Jovanna Rosen (2016). Climate, Environmental Health Vulnerability, and Physical Planning: A Review of the Forecasting Literature.  Journal of Planning Literature , 1-20.

Eun Jin Shin (2017). Ethnic Neighborhoods, Social Networks, and Inter-household Carpooling: A Comparison Across Ethnic Minority Groups, Journal of TransportGeography , Vol. 59, pp. 14–26.

Xize Wang, Marlon Boarnet , and D. Houston (2016). Can New Light Rail Reduce Personal Vehicle Carbon Emissions? A before-after, experimental-control evaluation in Los Angeles,  Journal of Regional Science .

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.

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

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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

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 . 

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The Ph.D. in urban and regional planning trains scholars for careers in higher education, research and high-level policy positions. It is a doctoral degree with a flexible, interdisciplinary focus. Graduates work in universities, government, non-profits, and the private sector, in the U.S. and around the world.

Program History

The doctorate in planning began in 1968 as the Ph.D. Program in Urban and Regional Planning under the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. It was initially a university-wide Ph.D. program with faculty participation from many colleges throughout the university. In the late 1970s, the degree moved into the Rackham Graduate School. The name changed to the Ph.D. in Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning (U.T.E.P.) in 1982.

The degree moved into the College of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1989 and administratively merged with the professional program in planning to form the Urban and Regional Planning Program. The degree is now known as the “Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning,” a name change made in 2004. In nearly 60 years of existence, the program has granted over 215 Ph.D. degrees. Graduates hold faculty positions in a range of departments in universities, government, research organizations, and consulting firms.

/ Curriculum

The doctoral curriculum integrates analytical methods, research design, a rigorous understanding of urbanization dynamics, and an examination of broader social theories, processes and policies.

Students address complex systems that typically encompass an array of spatial, environmental, social, political, technical, and economic factors. The emphasis is on theory, analysis, and action.

Each student is also expected to demonstrate an understanding of the literature, theory, and research in a specialization area within the larger discipline of urban and regional planning.

Sample Subjects

Recent students have engaged in subjects as diverse as:

• The political economy of public transit, inner-city revitalization
• Global city urbanization
• Information technology and cyberspace
• The crisis of modernist urbanism
• Suburbanization in developing countries
• Regional planning institutions
• The effects of environmental contamination on patterns of urban and regional development
• The culture of suburban commuting
• The impact of tourism on historical Mediterranean cities
• The application of complex systems analysis to sustainable development

Full list of courses and descriptions

/ Specialization

Doctoral students specialize in a wide range of possible topics.

The highly individualized course of study operates under the premise that concepts and methods from a wide range of professions and academic disciplines are applicable to urban and regional systems. Accordingly, students rely on faculty resources not only from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning but also from other schools, colleges, and institutes of the University of Michigan.

Students commonly take courses in the social sciences and in the professional schools. This emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, and on the links between theory and action, are defining characteristics of the doctoral planning degree at the University of Michigan.

Social Sciences Samples

• Anthropology
• Political science

Professional Schools Samples

• Business administration
• Engineering
• Natural resources and the environment
• Public policy
• Public health
• Social work

Primary Specialization

Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the literature, theory, and methods from a primary area of specialization. Each student defines this area of specialization in consultation with their faculty advisor(s). An area of specialization might be, for example, transportation planning, community development planning, regional planning, environmental planning, and so on. (If appropriate, a student may further focus their area of specialization by demarcating a subfield within a broader planning topic, such as economic development finance within local economic development.) Students take graduate-level course work in the appropriate discipline(s) and complete a comprehensive examination (described below).

During the first semester in the program, each student should meet with their advisor(s) to:

1. Identify Specialization:

Discuss the student’s goals and interest in doctoral study and identify an area of specialization.

2. Coursework:

Develop a program of study indicating courses to be taken, or courses that have been taken, covering the appropriate literature (theory and method) for the area of specialization. Students will normally take coursework totaling approximately 12 to 15 credit hours for the area of specialization. (Note: One or two courses taken for the master’s degree may apply for either the primary or secondary areas of specialization, but master’s level work normally should not be relied upon too extensively for the purposes of doctoral-level study.)

