Start your professional path into urban planning at the University at Buffalo.
At the University at Buffalo, we mobilize urban planning as a powerful agent of change for community, place, culture, social justice and the environment. Our Master of Urban Planning program is distinguished by its hands-on, studio-based curriculum and an internationally-regarded faculty that regularly ranks among the nation’s best in urban planning research. Our 52-credit program culminates in a professional project. Students from all undergraduate majors are welcome to apply.
UB’s reputation for value is recognized year after year as being among the best in the nation by Princeton Review, Kiplinger’s, and U.S. News & World Report and approximately half of our urban planning students receive scholarships, teaching and research assistantships or stipends.
Students emerge from our program with practical expertise, entrepreneurial sensibilities and collaborative agility in both research and practice. At work in leadership roles across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, our graduates pursue their passions: regenerating distressed urban neighborhoods as community planners, advancing historic preservation as directors of nonprofit and government agencies, or innovating affordable housing for major metro areas. More than four out of five graduates are employed in planning or planning-related fields or pursuing advanced degrees.
Work hands on in the city and world around us
The aspiring urban planner at UB designs actual policies and plans in partnership with clients in the community. Students develop practical skills in field research, data analysis, community engagement and planning technologies, while addressing some of today’s most pressing planning problems. Recent studios have generated plans for solar development on vacant lots in Buffalo, a complete streets plan for a suburban town in Western New York, and a field research-based sanitation and public health plan for a rural village in India.
Join a vibrant hub for research
We offer the benefit of a professional program situated within a major public research university and a flagship campus of the State University of New York. Our six MUP specialization areas draw from our faculty expertise and provide students the opportunity for focused research and collaborative engagements with community partners and across UB’s rich disciplinary milieu:
- Community Health and Food Systems
- Economic Development Planning
- Environmental and Land Use Planning
- Historic Preservation
- Neighborhood Planning and Community Development
- Urban Design and Physical Planning
Students may pursue opportunities in our research centers, including the internationally renowned Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access; our “Food Lab,” the first food systems planning research lab recognized by the American Planning Association; the UB Regional Institute, a major planning policy and research center; and the Center for Urban Studies, focused on equitable neighborhood planning.
Join our vibrant and inclusive community
Our work is guided by a spirit of public service and inclusion, and a culture of camaraderie and collaboration. We are diverse in intellectual and demographic composition: one in five students in our program are from outside the U.S. and nearly one-quarter are racial or ethnic minorities. We offer dual degree programs with architecture, law, public health, business and real estate development. From joint studios to public lectures to a student-run journal, the life of our school is vibrant.
Learn more:
ap.buffalo.edu
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