Urban Studies & Planning, BA & Urban Planning, MUP

for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

The 4+1 program allows for students completing the BAUSP degree in the Department to complete the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) on an accelerated timeline--BAUSP and MUP degrees in five years. To be eligible to participate in the 4+1 program, the student should be a Junior BAUSP major with a minimum 3.6 GPA. Junior BAUSP majors who do not meet these requirements may apply to the program, but their applications will need to provide extraordinary evidence of preparedness for the MUP program in order to gain admission.

Eligible BAUSP students should submit their application packet as a single PDF document to us by email by January 15 of their Junior year. The application packet should include a cover letter, statement of purpose, resume and work examples. Students will be notified by February 15 of their Junior year if they have been accepted into the 4+1 program.

At the end of their senior year, 4+1 students wishing to complete the MUP degree will formally apply to the MUP program, submitting a full application package including recommendations, resume and transcripts.

for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

Graduation Requirements

Minimum hours required for graduation: 152 hours.

  • Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning Requirements: 120 hours.
  • Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning: 32 hours.

University Requirements

Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree.  Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.

The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.

General Education Requirements

Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.

Composition I4-6
Advanced Composition3
fulfilled by UP 312
Humanities & the Arts (6 hours)6
Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours)6
Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)6
fulfilled by ECON 102 or ACE 100; and AAS 100 or AFRO 100 or GGIS 101 or GGIS 104 or LLS 100 or SOC 100
Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course)3
Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course)3
Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) 3
Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I)6-10
fulfilled by UP 116 or STAT 100; and UP 316
Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required)0-15

Urban Studies & Planning Foundation Courses

FAA 101Arts at Illinois1
ECON 102Microeconomic Principles3
or ACE 100 Introduction to Applied Microeconomics
UP 116Urban Informatics I (or equivalent)3
or STAT 100 Statistics
3-4 hours selected from:3-4
AAS 100
Intro Asian American Studies
AFRO 100
Intro to African American St
GGIS 101
Global Development & Environment
GGIS 104
Social and Cultural Geography
LLS 100
Intro Latina/Latino Studies
SOC 100
Introduction to Sociology
Total Hours10

 Urban Studies & Planning Core 

UP 101Introduction to City Planning3
UP 201Planning in Action3
UP 203Cities: Planning & Urban Life3
or UP 204 Chicago: Planning & Urban Life
UP 211Local Planning, Gov't and Law3
UP 312Communication for Planners4
UP 316Urban Informatics II3
UP 347Junior Planning Workshop4
UP 401Professional Development Seminar1
Total Hours24

Urban Studies & Planning Required Concentration

Choose one below:
Sustainability
Global Cities
Policy & Planning
Social Justice
Total Hours9-11
BAUSP Senior Year
The MUP core courses meet the BAUSP requirements for UP electives and planning-related electives. 4+1 students are expected to enroll in the first year MUP core courses in their senior year, although they are not yet admitted to the MUP program.
Senior Workshop (pick 1 from the following or discuss other offerings with your advisor)4
UP 447
Land Use Planning Workshop
UP 455
Economic Development Workshop
UP 456
Sustainable Planning Workshop
UP 457
Small Town/Rural Planning Workshop
UP 478
Community Development Workshop
Select at least four courses from:16-20
UP 501
Planning History and Theory
UP 503
Physical Planning
UP 504
Urban History and Theory
UP 505
Urban and Regional Analysis
UP 511
Law and Planning

Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning Requirements

Complete any of the 500-level courses not completed in year four (UP 501, 503, 504, 505, 511)0-4
UP 510Plan Making4
UP 591Capstone Seminar (enrollment required for two terms- 0 hours each for Thesis students or 4 in fall, 0 in spring for Non-Thesis students)0 OR 4
UP 598Master's Project (UP 598 for 4 total hours or UP 599 for 8 total hours)4 OR 8
or UP 599 Thesis Research
Once admitted to the MUP program, a 4+1 student must take 32 hours of graduate courses, 20 of which must be UP courses. These courses include the capstone seminar and master's project or thesis. The 32 hours of graduate courses is a minimum requirement for the MUP degree; it cannot be reduced by UP 590 internship or course waivers.32
Other MUP Requirements
Up to two MUP core courses may be included among the 32 hours. If more core courses are needed, then correspondingly more than 32 hours will be required for the MUP degree.
Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit: 20
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall: 16 (12 in UP)
Minimum GPA: 3.0

Summary of Credits for the joint Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

BA in Urban Studies & Planning120
General Education
Foundation10
Core24
Concentration9-11
Senior Year20-24
Free Electives
MUP in Urban Planning32
A minimum of 16 credits at the 500 course level are required, 12 must be in UP.
Total Hours152

for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

Sample Sequence

This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.

Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. This may require up to three semesters of language depending on high school coursework or placement. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.

First Year
First SemesterHours
FAA 1011
UP 1013
ECON 1023
Composition I or Language Other Than English (3rd level)4
Foundation Course Choose from list3
Free Elective course1
 15
Total Hours 15
First Year
Second SemesterHours
UP 1163
UP 2013
Composition I or Language Other Than English (3rd level)4
General Education course3
General Education course3
 16
Total Hours 16
Second Year
First SemesterHours
UP 2033
Concentration Gateway3
General Education course3
General Education course3
General Education course3
 15
Total Hours 15
Second Year
Second SemesterHours
UP 2113
UP Electives6
General Education course3
General Education course3
 15
Total Hours 15
Third Year
First SemesterHours
UP 3124
UP Elective3
UP Elective3
Concentration Elective3
Free Elective course1
 14
Total Hours 14
Third Year
Second SemesterHours
UP 3163
UP 3474
UP Elective3
Concentration Elective4
Free Elective course1
 15
Total Hours 15
Fourth Year
First SemesterHours
UP 400-level Workshop4
UP 5014
UP 5034
UP 5044
 16
Total Hours 16
Fourth Year
Second SemesterHours
UP 4011
UP 5054
UP 5114
Free Elective courses5
 14
Total Hours 14
Fifth Year
First SemesterHours
UP 5104
UP 5910 or 4
UP 598 or 5994
UP Graduate Electives8
 20
Total Hours 20
Fifth Year
Second SemesterHours
UP 599 or 5980 or 4
UP 5910
UP Graduate Electives12
 12
Total Hours 12

Total Hours: 152

for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

Students who complete a degree in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning will be able to:

  1. Identify and understand the planners’ role in:
    1. Addressing social and economic inequality through plans and policies
    2. Planning for sustainability
  2. Demonstrate planning proficiency in a global context in the areas of:
    1. History, theory, law and institutions, and their evolution over time
    2. Urban and regional development
  3. Build and put into practice a set of skills that are central to the planning profession, including skills specific to: 
    1. communication, community engagement, and the planning process;
    2. research and critical thinking;
    3. mapping and data visualization; and
    4. data collection and analysis, and data analytics
  4. Illustrate professional leadership values including collaborative skills and ethical behavior in research, client representation and decision-making

for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies & Planning and Master of Urban Planning in Urban Planning

Urban & Regional Planning

Department Head: Marc Doussard
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

College of Fine & Applied Arts

Fine & Applied Arts website

Admissions

For admission criteria and process, see Urban & Regional Planning Department website or contact us by email.