3. Directed Study:

As three of these credit hours, a student is expected to take a directed study course with their primary advisor and a second faculty reader during either the winter term of the first year or the fall term of the second year of study. The purpose of this directed study is to conduct a literature review that will demonstrate the student’s ability to review and synthesize a body of academic work and that will advance the student’s efforts toward identifying a topic for dissertation research. The directed study is evaluated on a pass/fail basis; initial drafts must be revised until they are of passing quality.

Secondary Specialization

In addition to the primary area of specialization, each student must also identify a secondary area of specialization (i.e., a “minor field” or “outside field”) in consultation with their faculty advisor(s). The secondary area of specialization is frequently from a discipline outside urban and regional planning.

Sample Secondary Specialization Areas

• Urban politics
• Urban history
• Urban sociology
• Development economics, environment, behavior, etc.

Students normally take at least six to nine credit hours in this secondary area. Students demonstrate sufficient knowledge in this secondary area (and their ability to integrate the secondary area into their main area of specialization) through their comprehensive examination.

/ Required Courses

Four courses are required of all Ph.D. students: two doctoral-level planning theory courses and a two-course research seminar sequence.

Advanced Urban Theory (URP 700)

The two theory courses, Advanced Urban Theory (URP 700) and Epistemology and Reasoning for Planning Research (URP 701), are offered during the fall term in alternating years. These courses are designed to provide doctoral students a solid theoretical foundation for conducting rigorous scholarly inquiry within the planning field.

Epistemology and Reasoning for Planning Research (URP 701)

Research design (urp 801).

First-year students are required to take URP 801 (Research Design) during the winter term of the first year.

Ph.D. Research Seminar (URP 802)

Second-year students are required to take URP 802 (Ph.D. Research Seminar) in the winter term of the second year. This two-course sequence seminar has three objectives.

• First, it exposes students to various approaches to research related to planning.
• Second, it enables students to formulate and test out researchable topics among faculty and student peers.
• Finally, it enables students to gain experience in developing an appropriate research design, in writing a detailed research proposal, and in formally presenting the proposal to an audience of faculty and students in the seminar during the second winter semester.

/ Pre-Candidacy Requirements

• Planning theory
• Analytic methods
• Research design
• Primary area of specialization

Students meet these requirements through coursework and exams over a two-year period. During this time, a student’s cumulative grade point average may not fall below a B without academic discipline or probation.

Analytic Methods Courses

Students are expected to be skilled in statistics, in at least two analytic research techniques, and reasonably knowledgeable about several others. Students qualify in analytic techniques by completing the following:

1. Satisfactory performance (B or higher) in two cumulative graduate-level statistics courses.

Students entering with previous statistics experience may wish to enter directly into a second semester statistics course. In the past, students have typically selected one of the following sequences:

• Statistics 402 (Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis), Statistics 403 (Statistics & Data Analysis II)
• Sociology 510 (Statistics); Sociology 610 (Statistical Methods)
• Natural Resources 438 (Natural Resources Biometrics), Natural Resources 538 (Natural Resources Data Analysis)
• Biostatistics 503 (Introductory Biostatistics), Biostatistics 523 (Biostatistical Analysis for Health-Related Fields)
• The sequence in political science

NOTE: Students wishing to study statistics during the spring or summer terms may want to investigate the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research sponsored by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and/or the Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques conducted by the research staff of the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research. Choice of courses to meet requirements should be discussed with your advisor.

2. Competence in at least two analytic/research methods satisfied through nine credit hours of total coursework.

These are methods used in planning research and should prepare the student for their likely area of dissertation work. The requirement is met through completion of nine credits of course work in two analytic/research methods (in addition to statistics), to be defined by the student in conjunction with his or her advisor. (The two methods may be interrelated.) Depending on the research method and the student’s background, more courses may be needed. Courses in these two areas must be completed with a grade of B or higher in order to fulfill this requirement. Graduate level courses that are audited can count for this requirement, as long as the student completes all the work of the course and the instructor provides a letter indicating the grade the student would have received had he or she been enrolled. All plans for satisfying this requirement are the joint responsibility of the student and his or her advisor.

The methods a student selects should relate to their dissertation area. Below are several analytic/research methods in which students have been examined in recent years. Numerous analytic/research methods are appropriate, and students need not be restricted to choices on the list:

• Anthropological methods
• Case study methods
• Complex systems analysis
• Cost benefit & cost effectiveness analysis
• Decision theory & general risk analysis
• Demographic analysis
• Discrete choice analysis
• Differential equations
• Diffusion models
• Economic & other forecasting models
• Evaluation research
• Graph theory
• Historical analysis
• Institutional analysis
• Interview techniques
• Linear programming and general analysis using linear models
• Network & flow methods
• Population growth models
• Probability, both theoretical & heuristic
• Simulation/gaming & game theory
• Spatial analysis
• Survey research
• Time series.

/ Annual Review of Student Progress

At the end of each year of study, students are required to complete an Annual Review. The advisor and the Coordinator of Doctoral Studies may make recommendations for any modifications deemed necessary prior to the start of the following academic year. Note: financial support for the subsequent year, if applicable, depends on timely completion of a satisfactory annual review.

Annual Review Steps

By April 30, the student submits TWO COPIES (one copy to their   advisor ; one copy to the   doctoral studies assistant ) of the following:

• A completed  annual review form , including a concise narrative of plans and goals for the upcoming academic year.
• An up-to-date compliance form.

The advisor provides comments to the student and, where necessary, recommends changes in the academic plan. (This consultation between advisor and student may happen in person or by phone). If necessary, the student should provide the advisor and the doctoral studies assistant with copies of a revised version of this review form based on the advisor’s comments.

Once the advisor has approved the plan of study for the coming year, the advisor forwards (no later than May 14) to the doctoral studies assistant a copy of the “faculty evaluation form,” which includes a short narrative of student progress (one paragraph).

The URP Doctoral Committee reviews the materials, and sends a letter to the student, either confirming their good standing in the program or specifying additional requirements to be in good standing.

Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive exam tests a student’s knowledge of both their primary and secondary areas of specialization. The exam consists of a take-home, written examination followed by an oral exam. The examination normally occurs before the start of the third year in the Ph.D. program, after completion of all relevant coursework.

1. The Committee:

The student convenes an examination committee of three faculty members, choosing faculty who have expertise in the areas of specialization. At least one member of the committee should be a member of the urban and regional planning faculty. The chair or co-chair of the committee must be a regular member of the planning faculty and cannot be an affiliate faculty member. At least one committee member should represent the student’s secondary area of specialization. (If the student has identified a secondary area of specialization that is traditionally housed in another department on campus, then the student is encouraged to select a faculty member from that outside department as their third committee member.) On occasion, examiners from outside the university have served on students’ examining committees. While this practice is generally not encouraged, written requests for an outside examiner by students are treated on an individual basis by the director of doctoral studies.

2. The Field Statement:

The student meets with the committee chair to plan for the exam and agree on expectations prior to the construction of the exam. In consultation with the chair and committee members, the student identifies appropriate readings and prepares a detailed “field statement” that defines the primary and secondary fields, contains a detailed bibliography of readings, organizes the readings into subfields, and outlines a set of major questions for the fields. The field statement is normally designed principally with the chair and is sometimes analogous to a detailed syllabus that one would prepare for a year-long graduate-level course on the selected specializations. The student often writes possible exam questions that he/she feels are appropriate for the area the exam will cover. The questions are not the questions the committee asks the student; their major function is to help the committee and the student to agree on the scope of the exam.

3. Scheduling the Exam:

The exam must be completed by May 20 of the second year in the program, and it is scheduled on the student’s initiative. Prior to the exam, the student should have completed all coursework (including all incompletes). A student may delay the exam for exceptional circumstances with approval of the faculty adviser and the Director of Doctoral Studies. Students must notify the Director of Doctoral Studies of their intent to take the exam, with a date and time, location, and names of committee members at least one month prior to the exam.

4. The Exam:

The written part of the exam is in the form of a take-home essay. The committee chair typically solicits exam questions from the committee, selects questions to be used, and composes the final examination. The allotted time period to write the exam is determined by the chair, and typically is over three days. The student must submit the exam in the form as directed by the chair (usually as a Word document submitted by email), plus one copy to the program administrator to be placed in the student’s records. The written exam is followed by a two-hour oral exam, generally scheduled to take place within about one week after the written exam. The exam is evaluated on a “Pass/Fail” or “Conditional Pass” basis. If the student does not achieve a passing evaluation, he/she may take the exam one additional time to achieve a “Pass” or “Conditional Pass” status. A “Conditional Pass” indicates that additional requirements must be met, but the exam need not be retaken. Upon completion of the oral portion of the exam, please refer to the Applying for Candidacy section for next steps.

