Doctor of Philosophy in Community and Regional Planning

The Ph.D. program in Community and Regional Planning is a young and dynamic program, granting our first doctoral degree in the spring of 2000. Graduates of the program teach at universities such as the University of Virginia, Cornell University, the University of California at Irvine, the University of British Columbia (Canada), the University of Manchester (UK), Peking University Graduate School (Shenzhen, China), and Yonsei University (Korea). Graduates also hold advanced research positions in institutions such as the World Bank, Texas Transportation Institute, and Seoul Development Institute. The core objective of the Ph.D. program in planning is to prepare highly qualified graduate students for research and teaching at the university level and for leadership positions in public and private institutions. The program provides rigorous, but flexibly tailored, scholastic and practical training for advanced students to prepare them to make substantive contributions to planning and related policy fields. Advanced research in planning requires a strong theoretical and methodological background, a deep understanding of planning institutions and processes, and a substantial knowledge of specific disciplines related to planning. Doctoral students can specialize in a range of planning fields within the program including international planning, economic and community development, environmental and natural resource planning, housing, land use and land development, transportation planning, and historic preservation.

Applicants to the doctoral program in Community and Regional Planning will be evaluated according to the following seven criteria for admission:

Hold a Master of Science in urban planning or its equivalent in a related field; A grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or better on all completed graduate work;

A score on The Foreign Language (TOEFL) test of 550 or higher on the paper-based test or 213 or higher on the computer-based test for applicants whose first language is not English

TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT)

IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination

Application deadline: December 16 for fall