Urban Planning and Policy Concentration

This concentration prepares students to be better decision makers on urban planning and policy issues for public, private, and nonprofit employers and to be more informed and effective as citizens. It provides appropriate academic background and practical experience with jobs responsible for urban planning and services, providing analysis of policy alternatives, and advocating change and improvement within organizations, communities, and society. The concentration emphasizes technical skills, planning, law, economics, and other social science literature and provides a hands-on experience with current practice. It introduces students to the history and professional culture of the planning profession and to the planning process as a systematic, yet creative approach, to urban problem solving. The required courses are also designed to acquaint students with common planning, socioeconomic and economic development data sources and methods and how to use them appropriately.