/ Applying for Candidacy

A student advances to candidacy when all program requirements except the dissertation proposal and dissertation have been satisfied. The normal and expected time to achieve candidacy is two years from the date of first enrollment in the doctoral program. In addition to urban and regional planning program requirements, a student must also meet Rackham Candidacy Requirements . Any incomplete courses that are critical to satisfying requirements must be completed before applying for candidacy.

Once all required coursework and the comprehensive exam are successfully completed, a student applies for candidacy by sending a request by email to the URP Director of Doctoral Studies, along with attachments that include the following: (1) a signed Comprehensive Exam Certification Form and (2) a current transcript showing all completed coursework.

The Director of Doctoral Studies will recommend a doctoral student for candidacy by submitting a recommendation to the Rackham Graduate School. When candidacy is approved, a student is ready to begin work on the dissertation and is eligible for URP 995 candidacy registration.

/ Language Requirement

Foreign language requirement.

There is no foreign language requirement for doctoral planning students. However, work in some areas of specialization and on certain research/dissertation topics may require knowledge of one or more foreign languages.

English Language Proficiency Requirement

Prior to taking the qualifying examinations, students are also expected to demonstrate writing skills in the English language of the sort required to produce a doctoral dissertation. Such writing skills will be demonstrated in the process of completing routine written assignments in core courses.

Students having difficulty doing so are encouraged to take course work at the English Language Institute and/or other units as appropriate, and may be required to take an English Proficiency Examination prior to taking the qualifying examinations.

/ Sample Schedule

Sample first year, sample second year, sample years three - four.

/ Dissertation

Formatting dissertation committee.

After completing the comprehensive exam and advancing to candidacy, the student must form a dissertation committee, in accordance with the Rackham Graduate School’s  “Guidelines for Dissertation Committee Service.”

Within two weeks from advancing to candidacy, the student must send an email to the URP Director of Doctoral Studies, with a pdf attachment of a completed “Dissertation Committee Worksheet for Students to submit to Program”, which can be obtained from the link above. The Director of Doctoral Studies will then submit the formal request to the Rackham Graduate School.

Dissertation Proposal

The student must formally obtain approval of the dissertation proposal as outlined in the URP Ph.D. Program Overview Schedule and Policies document. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule the initial review hearing attended by both the rotating dissertation proposal committee and the dissertation committee, and to schedule the proposal defense attended by the dissertation committee, both in a timely manner.

The student must notify Lisa Hauser by email of the proposal defense date at least three weeks prior to the meeting, including the location of the defense meeting, a title, and an abstract. After gaining approval from the dissertation committee, the dissertation chair must send an email to the Director of Doctoral Studies that includes (a) the date of the proposal defense, (b) a list of all committee members present at the defense, (c) a title of the proposal, (d) an abstract of the proposal (250 – 350 words), and (e) a copy of the final dissertation proposal to be filed with URP records. Receipt of the email from the dissertation chair will constitute formal approval of the proposal by the committee and readiness to proceed with dissertation work.

Dissertation Process

The dissertation is prepared in accordance with the   Rackham Graduate School’s Doctoral Dissertation Requirements , and as outlined in the URP Ph.D. Program Overview Schedule and Policies document.

The student is responsible for several steps: (a) scheduling and reserving rooms for the URP pre-defense hearing (which ordinarily should occur at least six weeks and no less than three weeks prior to the dissertation defense) and the defense meeting, both in a timely manner; (b) notifying Lisa Hauser by email of the defense date at least three weeks prior to the meeting, including the location of the defense meeting, a title, and an abstract; (c) providing a complete dissertation draft, including an abstract and bibliography, to committee members at least two weeks (longer is advised) before the defense date; and (d) registering for an eight-hour candidacy enrollment (995 Dissertation Research) for the term in which the defense is held.

A dissertation defense typically consists of two parts: the first is a formal, public presentation of the dissertation research, followed by questions and answers from both the dissertation committee and the audience. Defenses are advertised and open to the public, and other students and faculty are frequently in attendance. The second part is a closed session for the candidate and the dissertation committee. During the defense, the student may be asked to reconsider certain aspects of the work and to make changes or corrections in the dissertation. At the end of the session, the chair will discuss the oral defense with other members of the committee and inform the student of the outcome. The duration of a defense can vary, but the candidate should reserve the room for a three-hour period.

Formal approval of the dissertation (e.g., formatting of the final document) and applying for graduation are governed by the Rackham Graduate School.

/ Frequently Asked Questions

What is the rackham graduate school.

The Rackham Graduate School and Taubman College work as a team to manage the application review process. As an applicant you will be interacting with both offices.

Do I need to submit GRE scores?

No. Effective for 2022 applicants and beyond, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are no longer required nor considered for admission to all graduate programs, including the Master of Urban Design, at Taubman College.

Do I need an official transcript to apply?

Yes. The Rackham Graduate School requires applicants to upload a scanned copy, front and back, of their official transcript /academic record issued by the Registrar or Records Office to the applicant, to ApplyWeb for each bachelor’s, master’s, professional, or doctoral degree earned or in progress.

Is there an interview process?

Yes. As part of the competitive process of admission evaluation, the Admissions Committee will conduct personal interviews with each applicant. Interviews are arranged after the deadline and applications have been reviewed.

My English proficiency score doesn’t meet the minimum requirement, can I still apply?

Yes, you can still apply. However, Taubman College doesn’t provide conditional admission. We encourage you to retake the test until you receive the minimum score.

How do I check the status of my application?

Applicants can verify application data and status online approximately 10–15 days after their application is submitted. The admissions office will send an email to each applicant that includes the University of Michigan Identification Number (UMID). You will need to use a login ID and password to confirm some personal data before viewing your application status. Student Service staff will try to keep all materials received current. However, please allow sufficient time for processing before contacting the office. See the Apply page application status and evaluation section.

When will I receive my admission decision?

Applicants will be notified of their admission decision by late-February or early March. If you are admitted, you will be able to see that you have been recommended for admission via the online Wolverine Access web application status portal. Decision  letters are sent via email.

Are there any resources available for International Students with questions related to the visa application, health insurance or Life in Ann Arbor?

Yes. The Website of the International Center at the University of Michigan offers helpful resources for incoming international students related to topics such as Immigration and Visas, Health Insurance and Housing or Local Transportation.

https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/resources

When do I need to enter my decision?

April 15th.

Where can I find more information regarding the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements, safety and prevention efforts and testing programs?

Please refer to https://campusblueprint.umich.edu/ for latest news on the coronavirus situation on campus and the COVID-19  policies currently in place for students and faculty.

Do I need to secure an advisor prior to applying?

No, we only encourage students to become familiar with our Ph.D. faculty and research interests. Please feel free to reach out to faculty directly as well.

/ Funding Support and Resources

Making decisions about the next step in your educational journey is a time full of opportunity and potential; however, it may also be accompanied by concerns about costs. Taubman College provides full funding to all students admitted to its doctoral programs, including a full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a generous stipend package.

/ Recent Graduates

Graduates from the Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning program have completed Doctoral Dissertations on topics ranging from “Regions, Race, Rail and Rubber: An Analysis of How Transportation Planning Decisions Contributed to Regional Segregation, 1922 – 1973” to “Urban Planning and Its Feminist Histories.” View a selection of recent Doctoral Dissertations .

/ Faculty Available as Committee Chairs

Below are faculty who can serve as Urban and Regional Planning Ph.D. committee chairs.

Scott Campbell

Robert Goodspeed

Kimberley Kinder

Larissa Larsen

Jonathan Levine

Xiaofan Liang

Martin Murray

Richard Norton

Ana Paula Pimentel Walker

See all Faculty

Taubman College Career and Professional Development offers a variety of programs, services and resources to assist students and alumni in exploring careers, securing positions and continuing skill development and management.

For additional information on career opportunities, visit our career and professional development page.

