The UCLA Department of Urban Planning

Urban Planning at UCLA

The Department of Urban Planning has three distinctive yet interrelated goals: 1) to influence planning scholarship; 2) to train practitioners for leadership roles in the planning profession; and 3) to effect positive social change in building prosperous communities and a more just society. The objectives related to each goal are stated below.

Influence on Scholarship

  • Being at the forefront of planning scholarship
  • Pursuring new areas of inquiry
  • Integrating local and global concerns
  • Pursuing multi-disciplinary collaborations
  • Integrating scholarship and practice

Influence on Student Training, Professional Education and Leadership

  • Training students to become agents for social change
  • Training effective practitioners
  • Integrating theory and practice
  • Integrating technology and the classroom
  • Training planners for multiple publics and multi-cultural communities
  • Making students aware of local and global dynamics
  • Linking coursework with community issues and current events
  • Including students in the governance of the department
  • Mentoring and career guidance for students

Influence on Communities

  • Capacity buidling for communities and institutions
  • Maintaining diversity
  • Enhancing links with our alumni

We believe that our department because of its location and history is characterized by distinctive strengths. Los Angeles is one of the most exciting urban settings in the world, a fast changing city of many ethnicities and cultures. The city provides a unique laboratory for faculty and students to study and solve urban issues and problems. Our program also benefits by its location at UCLA, one of the best public universities in the country. Almost all academic departments at UCLA rank among the very best in the nation and the world. The richness of the University offerings and the excellence of the other UCLA departments have allowed us to offer a quality multidisciplinary environment with great opportunities for students to take courses in other disciplines or pursue concurrent degrees.

We have a 40 year history as one of the premier urban planning departments in the country. Our graduates can be found in leading planning positions throughout the nation and overseas.