City & Regional Planning

The mission of the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley is to improve equity, the economy and the environment in neighborhoods, communities, cities, and metropolitan regions by creating knowledge and engagement through our teaching, research, and service. We aim to design and create cities, infrastructure, and public services that are sustainable, affordable, enjoyable, and accessible to all.

Wisely and successfully intervening in the public realm, whether locally, nationally, or globally, is a challenge. Our urban future is complex and rapidly changing. Resource scarcity and conflict, technological innovation, retrofitting of existing built environments, and social empowerment will alter the ways in which planning has conventionally been carried out.

We believe the planning academy has a special responsibility to always address social justice, equity, and ethics; to teach and research means of public participation, collective decision making, and advocacy; and to focus on reforming institutions, urban governance, policy, and planning practices to make these goals possible.

Master of City Planning (M.C.P.)

The two-year Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) program comprises a solid core of knowledge in the field of city and regional planning, including history and theory, planning skills and methods, planning law, and urban economics. The program offers the opportunity to specialize in one to two of the four concentration areas: Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities (EPHC); Housing, Community and Economic Development (HCED); Transportation Policy and Planning; and Urban Design.

Accreditation

The M.C.P. program at UC Berkeley is one of the oldest accredited planning programs in the country. The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) last reviewed the M.C.P. program in Fall 2016, and in Spring 2017 issued reaccreditation for five years. For more information about PAB, please visit http://www.planningaccreditationboard.org/ (opens in a new tab).

Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) Designated Degree Program

The M.C.P. degree is an approved field of study within the U.S. governments official STEM fields list. For international students, practical work experience in your field of study, typically after completion of a degree for a maximum of 36 months (12 months of regular OPT with a 24-month extension possible). For further details regarding STEM extensions (opens in a new tab), contact the Berkeley International Office (BIO) (opens in a new tab).

Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning

The Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 170 doctorates. Alumni of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policymakers 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.

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and
3. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.