University of Iowa

For almost 60 years, the University of Iowa has been offering high quality graduate education in urban and regional planning. Located in a vibrant intellectual community, the University of Iowa School of Planning and Public Affairs (SPPA) offers a fully accredited Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree at one of the finest public universities in the nation. Areas of concentration include: economic development, geographic information systems (GIS), land use and environmental planning, housing and community development, and transportation. Joint degrees with Law, Higher Education, Business, Public Health, Social Work, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, and Civil and Environmental Engineering are also offered. Our focus is on analytical urban planning, public policy, social justice, and sustainability, including its relationship with the impacts of land use and transportation on climate change.

All students complete a Capstone project in their second year in which they gain real world planning experience by developing a sustainability-related plan for an Iowa community through the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (see https://iisc.uiowa.edu/). IISC’s purpose is to enhance the capacity of communities in Iowa to make serious contributions to global sustainability.  IISC provides significant and ongoing outreach and engagement with Iowa’s communities, while transforming teaching and learning at the University of Iowa by engaging students in a student-faculty-community collaboration that is focused on some of the most important environmental, economic, and social justice problems facing communities in Iowa and the Midwest.

We have an outstanding set of students who are fully engaged in their study of planning while also being actively involved in their community.   Our school’s large drafting room and resource library enable students to work together on the many projects they carry out during their studies.  Students at SPPA have tremendous staff and faculty assistance in obtaining relevant internship and employment opportunities across the country.  Our student-faculty ratio (5:1) ensures that students can work closely with faculty during their time at Iowa.

Our faculty are recognized for both their scholarship and teaching, while also being practitioners in the field.  Faculty members have important global connections to Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States, thereby making our program a welcoming place for people from all around the world. 

Iowa City is an exciting, urban community that features a lively and walkable downtown, attractive historic neighborhoods, outstanding public transportation, and a classic college-town atmosphere. Iowa City is frequently listed as one of the top ten places to live in America, one of the best college towns, and the only UNESCO City of Literature in North America. 

Located in Eastern Iowa, we are within a half day’s drive of Chicago, the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Kansas City making these cities easy destinations for our field trips.