Meet Our Faculty

See Our Facilities

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

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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…

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

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

Urban Planning, PHD

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

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Urban Planning

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

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

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

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

Additional Details

Frequently Asked Questions   Professional Licensure Disclosure

Degree Requirements

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

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

Electives and Research (64 credit hours)

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

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

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

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

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

Admission Requirements

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

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

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

All applicants must submit:

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

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

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

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

Next Steps to attend ASU

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

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

Career examples include:

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

Program Contact Information

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

• [email protected]
• 480/965-7533

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Phd in city and regional planning.

The Doctor of Philosophy in City and Regional Planning Program provides advanced study of cities and regions and systems and processes that produce places and sustain communities.

Program Overview

The doctoral program in City and Regional Planning program combines intensive seminars with individualized programs of study. Only a small number of PhD students are accepted each year, most of whom have a master's degree in city and regional planning or a related discipline (like geography or policy). City and Regional Planning makes four Knowlton PhD Awards to incoming doctoral students every year. 

The PhD program generally counts 20 students in residence working closely with faculty on the delivery of the BSCRP and MCRP programs as well as on research projects. The program trains doctoral students to conduct independent and original planning research and pedagogical approaches to teaching planning.

PhD students participate in the CRP Colloquium which meets weekly during the academic year and provides a forum for students to present research, learn about faculty research, meet alumni, listen to the work of both planning professors from other departments and Ohio State faculty in cognate disciplines, and discuss publication strategies and contemporary topics in academia. City and Regional Planning also hosts several well-known planning professors each year as part of the Knowlton School’s Baumer Lecture Series .

The City and Regional Planning section is very active in planning research and publication. The  section is home  to the Journal of Planning Literature and the faculty includes current editors of the Journal of Urban Affairs and Regional Studies .

During their course of study, PhD students develop two areas of specialization, one from the program designated topics and the other designed and developed independently in consultation with their doctoral advisor tailored to their area of study.

Graduates of Knowlton's PhD program go on to careers in academia or research organizations in government, industry, and nonprofit organizations.

Doctoral students begin the program with coursework on planning theory, analysis, and in their core specializations. Once coursework is complete, students take the candidacy examination. The core areas of specialization in the program are economic development, community development and housing, transportation and mobility, environmental planning and sustainability, and urban design and physical planning.

Learn more about our  doctoral students' background and research areas .

PhD Funding and Support

City and Regional Planning makes four Knowlton PhD Awards to incoming doctoral students every year. The Knowlton PhD Awards include a four-year commitment of financial support (a stipend and a tuition waiver) through a combination of fellowships and graduate research and teaching assistantships. Information on additional funding opportunities for current and prospective PhD students is available here .

The program also provides support for conference travel and assists students as they pursue university and external travel fellowships and exchange opportunities.

CTA Links: Request Info / Visit / Apply (PhD CRP)

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Because of the nature of independent research, the PhD program curriculum is very flexible. The curriculum allows students to develop a research program through their academic interests and in concert with their advisor. Doctoral students must take a minimum of 50 credits in specific areas of focus.

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Areas of Focus

Students must complete course work in two fields of specialization for at least 24 credit hours (a minimum of 15 credit hours in the Major Field of Specialization, and 9 credit hours in the Minor). The Major Field of Specialization must be centered in City and Regional Planning, and be selected from those listed below. The Minor field of specialization may be within or outside of City and Regional Planning. Students may specialize on topics from a variety of disciplines such as Geography, Public Policy, Civil Engineering, etc. Some examples of minor fields include: econometrics, cultural anthropology, statistics, public health planning, etc.

The student and the advisor decide together on the courses that support their doctoral study. The courses may be taken within the CRP program or from other departments consistent with student interest and field requirements. Independent study courses may also qualify for the requirements. The courses are expected to cover the theory and evolution of the field, current debates, and analysis methods.

Economic Development

Why do some cities and regions grow while others decline? Is all growth good? Under what conditions does economic development support sustainable and equitable growth? How does the built environment and the systems that operate within it (e.g., transportation, energy, land use) affect regional economic development?

The answers to these questions are crucial because economic development priorities and practices frame much of what is defined as profitable, desirable, and possible across all the domains of urban and regional planning. For example, whether to make infrastructure investments in high-speed rail or where to locate new affordable housing or a linear park.

