UCLA Urban Planning Program: A Comprehensive Overview

The UCLA Department of Urban Planning stands as a leading center for innovation and action, consistently ranked among the nation's top planning programs for 50 years. Situated in Los Angeles, a culturally diverse and dynamic urban environment, the department provides a unique learning laboratory for faculty and students to address pressing urban issues. The department is committed to recognizing, addressing, and eliminating all forms of inequality and discrimination in its program and in the planning profession, including racism, poverty, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, religious persecution, and ableism.

A Unique Learning Environment

The UCLA Department of Urban Planning is uniquely positioned at the intersection of academic, regional, geographic, and professional resources. Los Angeles serves as a living laboratory where faculty and students can study and solve urban problems.

Academic Programs

The Department of Urban Planning offers the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Urban Planning. The MURP program is a two-year degree program fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board, a joint undertaking of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Master’s students complete a minimum of 72 units. The department is renowned for producing outstanding planning scholars and teachers through its distinct mix of top faculty in critical fields, a flexible curriculum, and superb opportunities for important and progressive research. Applicants to the Ph.D. program who do not have a Master’s degree in Urban Planning must complete the master’s core.

Concurrent Degree Programs

UCLA offers several concurrent degree programs in conjunction with the Urban Planning Program:

J.D. Program at the Law School: A joint program with the UCLA School of Law leading to a J.D. and a MURP degree. This program is designed for students planning to specialize in the legal aspects of urban problems, offering an overview of theories and methods for identifying and treating urban problems alongside insight into the institutional causes and possibilities for treatment of these problems through law.
MBA Program at the Anderson School: A joint program with the Anderson School of Management leading to an MBA and a MURP. This program aims to prepare students for careers in both private industry and public service by merging knowledge of the workings of the private and public sectors. Graduates will have the skills necessary to move easily from one sector to the other.
MA in Latin American Studies: A joint program with UCLA’s Latin American Studies department leading to an MA and MURP.
MArch in Architecture and Urban Design: A joint program with UCLA Architecture & Urban Design leading to an MArch and a MURP. This program is intended to serve the growing needs in public and private sectors for architects who are competent in dealing with social, economic, and environmental policy issues, and for urban planners who can integrate architecture and urban design into policy and planning practice.
MPH in Environmental Health Sciences in the Fielding School of Public Health: A joint program with the Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, leading to an M.P.H. and an M.U.R.P. The concurrent program is focused on the intersection between environmental toxicology (primarily air and water pollution and quality) and policy design and implementation, and community participation.
MPH in Community Health Sciences in the Fielding School of Public Health: A joint program with the Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences, leading to an MPH and an MURP. There are numerous connections between the disciplines of urban planning and community health sciences. Broadly, both examine the factors in the social and physical environment that determine community well-being, with social justice as a common theme. Common issues arising in research and coursework include access to resources (transportation, healthy food, medical facilities, and jobs); racial/ethnic health disparities; environmental justice; and international health and urbanization issues.
Dual Degree Program with Sciences Po: In cooperation with the Urban School, Institut d’Etudes de Paris (Sciences Po), that leads to the M.U.R.P.

Curriculum and Areas of Concentration

The Urban Planning Department at UCLA offers rigorous training in a wide array of areas of concentration:

Community Economic Development and Housing: This concentration addresses the social and economic forces affecting communities, with two streams: housing policies and development, and community economic development.
Design and Development: This concentration teaches students how public and private market forces drive the design and development of the built environment and how to build in a smarter, more sustainable way that is respectful of varying cultural needs and practices.
Environmental Analysis and Policy: Environmental planning begins with analysis of the physical, biotic, socio-economic, and cultural context in which environmental conflicts occur. An array of analytic tools ranging from cultural to socio-economic and ecological approaches is then applied to specific questions. Some of these are locality specific, but many also involve larger-scale regional process and social movements. This multidisciplinary concentration engages resources within the program and the University to address the urgent questions inherent in environment and development. The natural environment is both the context within which all human activities take place and a social product of those activities.
Regional and International Development: This concentration concerns the interrelated aspects of area development in both developed and developing countries, focusing on political economy and spatial analysis. Industrialization, urbanization, and rural development are major focal points of interest.
Transportation Policy and Planning: This concentration emphasizes developing a broad, multi-faceted understanding of the historical, spatial, economic, social, and environmental factors affecting transportation issues.

In special circumstances, students may devise their own area in consultation with faculty members, with final approval from the department chair.

Course Requirements and Waivers

Students admitted to the dual degree program will be required to take all the required courses for the Masters of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree at UCLA. The UCLA MURP degree requires 72 units of course work. Students in the joint degree program will complete 48 units at UCLA in their first year. Eight units of capstone will be completed at Sciences Po in year two. Students should enroll in a minimum of 16 units per quarter in the first year. Students may enroll for S/U grading in one graduate or upper division course each term in a course offered outside of Urban Planning with the consent of the instructor. Such courses may apply toward Urban Planning degree requirements, subject to departmental approval. This limitation does not apply to courses that offer S/U grading only. Urban Planning core courses are sometimes waived with the instructor’s consent if the student can demonstrate mastery of the material. For Urban Planning 207, 220A, and 220B, mastery is demonstrated through a scheduled waiver examination. Additional details about the waiver exams can be obtained from the Graduate Advisers. All other courses are waived through satisfactory completion of previous course work that covered similar concepts, instructional materials, and content. Students are expected to present the relevant course syllabi when requesting waivers.

