Welcome

The Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of Maryland is located in College Park, an ideal place to study city and regional planning. We are located with easy access of the industrial city of Baltimore, the nation's capital of Washington, DC, and the state capital, historic Annapolis. We are also in close proximity to such well-known planned communities as Greenbelt, MD, Columbia, MD, and Reston, VA, along with several highly-regarded examples of New Urbanism such as Kentlands and King Farm (both in Maryland). Our location also contributes to the "hands-on" nature of our masters curriculum, which includes a community planning studio and an internship. Our interns can work in a diverse range of contexts, from international and national organizations, federal, state, and local governments, private consulting firms, and several innovative community-based organizations.

Our mission is to prepare planning practitioners who are generalists with a specialization. The curriculum emphasizes student understanding of the political, economic, institutional, and social context within which planners work with a diverse range of stakeholders to develop and implement plans, policies, and programs. Specializations include housing and economic development, land use, growth management and environmental planning, urban design, transportation planning, international and regional development, and social planning, among others. Students can also customize their specializations. These areas reflect our faculty members, who are nationally and internationally respected in their fields.

Our graduate students come from an array of undergraduate disciplines, including the social sciences, arts and humanities, and the physical sciences. Despite our different backgrounds, we share a commitment to analyze and address -- with creativity and rigor -- major issues facing metropolitan areas inside and outside the U.S. Our 48-credit hour curriculum can be completed in two years by full-time students, but we also have many students who work full-time in the Washington-Baltimore region and complete their degrees as part-time students.

Our program is housed in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, which also supports graduate programs in Historic Preservation, Architecture, and Real Estate Development, as well as a Ph.D. program in Urban and Regional Planning and Design. We are closely affiliated with the nationally-recognized Center for Smart Growth Research and Education. Our program's affiliations enable our students to take advantage of a rich interdisciplinary environment.

James Cohen
Director

Handbooks:
Urban Studies Student Handbook 2012-2013
Student Guide 2012-2013

University Center
The UMD-Morgan State Center for Economic Development

Newsletters:
2012 URSP Alumni Newsletter

Urban Studies and Planning News

• MAPP Spring 2013 Commencement Address

  John R. Griffin, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources gives MAPP Spring 2013 Commencement Address

  
  
  

• MAPP Ph.D. Candidate Awarded United States Institute of Peace Fellowship

  The United States Institute of Peace has selected University of Maryland Ph.D. candidate Zubin Adrienvala for a 2013-2014 Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Fellowship.
  

• MAPP March 2013 e-Newsletter

  The latest issue of the The University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation monthly e-newsletter should be in your mailbox now! If you have not received it, check it out here!

• Sustainable Tuesdays Return!

  Sustainable Tuesdays, the immensely popular lecture series that examines sustainability issues facing the built and natural environments, returns this semester with an exciting roster of topics and speakers. Lectures run every Tuesday at 4:30 PM in first floor auditorium at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and are open to the public. The series is co-sponsored by the University's Office of Sustainability.

• A Conversation and Book Signing with Gary D. Rappaport - NEW DATE

  Rescheduled Date: Thursday, February 7, 2013
  Lecture    6:15 – 7:30 pm; Book Signing    7:30-8:30pm
  School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Auditorium

• Reston: The Art of Community

  Exhibit begins January 25, 2013
  Gallery Talk February 25, 12:00 PM- 1:45 PM
  Kibel Gallery
  
  

• URSP Technology and Community Panel Sessions: February 19 and March 7, 2013

  URSP is sponsoring two Spring 2013 panel sessions on Technology and Community on February 19 and March 7 at 7:00pm as part of our Code for Community Challenge.  
  
  All are invited. Additional information can be found on the website: www.arch.umd.edu/Planning/cfc

• Public Interest Design: Training Program

  The University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, in conjunction with DesignCorps, is pleased to announce a Public Interest Design Institute.

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