Our approach at Ohio State is multidisciplinary by design, as the challenges that cities and regions face are complex ones that do not respect disciplinary boundaries or benefit from only one approach. City and regional planning is uniquely situated to tackle these complex, multidisciplinary challenges by integrating research from both planning and its cognate disciplines including economics, business administration and management, geography, public policy, sociology, and political science. With a PhD concentration in economic development, your research will contribute to the discovery of long-term development strategies for communities and regions that balance economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, social equity, and resilience to external shocks.

Community Development and Housing

Our cities and towns are comprised of a network of neighborhoods and districts that provide amenities and resources such as housing, education, places of worship, access to food and nourishment, and connect communities of individually socially for improved quality of life. By understanding the strengths and strains of this ‘togetherness’, planners work to guide community or neighborhood development in ways that are inclusive, sustainable, and equitable. The specialization in community development and housing has a long tradition in city and regional planning. Community development research can focus on urban, suburban, or rural environments and includes issues such as leadership development, social capital formation, community economic development, infrastructure, or modification to the built environment or efforts to support community improvement in education, health, or employment.

Historically, many social issues in community development have had a housing dimension, including problems associated with racial segregation, slum development, poverty, and unemployment. Housing policy has traditionally been central to community development practice and is one of the most influential policy interventions to impact neighborhoods. Housing policies such as zoning laws, building codes, rent control, urban renewal, public housing, and fair housing regulations all impact the built and social environment. Housing includes the delivery of land, shelter, community facilities, and physical infrastructure. Research might deal with such topics as increasing the supply of affordable housing, expanding homeownership among low-income groups, understanding the effectiveness of various incentives and constraints to encourage the development of safe and affordable housing, the relationship between socio‐demographic characteristics of people and their housing and neighborhood choices, or the effect of housing and neighborhoods characteristics on quality of life.

Urban Design and Physical Planning

The urban design and physical planning specialization aims to plan and design places that are environmentally, socially, and culturally sustainable, and are conducive to accommodate new people, new uses, and new buildings. It also includes the exploration of how urban sprawl and growth management can and do inform urban design and contribute to more resilient urban environments. This field covers scales from neighborhoods to metropolitan areas and addresses interrelationships between the physical environment, the built environment, and the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that shape urban areas. Students will learn methods, theory including environmental programming and research, geographic information systems, health impact assessments, social/cultural factors in environmental design, and application of information to the resolution of environmental design problems.

Environmental Planning and Sustainability

The Environmental Planning & Sustainability specialty allows students to pursue planning questions relating to the conservation, development, and restoration of socio-ecological systems, particularly (but not exclusively) in cities and regions. From the creation of green infrastructure to the preparation for natural hazards, individuals and communities interact with their environments in ways that include planning. Research in this area ranges from questions of the incorporation of sustainable development principles in plans and policies, the resilience of built and natural environments and their connections, the social, economic and environmental impacts of various activities, and questions related to the processes that produce plans for socio-ecological systems and their health consequences. It might also address energy conservation, generation, and infrastructure.

Transportation and Mobility

Transportation or movement across space is an integral part of the planning process. As new transportation technologies emerge in the 21st century, there is potential for significant changes in mode choice, travel behavior, goods movement, land use patterns, and infrastructure. The transportation specialization in the PhD program addresses these concerns through a variety of possible topics, ranging from measuring and providing access and equity, sustainable mobility, new mobility technologies and cities, understanding and projecting travel behavior, transportation policy making, mobility management, and system resilience. Our faculty has expertise studying mobility at diverse geographical scales (local, regional, and international) and with various travel modes (active modes, rail, air, transit, and autos).

Explore Planning

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Autumn 2023 City and Regional Planning Colloquium

• Student Work
• Student Experience

Tonni Oberly and Jason Reece Research Featured by APA

The research by the alumna and associate professor of planning was featured on the planning association’s blog.

Başar Özbilen Receives Presidential Fellowship

Jesus J. Lara Awarded a Fulbright, DAAD to Study Social Change and the Built Environment

Zhenhua chen publishes research articles.