Each area of concentration has a five-course (20 units) requirement, except Design and Development which has a six-course (24 units) requirement. Students may seek waivers for requirements that have been met through course work prior to entering the M.U.R.P. program but they must take at least four courses in their area of concentration.

Fieldwork Requirement

A student without substantial prior professional experience in planning is required to complete a minimum of 300 hours of fieldwork. Fieldwork is defined as clinical or real world experience with a planning office, a private organization involved in planning, a community action agency, or applied research within a clinical context (excluding conventional university-based research projects). Students fulfill this requirement by enrolling in four units of Urban Planning 496 (see core course requirement chart) while completing the fieldwork requirement or immediately thereafter. Students with significant prior work experience may petition to waive this requirement. Additionally, all students will be required to complete 300 hours of professional planning field experience. The internship can take place during any quarter of the first year or during the summer before moving to Sciences Po. Units for this requirement are earned through enrollment in UP 496 while at UCLA.

Admissions and Preparation

Undergraduate preparation in college algebra and microeconomics is recommended for students prior to their enrollment in the M.U.R.P. program. Before enrolling in the program, students must demonstrate the ability to master skills in quantitative methods. Upon entering the program, students must pass proficiency examinations in basic mathematics and microeconomics before enrolling in Urban Planning 220A and 207, respectively. An undergraduate course in college algebra or pre-calculus should provide suitable background to pass the basic mathematics examination. An undergraduate course in microeconomics should be sufficient preparation for the microeconomics examination. Students are strongly encouraged to prepare for the examinations before beginning the program so that they can enroll in Urban Planning 220A and 207 during their first year of study. If students do not pass either or both examinations, they are advised to take Mathematics 1 and/or Economics 1 or 5 at UCLA during their first year of study.

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Deadline for submissions: Dec.

Capstone Project and Comprehensive Examination

Culminating the MURP program, students are required to complete a capstone project, which can take the form of Applied Planning Research or a Client Project. Guidance of the project rests with a committee of at least three UCLA faculty members. The project is successfully completed when it is approved by the faculty committee and the client.

In the event that a student’s APRP does not progress in a timely manner (as decided by the faculty committee), the student may petition to the committee to take the comprehensive examination in order to satisfy the capstone plan requirement. Students who wish to pursue this option must review and submit the departmental Two-Week Comprehensive Examination Contract, which outlines the exam policies and procedures. Examinations are administered at a time in which the student can work on the project full-time for two weeks while registered. A three-member faculty committee consisting of the department chair and two members nominated by the student, coordinates, administers, and evaluates the examination. Students may be requested to do additional work on the examination after it has been reviewed by the committee. No course credit is received for the comprehensive examination; therefore, students may need to take up to 8 additional units of electives to reach the 72 unit requirement for the degree. Should they fail the first attempt, students are allowed to retake the comprehensive exam once. In the event that the student fails the examination twice, the department will recommend the student for academic disqualification from UCLA.

Academic Standards and Disqualification

The UCLA General Catalog is published annually in PDF and HTML formats. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the UCLA General Catalog. However, all courses, course descriptions, instructor designations, curricular degree requirements, and fees described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice. Consult this Catalog for the most current, officially approved courses and curricula. Other information about UCLA may be found in materials produced by the schools of Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television.

This is a full-time degree program. Students who have completed the normal two-year program residence requirements (not to be confused with the official University residence requirements) but have remaining deficiencies are allowed an upper time limit of one additional year to complete all remaining requirements (comprehensive examination, removal of outstanding incomplete grades, etc.). An extension of the upper time limit may be requested by written petition to the department. A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies.

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Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The faculty, staff, and students in the UCLA Department of Urban Planning are committed to recognizing, addressing, and eliminating all forms of inequality and discrimination in our program and in the planning profession. This includes racism, poverty, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, religious persecution, ableism, and other forms of oppression. We encourage and support increasing diversity among our students, staff, and faculty by including and amplifying the voices of people from traditionally marginalized and underrepresented groups, particularly people of color and from low-income backgrounds. Through advancing equality of representation within our school, we increase the breadth of ideas, perspectives, and knowledge while more accurately reflecting the communities that the urban planning profession needs to serve. Contemporary urban problems are rooted in historical patterns of social exclusion and violence, making the need for our commitment to diversity in our program, and the planning profession, indispensable and essential.

Urban Humanities Initiative

This program provides students with the opportunity to explore methodologies for both urban analysis and representational techniques. As UCLA operates on the academic quarter system, visitors may be in residence in the Department of Urban Planning for a minimum of one, but no more than four quarters.

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