Department of Urban and Regional Planning
111 Temple Hoyne Buell Hall
611 East Lorado Taft Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-3890
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning offers a program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning. Urban planning gives practical expression to human values. Its aim is to sustain and enhance the quality of life in cities and regions, to create the good society. Therefore, in addition to special technical skills, each student is helped to acquire a broad liberal education that leads to an understanding of the natural and social environments, their problems, and their potentialities for enriching human life. Undergraduate planning education leads to diverse professional employment careers or graduate study in urban planning or related professions and is particularly useful as a prelaw program. Continuation in the program requires the student to maintain a 2.25grade point average. The degree is professionally accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
A transfer student must have completed 60 or more semester hours (30 or more if transferring within the University) of acceptable undergraduate college work (including introductory courses in microeconomics, statistics, political sciences, and sociology; a sequence in English composition is desirable) with an earned grade point average of at least 2.75(A = 4.0). Transfer applicants not meeting these requirements will be considered in special cases.
The department also offers a minor in Urban Planning. The minor applies disciplinary knowledge from a variety of fields (economics, politics, environmental science, information studies, urban design) toward understanding urban phenomena and planning for orderly, efficient, functional, environmentally friendly, and aesthetically pleasing urban development. The minor introduces students to a) cities as arenas with problems such as housing, segregation, disinvestment, environmental pollution, congestion, and urban sprawl; and b) professional planning practice, which tries to devise actions to address such problems and improve the quality of life in urban areas. Urban issues are explored on a range of scales from neighborhoods to mega cities.
The department's administrative offices, classrooms, and workshop space are located in Temple Hoyne Buell Hall. Students may go to Room 111 for information.
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning also offers a program of graduate studies leading to the Master of Urban Planning degree, dual degree programs with the Master of Architecture and the Juris Doctor degrees, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Regional Planning.
Curriculum in Urban and Regional Planning
For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning
A minimum of 120 hours is required for this degree.
First and second years
Required General Education Courses
Current University of Illinois General Education requirements include courses in humanities, composition, social sciences, cultural studies, quantitative reasoning, and foreign language. See the General Education Web site for information on courses that meet these requirements.
The following Social and Behavioral Science General Education Courses are required by Urban Planning:
| 3 | ECON 102—Microeconomic Principles |
| 4 | SOC100—Introduction to Sociology |
| 3 | PS 101—Intro to US Gov & Pol |
Urban Planning courses which fulfill the University General Education requirements are noted in the program listing below.
| Hours | Required Urban Planning Courses |
|---|---|
| 3 | UP 101—Planning of Cities and Regions |
| 3 | UP 108—Planning Policy and Law (alternatively, students may take UP 408 in the senior year) |
| 4 | UP 116—Analytical Planning Research Methods (Quantitative Reasoning I, General Ed) |
| 3 | UP 203—Cities Regions&Social Science |
| 3 | UP 205—Ecology and its Applications (Natural Science, General Ed) |
| 3 | UP 260—Social Inequality and Planning (Social Science, General Ed) |
| 18 | General Education and General electives3 |
| 60 | First and second year total |
Third year*
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 4 | UP 312—Communication for Planners (Advanced Composition, General Ed) |
| 3 | UP 316—Planning Analysis (Quantitative Reasoning II, General Ed) |
| 3 | Department elective in Urban Planning1 |
| 3 | Planning elective2 |
| 3 | General Education or General elective3 |
| 16 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 6 | UP 347—Planning Workshop, I |
| 3 | Department elective in Urban Planning1 |
| 3 | Planning elective2 |
| 2 | General elective3 |
| 14 | Total |
*Transfer students must fulfill first and second year requirements.
Fourth year
| Hours | First Semester |
|---|---|
| 3 | UP 408—Law and Planning (Transfer students and seniors who did not take UP 108) or |
| 3 | General elective (Students who took UP 108 in the freshmen year) |
| 6 | Planning electives2 |
| 6 | General Education or General electives3 |
| 15 | Total |
| Hours | Second Semester |
|---|---|
| 6 | Urban Planning Workshop4 |
| 3 | Department elective in Urban Planning1 |
| 3 | General Education or General elective3 |
| 3 | Planning elective2 |
| 15 | Total |
1. A total of nine hours of
departmental electives must be taken in Department of Urban and Regional Planning
courses.
2. Planning elective courses totaling 15 hours must be chosen from
a list of campus courses maintained by the department. Urban Planning courses automatically count as planning electives.
3. General electives as needed to complete the total hours required. Excess department
and planning elective courses may be applied toward this requirement.
4. Urban planning workshop classes include UP 427, 447, 448, and
478.
Minor in Urban Planning
The Urban Planning Minor requires the successful completion of 20 credit hours of coursework, including four core courses and two electives. Two of the listed core courses (UP 205 and UP 260) also satisfy general education requirements.
Core courses:
- UP 101
- UP 203 (prerequisites: UP 101, ECON 102, and UP 116 or equivalent)
- UP 205 (This course can be waived if student has previously taken IB 105)
- UP 260 (prerequisite: UP 101)
Electives: (8 credit hours, 11 credit hours if UP 205 is waived)
All 100-, 200-, 300-, and 400- level courses offered by DURP
Admission criteria: 2.75 GPA, as space is available. For admission criteria and process, see www.urban.uiuc.edu or contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for Urban Planning.