Geography & Geology

Sustainable Communities, Equitable Communities

The urban planning profession helps shape the way cities and regions address their greatest challenges. Urban planners apply knowledge of land use, public policy, people, and the environment to the development and improvement of communities. Urban planning graduates find positions across the United States and world. They work for government agencies at all levels and work in a variety of capacities for non-profit organizations, consultancies, and design firms. Urban planning is among today's best careers based on employment growth, salaries and job satisfaction.

Undergraduate Program: Forward-Thinking, Comprehensive, Applied

EMU's undergraduate urban planning major requires nine core courses and two electives for a total of 36 credits to graduate.

Courses cover a wide variety of urban and regional planning topics:

• Study land use, zoning, growth and decline, and local and regional decision-making to encourage equitable processes and outcomes.
• Scrutinize the built environment, development, and public policy through the lens of historic and contemporary patterns of inequality.
• Develop zoning ordinances, analyze site plans, critique general development plans, administer local planning regulations, and prepare and review grant applications, environmental impact statements, and policy planning programs.
• Conduct research on urban and regional problems using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Acquire experience and confidence to collaborate with diverse communities on a range of projects, plans, and policies.
• Contribute to the goals and objectives of public planning agencies, community organizations, or private planning firms.

Graduate Program: Advanced, Practical

EMU's Master of Science in urban and regional planning prepares students to work in city and regional planning agencies and private consulting firms. Graduates are highly sought after because of this degree's emphasis on skills in land use and environmental planning and geographic information systems (GIS). This program requires 36 credits, passage of a comprehensive oral exam requirement and a bachelor's degree (minimum GPA of 2.75), along with two letters of recommendation.

Common specializations within the profession include:

• Urban decline & revitalization
• State & local economic development
• Transportation planning
• Environmental planning