Urban planning education
Urban planning education is a practice of teaching and learning urban theory, studies, and professional practices. The interaction between public officials, professional planners and the public involves a continuous education on planning process. Community members often serve on a city planning commission, council or board. As a result, education outreach is effectively an ongoing cycle.
Formal education is offered as an academic degree in urban, city or regional planning, and awarded as a bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctorate.
Since planning programs are usually small, they tend not to be housed in distinct "planning schools" but rather, as part of an architecture school, a design school, a geography department, or a public policy school, since these are cognate fields. Generally speaking, planning programs in architecture schools focus primarily on physical planning and design, while those in policy schools tend to focus on policy and administration.
As urban planning is such a broad and interdisciplinary field, a typical planning degree program emphasizes breadth over depth, with core coursework that provides background for all areas of planning. Core courses typically include coursework in history/theory of urban planning, urban design, statistics, land use/planning law, urban economics, and planning practice. Many planning degree programs also allow a student to "concentrate" in a specific area of interest within planning, such as land use, environmental planning, housing, community development, economic development, historic preservation, international development, urban design, transportation planning, or geographic information systems. Some programs permit a student to concentrate in real estate, however, graduate real estate education has changed giving rise to specialized real estate programs.
Bachelor's degree in urban planning
Bachelor of Planning is an undergraduate academic degree designed to train applicants in various aspects of designing, engineering, managing and resolving challenges related to urban human settlements. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up to four years and contextual to modern challenges of urbanisation. It goes into the techniques and theories related to settlement design starting at the site planning level of a neighbourhood and moving up to the regional city planning context. Understanding relations between built forms and the citizens in cities and rural areas, and their implications on local environment, supporting utilities, transport networks, and physical infrastructure forms the core of the planning course. With an engineering orientation, the graduates emerging as urban planners are equipped with not only tools for rational comprehensive planning but also participatory and social development.The degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with an emphasis in urban planning, Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning, or Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning. The distinction reflects university policies, or some universities may have greater course offerings in urban planning, design, sociology, or a related degree.
Master of Urban Planning
The Master of Urban Planning is a two-year academic/professional master's degree that qualifies graduates to work as urban planners. Some schools offer the degree as a Master of City Planning, Master of Community Planning, Master of Regional Planning, Master of Town Planning, Master of Planning, Master of Environmental Planning or in some combination of the aforementioned, depending on the program's specific focus. Some schools offer a Master of Arts or Master of Science in Planning. Regardless of the name, the degree remains generally the same.A thesis, final project or capstone project is usually required to graduate. Additionally, an internship component is almost always mandatory due to the high value placed on work experience by prospective employers in the field.
Like most professional master's degree programs, the MUP is a terminal degree. However, some graduates choose to continue on to doctoral studies in urban planning or cognate fields. The Ph.D. is a research degree, as opposed to the professional MUP, and thus focuses on training planners to engage in scholarly activity directed towards providing greater insight into the discipline and underlying issues related to urban development.
[Accreditation]
Canada
The primary body for accrediting educational institutions that offer urban planning programs in Canada is the Professional Standards Board for the Planning Profession in Canada. Established in 2012, the PSB is responsible for certification of urban planners across Canada and "administering accreditation reviews of university planning degree programs based on the accreditation program principles, policies and administrative arrangements". The PSB accredits programs that offer undergraduate and masters level degrees.Canadian institutions may apply to the PSB for accreditation for a period of five years, following a successful initial accreditation. Programs are evaluated annually to ensure compliance with accreditation standards. For new programs, or after the five year period has elapsed, an intensive review takes place that ensure programs meet criteria for accreditation. To be eligible for accreditation institutions must meet the following criteria:
- The university offering the program must be recognized by a province in Canada
- The degree must be in the field of planning as defined by the Canadian Institute of Planners: “the scientific, aesthetic and orderly disposition of land resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities.”
- Undergraduate degrees must be four years of full-time studies. Graduate degrees should require two years of full-time study.
- The word “Planning” or the French equivalent must appear in the title of the degree or parenthetically to define the discipline.
- The program offering the degree shall be a recognized administrative unit within the university, in the direct charge of an individual whose primary area of activity is planning and a department chair or similar.
- The administrative unit must have appropriate administrative capacity and academic independence.
- The faculty shall include at least four academic members whose major appointments are in the planning program.
- A program must have a minimum number of certified full-time members on faculty.
- # For a program with 7 or fewer faculty, at least three must be certified members of a PTIA;
- # For a program with 8 or more full-time, at least four must be certified members of a PTIA.
- Faculty members shall have educational and professional backgrounds appropriate for the program level, with a relevant mix of credentials.