In 2020, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning Zhenhua Chen published collaborative articles on…

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PhD Urban and Regional Planning

The PhD is a research degree. The program’s graduates have gone on to academic positions in the U.S. and abroad, as well as taking research posts with public sector agencies in the U.S. and overseas and in private consulting. Recent graduates can be found across the world working in a variety of research positions with an equally widely varying array of institutions.

Over fifty-five students have received PhDs from the department (see our list of PhD alumni here ), with about fifteen students currently enrolled in the program. Generally students spend two years doing full-time course work before being advanced to candidacy, and an additional two to three years in preparation and defense of a dissertation. The University’s requirements for the PhD. which govern departmental policy are detailed in the Graduate School’s Policies and Procedures . A summary of the department’s requirements are outlined below; details are available in the URPL’s PhD Program Policies and Procedures.

PhD Funding Opportunities

Several opportunities exist for funding doctoral studies in Urban and Regional Planning at the UW–Madison. In addition to funding opportunities through the Graduate School , the Department administers targeting funds for doctoral study. One such opportunity exists specifically for PhD dissertators and provides up to $5,000 for successful applicants. Dissertators in applying for the  URPL Dissertation Excellence Fellowship  should follow guidelines found  here

PhD Reading Lists:

• Preliminary 1
• Preliminary 3

For More information on our PhD program visit our PhD Handbook 

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Phd in city & regional planning.

• Letter from the Graduate Group Chair
• Program Requirements
• Doctoral Program Community
• The City Planning Graduate Group

Welcome to our online source of information for the Doctoral Program in City and Regional Planning in the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Here you will find information about our outstanding faculty, their research interests, teaching, and professional activities; the expectations and requirements of the Program; and profiles of our PhD students and graduates.

The University of Pennsylvania is an intellectually stimulating environment in which to study the today’s metropolitan challenges. To develop responses, our PhD students have easy access to a broad, multi-disciplinary faculty and all the resources of a first-rate urban research university.

Penn’s PhD program in City and Regional Planning (CPLN), overseen by the Graduate Group in City and Regional Planning, dates back to the 1950s. Since that time, the faculty have guided more than 330 students though their graduate studies to the completion of the degree and aided them in assuming positions of leadership in both academia and the profession throughout the United States and across the world. For a complete list graduates and their dissertations, see the Doctoral Student Handbook .

General University and Graduate Group policies govern the doctoral degree; see the University's Policies and Procedures , especially the Academic Rules for PhD Programs and the Resources for PhD Students . We expect students to familiarize themselves with the policies very early in their academic careers.

Developing a Guide to Urban Planning Interventions

Credit: The Healthy Neighborhoods Study

What is “good” urban planning? Asked another way, how do we measure and judge the progress of the professional field of urban planning? Often the focus of “good” planning is centered on a balance of outcomes, stakeholder interests, and diverse actors. This interdisciplinary approach with myriad goals translates to a lack of universal standards to assess and iterate upon the planning process. Worse yet, this broad approach can produce outcomes counter to public interest and perpetuate systemic power imbalances. In a new paper for the Journal of Planning Literature , a group of researchers ask: Rather than simply satisfy engaged stakeholders, what then should be planners’ central charge?

“Health equity should act as a north star for urban planning because it provides a good measure of what constitutes ‘just’ planning and because it is responsive to and dependent on planning activities,” said Shin Bin Tan, an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore and lead author of the paper. “To actively follow this north star, planning researchers and professionals need a practical roadmap. Our paper offers a pathway to utilize the strengths of planning to design interventions to advance health equity and construct a more robust metric for evaluating the success of interventions.”

In addition to Tan (MCP ‘17, PhD ‘21) authors of the paper include: Andrew Binet (MCP ‘15, PhD ‘21) as well as J. Phillip Thompson and Mariana Arcaya. Tan’s research focuses on how built environment interventions and public policy can improve social and health equity. Binet, an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, is especially interested in understanding how urban environments shape our health and the relationships of care that sustain us, and how social and community planning can be tools for responding to the contemporary crisis of care and achieving health equity.  

Read their full paper, “Health Equity as a Guide for Urban Planning” 

Published April 3, 2024 Related Links Health Equity as a Guide for Urban Planning Shin Bin Tan Andrew Binet Mariana Arcaya Phillip Thompson