Urban planning education
Urban planning education is a practice of teaching and learning urban theory, studies, and professional practices. The interaction between public officials, professional planners and the public involves a continuous education on planning process. Community members often serve on a city planning commission, council or board. As a result, education outreach is effectively an ongoing cycle. Formal education is offered as an academic degree in urban, city, rural, and/or regional planning, and more often awarded as a master's degree specifically accredited by an urban planning association in addition to the university's university-wide primary accreditation, although some universities offer bachelor's degrees and doctoral degrees also accredited in the same fashion; although most bachelor's degrees in urban planning do not have the secondary-layer of urban planning association accreditation required for most positions, relying solely on the university's primary accreditation as a legitimate institution of higher education. At some universities, urban studies, also known as pre-urban planning, is the paraprofessional version of urban and regional planning education, mostly taken as a bachelor's degree prior to taking up post-graduate education in urban planning or as a master's or graduate certificate program for public administration professionals to get an understanding of public policy implications created by urban planning decisions or techniques.
Since planning programs are usually small, they tend not to be housed in distinct "planning schools" but rather, as part of an architecture school, a design school, a geography department, or a public policy school since these are cognate fields. Generally speaking, planning programs in architecture schools focus primarily on physical planning and design, while those in policy schools tend to focus on policy and administration. For instance, in Finland there is no separate degree program for "urban planning", but rather is considered as a specialty within the Finnish schools of architecture, and which students opt for towards the end of their studies and when choosing a diploma thesis, but officially graduating with a degree in architecture; and even post-graduate studies and doctoral theses in urban and regional planning are within the purview of architecture education.
Coursework
As urban planning is such a broad and interdisciplinary field, a typical planning degree program emphasizes breadth over depth, with core coursework that provides background for all areas of planning. Core courses typically include coursework in history, theory of urban planning, urban design, statistics, land use, planning law, zoning law, public policy and administration, urban economics, and planning practice. Many planning degree programs also allow a student to "concentrate" in a specific area of interest within planning, such as land use, environmental planning, housing, community development, economic development, historic preservation, international development, urban design, transportation planning, or geographic information systems. Some programs permit a student to concentrate in real estate, however, graduate real estate education has changed giving rise to specialized real estate programs.Professional degrees
The most common planning degree is at a graduate level ; there is not one standard naming convention for the degree and each generally reflects the geographic focus of the specific program. There are fewer bachelor's degree programs in urban planning. Research degrees are commonly only offered as part of a doctorate program. The United States has the highest concentration of programs in planning, followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. However, there are also a growing number of offerings in countries including South Africa, Brazil, and India.Bachelor's degree
An undergraduate academic degree is designed to train applicants in various aspects of designing, engineering, managing and resolving challenges related to urban human settlements. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up to four years and contextual to modern challenges of urbanisation. It goes into the techniques and theories related to settlement design starting at the site planning level of a neighbourhood and moving up to the regional city planning context. Understanding relations between built forms and the citizens in cities and rural areas, and their implications on local environment, supporting utilities, transport networks, and physical infrastructure forms the core of the planning course. With an engineering orientation, the graduates emerging as urban planners are equipped with not only tools for rational comprehensive planning but also participatory and social development.The degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with an emphasis in urban planning, Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning, or Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning, among others. The distinction reflects university policies, or some universities may have greater course offerings in urban planning, design, sociology, or a related degree.
Master's degree
The Master of Urban Planning is a two-year academic/professional master's degree that qualifies graduates to work as urban planners. Some schools offer the degree as a Master of City Planning, Master of Community Planning, Master of Regional Planning, Master of Town Planning, Master of Planning, Master of Environmental Planning or in some combination of the aforementioned, depending on the program's specific focus. Some schools offer a Master of Arts or Master of Science in Planning. Regardless of the name, the degree remains generally the same.A thesis, final project or capstone project is usually required to graduate. Additionally, an internship component is almost always mandatory due to the high value placed on work experience by prospective employers in the field.
Like most professional master's degree programs, the MUP is a terminal degree. However, some graduates choose to continue on to doctoral studies in urban planning or cognate fields. The Ph.D. is a research degree, as opposed to the professional MUP, and thus focuses on training planners to engage in scholarly activity directed towards providing greater insight into the discipline and underlying issues related to urban development.
Accreditation
Canada
The primary body for accrediting educational institutions that offer urban planning programs in Canada is the Professional Standards Board for the Planning Profession in Canada. Established in 2012, the PSB is responsible for certification of urban planners across Canada and "administering accreditation reviews of university planning degree programs based on the accreditation program principles, policies and administrative arrangements". The PSB accredits programs that offer undergraduate and masters level degrees.Canadian institutions may apply to the PSB for accreditation for a period of five years, following a successful initial accreditation. Programs are evaluated annually to ensure compliance with accreditation standards. For new programs, or after the five-year period has elapsed, an intensive review takes place that ensure programs meet criteria for accreditation.
Graduation from a PSB accredited program allows a graduate to apply for certification as a planner, and for candidate membership in their Provincial or Territorial Association. Following a two-year period of supervised work experience, candidates then write their professional exams. Upon successful completion of the exams, work experience, and a mentorship program, candidates are granted full certification as Register Professional Planner by their Provincial or Territorial Association and the Canadian Institute of Planners.
The PSB also recognizes degrees conferred by institutions accredited by the American Planning Accreditation Board in the United States, and the Planning Institute of Australia as eligible for the certification process.
India
Though planning is not a recognized profession under Indian law, the profession was started long back with School of Planning and Architecture in 1941 as a Department of Architecture of Delhi College of Engineering now the Delhi Technological University. It was later integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban and regional planning. On integration, the School was renamed as school of planning and architecture in 1959. Today it is one of the premier schools of pursuing planning studies at bachelor, masters and post doctorate levels.The Institute of Town Planners, India set up on the lines of the Royal Town Planning Institute, London is the body representing planning professionals in India. A small group formed itself into an Indian Board of Town Planners which after three years of continuous work formed the Institute of Town Planners, India. The Institute which was established in July 1951, Today, has a membership of over 2,800, apart from a sizable number of student members, many of whom have qualified Associateship Examination conducted by ITPI. Institutes under ITPI offers a 4-year undergraduate degree in planning.
United Kingdom
Planning is a complex issue in UK law, therefore there are several regulatory bodies that exist. The bulk of degrees are accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, often abbreviated to RTPI. Degrees accredited by this professional body are generally four years and are therefore master's degrees – the majority of these degrees are prefixed MPlan.Some degrees, such as the University of Sheffield Planning School's "MPlan Urban Studies and Planning" are accredited by both the RTPI and RICS – the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors.