urban studies phd

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Doctor of philosophy in urban studies and planning, funding and responsibilities for dusp doctoral students, degree requirements, sample schedule by milestones, important early dates (guide by semester), past dissertations, additional resources.

Building 7, MIT

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning offers a degree in a Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning which is an advanced research degree in planning or urban studies and is focused on training individuals for research and teaching in the areas of applied social research and planning.

Daniel Engelberg

Enjoli Hall

Carmelo ignaccolo.

Aarthi Janakiraman

Justin Kollar

Kevin Lujan Lee

Arianna Salazar Miranda

Chenab Navalkha

Soyoung Park

Lidia Cano Pecharroman

Benjamin Preis

Gokul Sampath

Wonyoung So

Andrew Stokols

Anna Waldman-Brown

Lizzie Yarina

The Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning program emphasizes the development of fundamental research competence, flexibility in the design of special area of study, and encouragement of joint student/faculty research and teaching. The program is tailored to the needs of individual students, each of whom works closely with a custom ecosystem of scholars in their field and a mentor in the Department.

DUSP graduates are well prepared for (and go on to work in) a wide range of careers in academia, government, and industry.

Admissions for the doctoral program emphasizes academic preparation, professional experience, and the fit between the student's research interests and the department's research activities. Nearly all successful applicants have previously completed a master's degree. Admission to the doctoral program is highly competitive. 

Core criteria and guidelines for doctoral admission decisions:

• Application strength: cohesiveness of statement, compelling research topics, preparedness for doctoral level work.
• Alignment with Departmental research priorities: achieving racial justice, tackling the climate change, enhancing democratic governance, and closing the wealth gap
• Could an applicant work with more than one DUSP faculty on their committee?
• Does applicant have a strong match with at least one lead faculty?

11.001J    Introduction to Urban Design & Development

11.002    Making Public Policy

11.005    Introduction to International Development

11.200    Gateway I

11.201    Gateway II

11.202/203    Microeconomics

11.205/11.188    Introduction to Spatial Analysis

11. 220   Quantitative Reasoning  

11.222    Introduction to Critical Qualitative Methods 

• Cross-cutting substantive areas – research of interest to multiple DUSP program groups and strategic priorities
• If you reach out to a faculty member directly and they have not responded before you complete your application, please note that no response does not reflect a judgement. Faculty have many time commitments and may be unable to answer your request quickly.
• Please do note DUSP students offer Peer Application Support Services (PASS) , supporting students who may face structural barriers in applying, including (but not limited to) international applicants, first generation college students, and applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, queer, disabled, and/or a person of color. 
• Faculty members do on occasion recruit students for their externally funded research, but those student's admission is still decided by committee.  

Learn more via the Admissions page, here.

Each doctoral student has an assigned faculty academic advisor with whom they should develop a plan of study. All faculty are concerned with promoting good personal and academic relationships between students and advisors. Faculty advisors are responsible for: approving the registration for the doctoral student at the beginning of each semester, reviewing the student's progress, meeting with their advisee on a regular basis, and alerting the student and Department Headquarters if any issues arise concerning satisfactory progress towards completing the student's degree requirements.

If the student is nonresident, the student and faculty should communicate on a regular basis with each other concerning the progress being made, the timing to be determined jointly by the student and faculty member.

Advisees may request switching advisors. Initiating a change in advisors is the responsibility of the student. The student should:

• Talk to the other faculty member about her/his willingness to serve as a doctoral advisor;
• Inform the current advisor about the desired change in advisors (ideally the decision would be made in discussions with the current and future advisor);
• If the issue becomes complicated, discuss the move with the Head of the PhD Committee;
• Inform the Doctoral Program Academic Advisor .

Addition resources for roles, relationships, and advising best practices may be found here . Student support resources may be found here . Additional information on doctoral student advisee/advisor relationship may be accessed via the DUSP Handbook.

The Department admits five to seven students a year to the doctoral program. All admitted students receive funding for five academic years, including the option of summer work. In addition, some students are admitted with five academic years of funding as part of a research project sponsored by a faculty member and/or external funding.

Departmentally-funded students commit to completing five teaching assistantships and three research assistantships during their time as students at DUSP. The department also issues a call for optional funded summer work during the spring term. 

For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing and food as well as transportation, please visit the SFS website .

Required Coursework

In their first (fall) semester, students are required to take 11.233. There are no exceptions nor substitutions to this requirement. The output of this class is a research proposal that can form the basis for the required first-year research paper.

The Doctoral Research Seminar focuses on writing a research paper - the first year paper (FYP) - on a subject of the student's choice. The paper's purpose is to assess the student's ability to independently make a reasoned argument based on evidence that they have collected and to allow the student to work closely with a faculty advisor.

Students are expected to finish the paper in the spring of their first year, and students CANNOT register for their third semester of courses until this paper has been completed.

Methods Courses

All PhD students must complete one graduate-level class in quantitative methods and one graduate-level class in qualitative methods from a list of approved subjects by the end of their fourth semester. Enrolled doctoral students may consult the PhD Wiki pages for community collected information on methods courses of interest to DUSP PhD students:

• Quantitative Methods Courses
• Qualitative Methods Courses

In addition, students are strongly encouraged to enroll in DUSP's Advanced Seminar on Planning Theory (11.930).

Field Exams (General Exams)

General Exams will ordinarily be taken either in late spring of the second year or in early fall of the third year. These examinations contain a written and an oral component. All PhD students are expected to prepare for an examination in two fields. The first field is theory oriented and must be a discipline or equivalent systematic approach to social inquiry. The second field is typically customized to student specializations.

• City Design & Development
• International Development
• Urban Information Systems
• Public Policy and Politics
• Health and Global Communities
• Urban History
• Urban and Regional Economics
• Urban Sociology
• Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management
• Housing and Real Estate Development
• Labor and Employment Policy
• Neighborhood and Community Development
• Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
• Planning in Developing Countries
• Regional Development
• Transportation and Land Use

Dissertation  

Summary and Full Dissertation Proposal

Within three months after successful completion of the general examinations, each PhD candidate is expected to submit to the PhD Committee a five-to six-page preliminary dissertation research proposal summary.

• The proposal should include the dissertation topic, the importance of the topic, the research method, the types of information to be used, the means of obtaining the required information (surveys, statistical testing, literature, etc.), and a selected bibliography.
• The preliminary dissertation proposal must be approved and signed by the dissertation advisor on the student's committee. The dissertation committee must be chaired by a member of DUSP and include at least one other member of the MIT faculty.
• Membership of the general examination and dissertation committees need not overlap.

Within one year after passing the general examinations, the student must submit a full proposal to their dissertation committee and for approval by the PhD Committee. Full proposals should expand upon the topics covered in the preliminary proposals and must be signed by all members of the student's dissertation committee. An external reviewer will be invited to provide feedback as well.

• In this proposal (usually 25-30 pages in length), the student should provide details on the research design and preliminary ideas (e.g., hypotheses) that will guide the research effort. They should also discuss the relevant literature and potential data sources.
• All students are expected to organize a colloquium in which they discuss their dissertation proposal before their full committee, the external reviewer, and other interested members of DUSP and MIT more generally. The student is expected to notify all DUSP members of the time and place of the colloquium and the dissertation proposal cannot be approved until the colloquium has been held. No colloquia will be held during the last two weeks of the semester, or final exam week, or during the summer. 

Oral Dissertation Defense

After the dissertation committee and the student indicate that the dissertation is completed, the committee chair will ask for the student to appear for an oral examination. The oral examination will customarily last for two hours and will be attended by all members of the dissertation committee. Other faculty and/or students may be allowed to attend the oral examination at the discretion of the dissertation committee. If revisions, normally slight, to the dissertation are suggested by the committee, the committee chair may be solely in charge of approving the revised document. If major revisions are needed, all members of the committee need to review the revised document, and, in some cases, another oral examination may be required. 

Guidelines for preparation of the dissertation document are available from DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator. The student must follow these guidelines carefully. All final dissertation document are submitted electronically. Students will be removed from the degree list for graduation if the appropriate dissertation documents are not met by the deadline set each semester by DUSP. All PhD dissertations are graded on a satisfactory basis. 

Written Dissertation Options 

In addition to the traditional monograph (i.e. a book-length manuscript), students may opt for a three-paper dissertation. 

The three-paper option is based on three related publishable papers and is designed to be used in situations where the thesis material is better suited to three papers on the same general topic rather than turning the dissertation into a book. A dissertation cannot be comprised of essays on three totally separate topics.

• Both the summary and full dissertation proposal are still required, with a dissertation committee consisting of a chair and two readers. The three-papers option should represent different aspects of the same topic.
• A student wishing to submit a three-paper dissertation should propose this plan at the time they submit the initial dissertation summary proposal or, if a decision to do so is made only subsequently, the student should indicate this plan as part of the full dissertation proposal that is submitted to the PhD Committee in advance of the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium.
• One paper in a three-paper dissertation may be co-authored. In such cases, as part of the full Dissertation Proposal, the student should explain the rationale for the proposed co-authorship. The PhD committee representative charged with evaluating the dissertation proposal will be asked to review this to determine the significance of the student's role in the collaborative paper. If there is a change in the plan for co-authorship after the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium has taken place, this must be cleared with the PhD Committee.
• In meeting the criterion of “publishable papers,” the dissertation may include a paper that has been previously published, as long as this paper has been completed as part of the student's doctoral program at MIT.
• A student's First Year Paper may not be used for one of the three papers submitted for the dissertation, unless it has been significantly revised and updated.
• Finally, the three-paper dissertation itself must contain a section that explains how the three papers are related.

A note on completing your dissertation during the summer:

Please be aware that most DUSP faculty are on nine-month contracts, and are not paid to teach or work with students during June, July, and August. Accordingly, any student seeking to complete PhD thesis work over the summer in order to be placed on the September degree list must be certain about the willingness of the advisor and readers to take on this responsibility. Any student seeking this arrangement must submit a form signed by all members of the advising team, attesting to their willingness and summer availability. This form should be submitted to the PhD Academic Administrator no later than the Spring thesis due date. Failure to do so may result in removal from eligibility for the September degree list. If this happens, a student would need to submit their thesis and hold the defense during the fall term, and would need to pay the pro-rated fall semester's tuition if beyond the funded five academic years.

• Advisor sign-off required
• Advisor sign-off required 
• With members of PhD Committee required 
• Determine first and second field exams interests
• Assemble general exams committee
• General exam committee sign-off required
• Complete course work p reparation for general exams
• Complete second-year review statement and meeting
• Dissertation committee and external reviewer sign-off required

Year Three+

• Complete further coursework - if helpful to dissertation 
• Research and write dissertation
• Dissertation chair and committee members
• Revise dissertation as necessary  
• Dissertation chair and/or committee sign-off required
• Revise dissertation as necessary 
• Submit completed dissertation to department

First Semester

• Meet with your assigned faculty advisor
• Determine who will be your faculty advisor for your First-Year Paper (FYP)
• Complete FYP research proposal 

Second Semester

• Work on FYP, including fieldwork during IAP if necessary 
• Submit your First-Year Paper
• Schedule your First-year Review
• At least two weeks before First-year Review at the end of second semester.
• Take any recommended actions after First-year Review meeting   

Third Semester

• OPTIONAL schedule a presentation of your First-Year paper in the PhD Colloquium series
• Determine your first and second field exams interests
• Your chair must be a member of DUSP faculty
• at least another two faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the MIT faculty

Fourth Semester

• Schedule your first and second field examinations 
• sent to the members of your exam committee
• sent to DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator at least one month before taking your general exams
• with PhD Committee member and your advisor 
• take any necessary actions following meeting
• Take   your first and second field examinations
• within three months of finishing general exams
• Explore and decide who will chair your Dissertation Committee
• Think about and discuss with your Dissertation Chair who else will sit on your Dissertation Committee

Fifth Semester

• If exams are not completed in your second year, please note you must complete your general exams by the end of your fifth semester. Please refer to semester four for more details.
• Meet with your Dissertation Committee chair to discuss your dissertation proposal
• Write a draft dissertation proposal for feedback from your Dissertation Committee
• ​​​​​​​Circulate your dissertation proposal to your Dissertation Committee
• Schedule a colloquium on your dissertation proposal

This embedded table shows recent dissertation research by the doctoral community. A more complete listing of DUSP dissertation work can be found here.

Additional resources for DUSP doctoral students may be found in DUSP's Resources, Policies, and Procedures page under general ,  funding sources , professional development , students , and doctoral students .  

We welcome any questions you have about the DUSP doctoral program. 

• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding registration, enrollment, leaves, exams and/or other student requirements should be addressed to Sandra Elliot  .
• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding regarding the doctoral student process should be addressed to the PhD Committee co-Chairs ( see DUSP Governance )

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PhD in City + Regional Planning

Berkeley's PhD in City & Regional Planning provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning.

About the Program

Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 160 doctorates. Alums of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policy makers, and practitioners. Today, the program is served by nearly 20 city and regional planning faculty with expertise in community and economic development, transportation planning, urban design, international development, environmental planning, and global urbanism. With close ties to numerous research centers and initiatives, the program encourages its students to develop specializations within the field of urban studies and planning and to expand their intellectual horizons through training in the related fields of architecture, landscape architecture and environmental planning, civil engineering, anthropology, geography, sociology, public policy, public health, and political science.

Completing a PhD in City & Regional Planning at UC Berkeley usually takes five years. The university requires all doctoral students to fulfill a minimum residency requirement of two years and 48 units of coursework. Full-time students are expected to take four courses, or 12 units, per semester. For the PhD in City & Regional Planning, students must complete various program requirements, including courses in planning and urban theory; research methods courses; and preparation and completion of two fields of specialization. They must also successfully complete an oral qualifying examination, which allows them to advance to candidacy and undertake dissertation research. A PhD is awarded upon completion of a written dissertation approved by the faculty supervisors of the dissertation.

The PhD program encourages its students to build intellectual community and to participate in national and international venues of scholarship. Doctoral candidates regularly present their research at the annual conferences of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Association of American Geographers, Association of European Schools of Planning, World Planning Schools Congress, Urban Affairs Association, and American Anthropological Association. They organize and participate in a weekly research colloquium and manage the Berkeley Planning Journal , a peer-reviewed academic publication. Such activities utilize the incredible intellectual resources available to doctoral students at UC Berkeley, both within their departments and programs and across the campus.

Financial Aid + Admissions

Admission to the PhD program is highly competitive. Applicants are required to have completed a master's degree in planning or a related field. They are expected to demonstrate capacity for advanced research and to present a compelling research topic as part of their application. Once admitted to the program, students are eligible to compete for various university fellowships, including the Berkeley Fellowship, Cota-Robles Fellowship, and the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. Students of the program have also been successful in securing funding for dissertation research from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and the Fulbright scholarships.

The Department of City & Regional Planning and UC Berkeley offer multiple types of financial support to its graduate students.

Please note that admission decisions are not made by individual faculty, but rather an admissions committee. Our PhD admissions process begins with three initial reviews of your application: the two faculty members you list as preferred advisors and one member of the PhD admission committee. The admission committee then meets to review all applications as a cohort and make admission/denial decisions. More information can be found on the department admissions page .

Prerequisites

The principal admission requirements to the doctoral program in City & Regional Planning are overall excellence in past academic work and research, demonstrated creativity and intellectual leadership in professional activity, and the strong promise of sustained intellectual achievement, originality, and scholarship. The emphasis in the doctoral program is upon scholarship and research. At the same time, because the doctorate is offered in the context of a professional school, doctoral students are challenged to undertake applied research relevant to city and regional planning and policy problems. If you do not want to teach in planning or a related field, or to do advanced research, please reconsider applying to this program. Most doctoral students enter the program with a master's degree in planning or a related field. The Master of City Planning is regarded as a terminal professional degree, and is not comparable to mid-study Master of Arts or Master of Science degrees offered in anticipation of the doctorate.

Admission to the doctoral program is very competitive. Only six to eight students are admitted each year, sometimes from a pool of as many as 80 applicants. For all applicants to the doctoral program (even those required to take an English-language competency exam (TOEFL, TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL, or IELTS) the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional; although prospective students who choose to take the GRE should do so before December to ensure timely receipt of scores. Applicants must also secure at least three letters of recommendation that can explicitly evaluate their intellectual capability and past research and academic work.

Please note that admission decisions are not made by individual faculty, but rather an admissions committee. DCRP's PhD admissions process begins with three initial reviews of your application: the two faculty members you list as preferred advisors and one member of the PhD admission committee. The admission committee then meets to review all applications as a cohort and make admission/denial decisions.

Designated Emphases

Many PhD students choose to pursue one or more of the designated emphases (DEs) offered through programs across campus. These DEs are unrelated to the outside field required by the City & Regional Planning PhD, and can be thought of instead as elective "minors" which provide opportunities for focused interdisciplinary work, mentorship, conference funding, research fellowships and an extra credential along with the doctoral degree. Common DEs pursued by DCRP PhD students include:

• Global Metropolitan Studies (GMS)
• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• Development Engineering (DevEng)
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS)
• Political Economy
• Film & Media
• Critical Theory

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Ph.D. in Urban Planning

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The Ph.D. in Urban Planning is focused on training individuals for future careers as teachers, researchers, policy-makers, and business entrepreneurs in and near the field of urban planning—in academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and think tanks. The program equips students with the theoretical and methodological expertise to address important contemporary issues, such as climate change and adaptation, built environment transformation, immigration and migration, housing and community development, and poverty and inequality. It is a highly competitive doctoral program, accepting only three candidates each year.

We welcome prospective students from a wide range of backgrounds, and value strong abilities for critical thinking and independent research. In reviewing applications, the Ph.D. faculty make decisions collectively, based on students’ academic preparation, topical areas of interest, and experience with analytical. We encourage students to explore various directions of intellectual growth after enrollment.

The Ph.D. in Urban Planning is a program within the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) while the actual degree is granted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

Admission for 2025

• The application deadline for 2025 admissions is December 14, 2024.
• For additional information on the application process and requirements, please see the GSAS website.
• Hiba Bou Akar
• Hugo Sarmiento
• Anthony Vanky
• Tom Slater , Program Director

Upon entering the program, each student consults with the program director for the duration of their coursework. The program director’s role is to provide independent guidance and mentorship on all aspects of student life. Students meet at least once each semester with the program director to discuss their academic progress and future plans.

By the date of the comprehensive examination and prior to submitting their dissertation prospectus, each student selects a dissertation advisor (also known as sponsor), to act as a guide during the course of dissertation research and for the dissertation defense. During this or any other time, students are still able to draw on the mentorship of other Ph.D. faculty.

Fall 2024 Courses

Related events, other urbanism programs at gsapp.

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• university of new orleans
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Ph.D. in Urban Studies Program

The Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies degree program is an interdisciplinary program within the College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Human Development that enables students of exceptional ability to undertake advanced study and original research in the fields of urban affairs, urban history, urban planning, and urban anthropology. The program's mission is to prepare students for careers in scholarly activity, applied research and policy analysis. The Ph.D. in Urban Studies program provides graduates with a solid foundation for pursuing careers in academic or to engage in advanced policy analysis and applied research outside of academic settings. Upon successful completion of the program students will have mastered the literature and theory in a particular area of scholarship as well as the research skills necessary to make significant and original contributions in their respective fields. Students enrolled in the program draw upon the expertise of faculty members working in the areas of anthropology, history, sociology, public administration, and planning, among others.

University Admissions and Program Application

You will need to create an account in order to start the application,enter personal, citizenship and contact information, choose the appropriate academic program and intended term of admission, list your previous university education, degrees and degree dates, enter residency data, list any awards received, your GPA (all official transcripts and official scores must be sent to UNO), upload a statement of purpose, a resume/CV, writing sample and any publications/presentations, enter the names and contact information for the three persons who will submit letters of recommendation for you (academic references are preferred) and pay the application fee

Re-Applicants

Students who are re-applying to the Program must contact Dr. Bethany Stich  Ph.D. Program Coordinator for  re-application requirements.

Graduate School/University Scholarships

If you are interested in applying for a University Scholarship, through the Graduate School, you must submit a scholarship application to the PhD Program in Urban Studies. You must submit a writing sample that describes your planned study and qualification for the scholarship. This statement is different from the personal statement provided to the Program.  Additional information about Graduate Scholarships can be found on the Graduate School website. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes specify what students will know, be able to do, or be able to demonstrate when they have completed a program of study.

View Outcomes

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Phd in city & regional planning.

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Welcome to our online source of information for the Doctoral Program in City and Regional Planning in the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Here you will find information about our outstanding faculty, their research interests, teaching, and professional activities; the expectations and requirements of the Program; and profiles of our PhD students and graduates.

The University of Pennsylvania is an intellectually stimulating environment in which to study the today’s metropolitan challenges. To develop responses, our PhD students have easy access to a broad, multi-disciplinary faculty and all the resources of a first-rate urban research university.

Penn’s PhD program in City and Regional Planning (CPLN), overseen by the Graduate Group in City and Regional Planning, dates back to the 1950s. Since that time, the faculty have guided more than 330 students though their graduate studies to the completion of the degree and aided them in assuming positions of leadership in both academia and the profession throughout the United States and across the world. For a complete list graduates and their dissertations, see the Doctoral Student Handbook .

General University and Graduate Group policies govern the doctoral degree; see the University's Policies and Procedures , especially the Academic Rules for PhD Programs and the Resources for PhD Students . We expect students to familiarize themselves with the policies very early in their academic careers.

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PhD Program

The Urban Studies PhD program is a unique interdisciplinary doctoral program designed to prepare students for research and scholarship on urban society. The Program is based on the assumption that those who choose to examine the complex problems of the city must be literate in many different research methodologies, conversant with theories of urban development, and knowledgeable about the historical and sociological foundations of urban life. By utilizing scholars from a variety of urban-related disciplines, the Urban Studies PhD Program offers comprehensive training in urban research that is not possible in traditional PhD programs. Since its inception, the program has graduated over 100 doctorates.

The core curriculum of the USP PhD program includes sequences in urban social structure, methods of urban research, and theories of urban development. Students devote 3 of their courses to an area of concentration among the 10-plus specializations that are offered.

The ideal candidate for admission to the program will have:

• a master’s degree in a social science or related field,
• statistical proficiency at an intermediate level,
• a background in urban studies within some disciplinary framework, (e.g., urban sociology, urban history), and
• evidence of ability to conduct independent, scholarly social science research.

Students with deficiencies in these areas may be admitted with additional course requirements in order to satisfy these prerequisites. Students with advanced degrees outside the social sciences, such as law, will also be considered.

Faculty in Urban Studies have earned their doctorates at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities. Faculty members are generally drawn from social sciences departments, chiefly from Sociology and History but also including faculty from the departments of Political Science and Geography. Areas of expertise are diverse, consistent with the program’s goal of providing students with a range of possible specializations.

The program is designed to serve the recent Master’s graduate, particularly with a social science background, the part-time returning student already well established in a career, and the individual wishing to change careers. Courses are generally offered after 4:30 pm, and most meet once a week in order to accommodate the demanding lives of adult students. Student are encouraged to frame the 9 credits they devote to their areas of emphasis to maximize their future professional goals. In addition to variation in professional backgrounds and career goals, Urban Studies doctoral students are highly diverse in terms of age, sex, race, and ethnicity.

Intellectual Climate

Urban Studies students enjoy a wide array of intellectual opportunities in the program and throughout the campus. They range from individual mentoring by the faculty, to opportunities to enroll in classes in other disciplines, to public programming on campus and in Milwaukee. The Program offers an annual Lecture Series, bringing distinguished speakers from around the nation to give public addresses and meet informally with students. Urban Studies students themselves organize the annual Student Forum each spring at which students choose a theme and keynote speaker, present their work, and participate in panel discussions of student research. In the late fall Urban Studies organizes a State of Milwaukee Summit to address pressing issues facing the city and region. In addition, there are countless opportunities to attend urban-related lectures, events, and programs sponsored by other units on the UWM campus. Urban Studies students also administer and contribute to e.polis , an electronic journal. Urban Studies uses its electronic mail system, Facebook page, and administrative D2L site to keep students informed of major events, administrative deadlines, and job, internship, and fellowship opportunities.

Career Opportunities

Students completing the program are prepared for positions in a variety of governmental and private agencies as well as for academic positions in disciplines that are related to urban studies. Some students seek the Ph.D. degree to gain greater employment mobility within their present occupations. Others wish to explore new professional opportunities after graduation. For a review of some of our alumni, see Scott Greer Alumni Award .

Fellowship and Financial Aid Opportunities

Students admitted into the Program are eligible to compete for a variety of types of financial aid. The Program offers a number of project and teaching assistantships on a competitive basis to students who complete their applications by Feb. 1 each year. In addition, students may apply to a number of different graduate fellowships administered through the Graduate School . Advanced doctoral students may apply to be Urban Studies Graduate Teaching Fellows and teach an upper division undergraduate course in their area of specialization.

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Ph.d. in urban planning and development (upd).

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Create new knowledge for vibrant urban life.

The Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development prepares students to contribute new ideas and innovate solutions to contemporary urban problems. You’ll obtain a solid foundation from which to launch your career through advanced courses in all intersecting facets of urban studies. And you’ll work on research with a direct impact on the world around us. With a focus on critical discourse and inquiry paired with analytical and theoretical training, you’ll develop the skills necessary to contribute to solutions that address the world’s most pressing urban planning and development issues.

Why choose Price?

USC Price offers a supportive academic environment where you can contribute to the field alongside leading scholars as you pursue your Ph.D. in urban planning and development.

A Research Hub

Ph.D. students focus on and develop substantive expertise in core areas that leverage the USC Price School’s research strengths and renowned centers — including those focused on transportation, sustainable development, and spatial science.

All Ph.D. students are guaranteed at least four years of funding through fellowships and graduate assistantships that provide year-round full tuition, a competitive stipend, and health and dental insurance. In addition, all fifth-year students have been funded internally or externally, with the program’s assistance.

Career Launching

Most students present their work at conferences and publish papers during the program.

Life in Los Angeles

Los Angeles provides a rich, complex ecosystem for the study of planning as well as an exciting, enriching place to call home.

Attend an Info Session

Join faculty, students, and alumni for live information sessions to learn more about the application process, financial services, and program curriculum.

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• UPD Curriculum

• UPD Learning Objectives

• Ph.D. Admissions

• Ph.D. Funding

• Select First Year Placements

Financial Aid

All Ph.D. students are supported for four years through a combination of fellowships and graduate assistantships that provides year-round full tuition, a competitive stipend, and health and dental insurance.

Fields of Study

Through advanced theoretical core courses in critical thinking, planning theory, urban development, and research methodology, Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development students gain a strong foundation from which to launch their scholarly career and develop an area of expertise.

Working closely with faculty mentors, Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development students focus on and develop substantive expertise in core areas that leverage the Price School’s renowned research strengths in fields such as:

• Arts, culture, and community development
• Climate change and sustainability
• Data science and spatial analysis
• Land use and urban design
• Planning theory and social justice
• Real Estate
• Transportation and Mobility

John Romley , Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Pharmaceutical & Health Economics Faculty Director, PhD Programs

For admissions information, please email [email protected]

In this section:

• Ph.D. Student Job Market Candidates
• UPD Ph.D. Students
• Full-Time Faculty
• Research at USC Price

College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs

Doctorate in urban planning & policy.

The PhD program in Urban Planning and Policy at UIC has a traditional research focus, preparing students for university faculty positions as well as careers as urban policy analysts and researchers. The UPP Scholar Award is available to select students, who receive four years of funding for the program. A productive research faculty and multiple research centers in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs provide students with numerous research opportunities, while our undergraduate program offers meaningful teaching opportunities to talented students. The program offers advanced study of critical urban development challenges facing cities and metropolitan areas in the 21st century blending urban planning and public policy perspectives. The Program provides a unique and powerful resource for the advanced study of challenging urban problems and their complex remedies. Students participate in an interdisciplinary learning community of faculty and research staff conducting a mix of applied and theoretical studies. Graduates will leave as scholars well prepared for positions as university professors and as professional researchers.

Program Overview Heading link Copy link

The Ph.D. curriculum combines core requirements in theory and methods with more specialized course work in each area. Students learn advanced theory, methods and related research literature in one of five areas of specialization:

• Globalization and International Planning
• Economic Development
• Community Development
• Spatial Planning and Design
• Urban Transportation
• Environmental Planning
• Other faculty approved specialization
• PhD Admissions Procedure

Engaged Research Heading link Copy link

Opportunities for advanced research training and faculty supervised research projects are available within the following research centers at UIC:

• Great Cities Institute
• Center for Urban Economic Development
• Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement
• Urban Transportation Center
• Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy
• Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement
• UPP’s Urban Data Visualization Laboratory
• Institute for Environmental Science and Policy

The program also builds on the University of Illinois Great Cities Initiative, providing students with a variety of research related training opportunities to engage in urban issues in the Chicago metropolitan region, the nation and the world.

Degree Requirements Heading link Copy link

Please consult the  Graduate Catalog  and the  PhD Handbook  for degree requirements.  Degree-seeking students are governed by the policies articulated in the PhD Handbook in effect in their first semester registered in the program.

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