Urban Planning, MUP
for the degree of Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning
The professionally accredited M.U.P. program prepares students for careers in planning practice. Such careers involve public service at all levels of government, in private consulting practice, in the nonprofit sector, and in a wide variety of organizations in need of planning services. The program also prepares students for advanced work leading to the Ph.D. degree and a career in teaching and research.
The M.U.P. curriculum consists of a focused set of core courses required of all students, concentration/elective courses, applied workshops, a recommended internship (reduces the hours needed to graduate by 4), and a capstone requirement. The program is purposely flexible so that students may design a program that builds their expertise in a concentration area of practice such as land use and environmental planning, transportation planning, community development for social justice, housing, sustainable design and development, local and regional economic development, and geographic information systems and analysis. The department also has an active international program designed to expose students to planning practices and challenges in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
If a student has an undergraduate professional degree in urban planning, up to 16 hours may be waived by petition, and the student must take at least 30 hours of urban and regional planning courses at Illinois.
Please consult the department's website for additional information about the M.U.P. requirements.
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Urban Planning and Doctor of Philosophy in Regional Planning. Students can also apply to obtain a joint degree with another graduate degree simultaneously. The most popular joint degrees are with Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Law and Agricultural and Applied Economics. Joint degrees with any related field are possible. In addition, a small number of the department's Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning (B.A.U.S.P.) students participate in the highly selective 4+1 program to complete the B.A.U.S.P. and M.U.P. in five years.
Admission
We welcome applications from people from a wide variety of backgrounds who have demonstrated potential for extraordinary professional achievement. Students seeking a graduate degree in planning come from a diverse range of academic backgrounds. The most frequent are sociology, economics, political science, geography, environmental sciences, architecture, engineering, public administration, urban planning, and public policy, but the natural sciences, humanities, and other fields also provide excellent foundations for graduate study in planning. Prospective students must have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 computed from the last 60 hours of undergraduate work and any subsequent graduate study, but the average GPA of admitted students is considerably higher. International applicants must meet additional minimum requirements based on their country of origin, including the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
We place particular emphasis on each applicant's statement of purpose. Applicants should use the statement to convey information about their backgrounds, professional and personal experience, and intellectual perspectives, in the context of articulating why a Master's in Urban Planning or Ph.D. in Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will help them achieve their professional goals. We seek an applicant pool that represents a mix of racial and ethnic populations, a range of social and economic backgrounds, different philosophies and perspectives, and a variety of life experiences. We are especially interested in applicants with professional experience, though that experience need not be in planning or closely related fields.
Applicants to the Ph.D. program are admitted when they meet the standards of the Department and have a faculty member prepared to serve as their mentor and, if necessary, primary source of financial support. Students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Regional Planning should communicate with the Director of the Ph.D. Program and faculty most closely aligned with their interests, in addition to completing the formal application process.
Consult the M.U.P. admissions and Ph.D. admissions web pages for more information.
Graduate Teaching Experience
Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the doctoral experience in this program and is strongly encouraged for those intending to pursue an academic career.
Faculty Research Interests
The mission of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning is to teach and conduct research to improve understanding of human settlements and of planning situations. The department’s faculty studies the ecological, economic, social, and institutional aspects of urban and regional development, and the theory and practice of planning processes. Planning is viewed as the achievement of outcomes based on interrelated actions over time and space, and close communication and collaboration with a wide range of disciplines and professions is inherent in the department’s approach. The basis of that collaboration is a faculty whose academic training and degrees are in architecture, economics, geography, history, law, political science, regional science, and zoology, in addition to planning. Planning faculty and doctoral students pursue interdisciplinary research and make scholarly contributions to planning and fields closely allied with planning.
Facilities and Resources
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning shares Temple Hoyne Buell Hall (TBH) with the Department of Landscape Architecture and the School of Architecture. The majority of urban planning classes are held in TBH. Doctoral student workspace is provided in the Architecture Building, near TBH.
The City Planning and Landscape Architecture Reference and Resource Center is located in Funk Library. The planning collection is one of the finest in the world, with books and reports gathered since the collection started over eighty years ago.
Financial Aid
Students compete for departmental and Graduate College fellowships and departmental teaching and research assistantships. Selection is based on the academic achievement and qualifications of the student.
for the degree of Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning
For additional details and requirements refer to the department's website and the Graduate College Handbook.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| UP 501 | Planning History and Theory | 4 |
| UP 503 | Physical Planning | 4 |
| UP 504 | Urban History and Theory | 4 |
| UP 505 | Urban and Regional Analysis | 4 |
| UP 510 | Plan Making | 4 |
| UP 511 | Law and Planning | 4 |
| UP 590 | Professional Internship (reduces the hours needed to graduate by 4) | 0 |
| Recommended concentration/electives | 32 | |
| Non-Thesis Option | ||
| UP 591 | Capstone Seminar (enrollment required for 0 hours one term & 4 hours one term) | 4 |
| UP 598 | Master's Project (min/max applied toward degree) | 4 |
| Thesis Option | ||
| UP 591 | Capstone Seminar (enrollment required for two semesters) | 0 |
| UP 599 | Thesis Research (min/max applied toward degree) | 8 |
| Total Hours | 64 | |
Other Requirements
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Other requirements may overlap | |
| Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit: | 40 |
| Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall: | 16 (12 in UP) |
| Minimum GPA: | 3.0 |
for the degree of Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning
Students who complete a degree in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning will be able to:
- Identify and understand the planners’ role in:
- advocating for racial and economic equity;
- planning for the needs of disadvantaged groups;
- expanding choice and opportunity;
- reducing inequities through critical evaluation of systems and institutions;
- planning for sustainable communities;
- reducing impacts of climate change; and
- creating equitable and climate‐adapted futures.
- Demonstrate planning proficiency in a global context in the areas of:
- history, theory, law and institutions;
- the evolution of the practice of planning; and
- urban and regional development.
- Build and put into practice a set of skills that are central to the planning profession, including skills specific to:
- communication, community engagement, and the planning process;
- research and critical thinking;
- mapping and data visualization; and
- data collection and analysis, and data analytics.
- Illustrate professional leadership values including collaborative skills and ethical behavior in research, client representation and decision-making.
for the degree of Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning
Urban & Regional Planning
Department Head: Marc Doussard
Director of Graduate Studies: Andrew Greenlee
Urban & Regional Planning Department website
Urban & Regional Planning Department faculty
111 Temple Buell Hall, 611 Taft Drive, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-3890
Urban & Regional Planning email: urbplan@illinois.edu
Admissions
Masters of Urban Planning Program Admissions & Requirements
Grad College Admissions & Requirements