2020 Urban & Regional Planning Degree Guide

Instead of building castles in the sky, do you spend time day-dreaming up your own city? A major in Urban and Regional Planning would prepare you to develop and maintain city and community centers around the world. City planners are responsible for planning the buildings, roads, parks and utilities of cities and urban centers. They also address issues of city sprawl, endless traffic, few natural spaces, and a lack of reliable public transportation.

Your course load will depend on the college you choose. Common courses in this major can range from topics such as economics, architectural principles, management, drafting, law and geographic information system.

Urban & Regional Planning Degrees Decreasing

Urban & Regional Planning was the 189th most popular major in the 2017-2018 school year. Colleges in the United States reported awarding 2,685 degrees in this year alone. This 424 less than the prior year, a decrease of 15.8%.

The United States has 41 different schools where you can get a degree in urban and regional planning. This year's Best Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning ranking compares 22 of them to identify the best overall programs in the country. Continue reading to check out one of our many unbiased rankings of urban planning programs later in this article.

What Are The Requirements For a Degree in Urban & Regional Planning

If you think you would enjoy learning and applying principles of planning, analyzing, and architecture to developing and improving urban areas, this may be the major for you. A career as a city, community or regional planner is for someone who takes pleasure in understanding how social, economic, and political systems work together. Students will rely on the principles of architectural design in order to create communities that are eco-friendly and appealing to its residents. This is done by designing public transportation, affordable housing, and comfortable and environmentally friendly buildings.

Critical assessment and problem identification are necessary skills for this major. It is also imperative to be able to evaluate and come up with strategies to fix problems and implement solutions. Students will need to be strong thinkers with an interest in correcting present problems and avoiding problems in the future. The idea is not to provide a Band-Aid to an issue, but to actually fix it in order to create livable and healthy environments for communities all around the world. Students should be prepared to build physical models and designs as well as models on the computer.

Urban Planning Degree Program Entry Requirements

urban and regional planning degree applicants generally need have finished high school or their GED. Many schools may also have GPA and SAT/ACT score minimums that must be met. Once you obtain your degree, additional urban planning certifications required to pursue a career in this field.

Types of Urban & Regional Planning Degrees

There are many different urban planning degree levels. You can get anything from a award taking less than 1 year in urban and regional planning to the highest urban planning degree, a research/scholarship based doctorate. Depending on the urban and regional planning degree you choose, obtaining your diploma can take anwhere from 1 to 4+ years.

Degree	Credit Requirements	Typical Program Length
Associate Degree	60-70 credits	2 years
Bachelor’s Degree	120 credits	4 years
Master’s Degree	50-70 credits	1-3 years
Doctorate	Program required coursework including thesis or dissertation	At least 4 years

A master's degree is the most common level of education achieved by those in careers related to urban planning, with approximately 40.9% of workers getting one. People currently working in careers related to urban planning tend obtained the following education levels.

Level of Education	Percentage of Workers
Master’s Degree	45.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.6%
Doctoral Degree	11.2%
First Professional Degree	6.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate	4.2%

About 66.3% of workers in careers related to urban planning obtain at least master's degree. View the chart below to get an idea of what degree level most of those in urban and regional planning careers have.

The education level required is different depending on the urban planning career you are seeking.

Career Opportunities for A Degree In Urban Planning Graduate

With a degree in Urban and Regional Planning a student can go in many different directions. They can become a land use and code enforcement planners, transportation planners, environmental and natural resources planners, economic development planners, and urban design planners. With so many different focuses, it really allows the student to pick what interests and inspires them.

In order to become a city planner a master's degree is necessary. Most programs will accept undergrads with a degree in a range of topics, such as economics, geography, political science, or environmental design. Depending on what interests you, the graduate program you pick will focus on the issues that mean the most to you.

Growth Projected for Urban Planning Careers

Want a job when you graduate with your urban planning degree? Urban & Regional Planning careers are expected to grow 7.1% between 2016 and 2026.

The following options are some of the most in-demand careers related to urban and regional planning.

Occupation Name	Projected Jobs	Expected Growth
Architectural and Engineering Managers	190,000	5.5%
Urban and Regional Planners	40,600	12.8%
Social Sciences Professors	16,800	9.8%
Architecture Professors	10,500	10.5%

How Much Money Do People With a Urban Planning Degree Make?

Recently graduated urban and regional planning students earned an average of $48,040 in 2017-2018. Earnings can range from as low as $29,700 to as high as $68,500. As you might expect, salaries for urban planning graduates vary depending on the level of education that was acquired.

High Paying Careers for Urban Planning Majors

Salaries for urban and regional planning graduates can vary widely by the occupation you choose as well. The following table shows the top 5 highest paying careers urban planning grads often go into.

Occupation Name	Median Average Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	$148,970
Architecture Professors	$99,320
Social Sciences Professors	$87,950
Urban and Regional Planners	$76,240

Getting Your Urban & Regional Planning Degree

With over 222 different urban planning degree programs to choose from, finding the best fit for you can be a challenge. Fortunately you have come to the right place. We have analyzed all of these schools to come up with hundreds of unbiased urban planning school rankings to help you with this.

Study Areas in Urban & Regional Planning

One of 8 majors within the Architecture & Related Services area of study, Urban & Regional Planning has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Architecture	7,514
Architectural Sciences & Technology	3,804
Landscape Architecture	1,288
Environmental Design	702
Interior Architecture	574

View All Urban Planning Related Majors >

References

• National Center for Education Statistics

• O*NET Online

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