Career Advice

I attended McGill as an undergrad and really enjoyed my time there. I even had the opportunity to take some of the Master's-level classes.

There is one thing I would caution you about and that's the availability of practical work experience in the province of Quebec. If you're a francophone, this is probably not an issue. However, if you don't speak and write French at an excellent level, you will have problems finding practical work experience and networking in the Montreal area.

Even with proficiency in French, the municipal and provincial governing bodies in Quebec often tend to implicitly favor Quebecois workers and students. Also keep in mind that McGill has not always had the best relationship with the Francophone population in Quebec and therefore does not have the same connections with potential employers in the Montreal area as a school like UBC might have in Vancouver.

That being said, Montreal is an amazing city and McGill attracts great professors. It's a wonderful and inexpensive place to live for a few years.

Also, if you want to work in the U.S., McGill is a good choice. I live and work in Connecticut now and there are a number of McGill Grads working down here in the planning field, some for private firms and some for prestigious non-profits. The university's reputation is very good in the U.S., perhaps even better than its reputation in Canada.

So my advice to you would be to go to McGill for urban planning and design so long as you're prepared to look for Summer work, internships, and networking opportunities outside of Quebec.