- The course must provide sufficient coverage of the functional and enabling competencies to allow students to enter the planning profession with a broad base of understanding of the profession and with the ability to continue to develop, gain knowledge, and specialize.
The PSB also recognizes degrees conferred by institutions accredited by the American Planning Accreditation Board in the United States, and the Planning Institute of Australia as eligible for the certification process.
Accredited programs
India
Though Planning as a Profession is not a recognized profession under Indian law, the profession was started long back with School of Planning and Architecture in 1941 as a Department of Architecture of Delhi College of Engineering now the Delhi Technological University. It was later integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban and regional planning. On integration, the School was renamed as school of planning and architecture in 1959. Today it is one of the premier schools of pursuing planning studies at bachelor, masters and post doctorate levels.The set up on the lines of the is the body representing planning professionals in India. A small group formed itself into an Indian Board of Town Planners which after three years of continuous work formed the Institute of Town Planners, India. The Institute which was established in July 1951, Today, has a membership of over 2,800, apart from a sizable number of student members, many of whom have qualified Associateship Examination conducted by .
Institutes under ITPI offers a 4-year undergraduate degree in Planning.
Accredited programs
United Kingdom
Planning is a complex issue in UK law, therefore there are several regulatory bodies that exist. The bulk of degrees are accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, often abbreviated to RTPI. Degrees accredited by this professional body are generally four years and are therefore master's degrees — the majority of these degrees are prefixed MPlan. The RTPI requires that accredited degrees involve some form of work placement in a relevant profession, such as working with local authorities or planning offices. The majority of universities offering these courses ensure the placement is done during half-term and/or holidays.Some degrees, such as the University of Sheffield's "MPlan Urban Studies and Planning" are accredited by both the RTPI and RICS — the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors. This degree is unique given its dual-accreditation, however requires that students on the degree undertake certain compulsory modules.
United States
The Planning Accreditation Board is the sole accreditor of planning programs in the United States. The Planning Accreditation Board accredits graduate and undergraduate planning programs in the United States and Canada., PAB accredits 15 undergraduate programs and 71 graduate programs in 75 North America Universities. Graduation from a PAB accredited program allows a graduate to sit for the American Institute of Certified Planners Certification Exam earlier in their career than a student with a degree from a non-accredited program or school.
Programs that desire accreditation through the PAB must apply for candidacy status. The program seeking candidacy must demonstrate that they meet the five preconditions to accreditation. The five preconditions are:
- Program graduation of at least 25 students in the degree.
- Program's parent institution must be accredited by an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
- Formal title of program and degree offered must include the term "Planning".
- Undergraduate programs must offer 4 full-time years of study or equivalent, while graduate programs must be 2 full-time years of study or equivalent.
- Program's primary goal is to educate students to become practicing planning professionals.
Once the preconditions have successfully been met by the program, the program must complete and submit a Self-Study Report. Through the Self-Study Report, the program assesses their performance and compliance with PAB's accreditation standards. This report serves as the basis of review for the Planning Accreditation Board, along with a formal meeting with the Program Administrator at the Board meeting.
If candidacy is awarded, the Planning Accreditation Board will send a three-member team to visit and formally review the program during a semester. The three member team will meet with faculty, staff, students, and members of the local planning community. The team will then submit a Site Visit Report to the Planning Accreditation Board. During the meeting of the Planning Accreditation Board, the board will review the Self-Study Report, Site Visit Report and other documentation and meet with the Program Administrator. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board decides if the program is awarded accreditation and the length of accreditation.
Accreditation length is dependent on the extent the program complies with requirements of the Planning Accreditation Board, with the maximum length awarded is 7 years. Programs must re-apply for accreditation in the year their accreditation term expires.
Accredited programs
Rankings
United States of America
While there is no official ranking of the graduate programs for planning, planning-community site Planetizen publishes periodic lists of the Top US planning graduate programs and the AICP provides a listing of currently- and formerly-accredited programs sorted by proportion of recent graduates passing its certification exam.| University | Planetizen Rank | Planetizen Rank | Planetizen Rank | Planetizen Rank | AICP Pass Rate |
| Cornell University Master of Regional Planning | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 82% |
| Georgia Institute of Technology Master of City and Regional Planning | 5 | 8 | NR | NR | 84% |
| Harvard University Master in Urban Planning | 4 | NR | 7 | 4 | 79% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Master in City Planning | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 82% |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Master of City and Regional Planning | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 76% |
| University of California, Berkeley Master of City Planning | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 90% |
| University of California, Los Angeles Master of Urban and Regional Planning | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 84% |
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Master of Urban Planning | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 88% |
| University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Master of City and Regional Planning | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 93% |
| University of Pennsylvania Master of City Planning | NR | 10 | 10 | 5 | 89% |
| University of Southern California Master of Planning | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 69% |