University of Iowa

For over 50 years, the University of Iowa has been offering high quality graduate education in urban and regional planning. Located in a vibrant intellectual community (the only UNESCO City of Literature in North America), the University of Iowa School of Urban and Regional Planning offers a fully accredited Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning at one of the finest public universities in the nation.   Areas of concentration include: economic development, geographic information systems (GIS), land use and environmental planning, housing and community development, and transportation.   Joint degrees (with Law, Higher Education, Business, Public Health, Social Work, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, and Civil and Environmental Engineering) are also offered. Our focus is on analytical urban planning, public policy, social justice, and sustainability, including its relationship with the impacts of land use and transportation on climate change.  As a consequence, we teach courses that put students at the forefront of 21^st century issues.

In their second year Field Problems course, all our students obtain real world experience by developing a sustainability-related plan for a Midwestern community through the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (see https://iisc.uiowa.edu/). IISC’s purpose is to enhance the capacity of communities in Iowa to make serious contributions to global sustainability.  IISC provides significant and ongoing outreach and engagement with Iowa’s communities, while transforming teaching and learning at the University of Iowa by engaging students in a student-faculty-community collaboration that is focused on some of the most important environmental, economic, and social justice problems faced by communities in Iowa and the Midwest.

We have an outstanding set of students who are fully engaged in their study of planning as well as being involved in the community.   The Planning Program’s large “drafting room” and Information Technology Center computing lab enable students to work closely on the many projects they carry out in the course of their studies.   Students at Iowa have significant staff and faculty assistance in obtaining good internship and employment opportunities in many states throughout the nation.  Our low student-faculty ratio ensures that students will work closely with faculty during their time at Iowa.

Our faculty are recognized for both their scholarship and teaching, while also being engaged in the community.  Faculty members also have important global connections to Asia and Europe, as well as the United States, thereby making Iowa a welcoming place for people with backgrounds from around the world. 

Iowa City is an exciting, urban community that features a lively and walkable downtown, attractive historic neighborhoods, outstanding public transportation, and a classic college-town atmosphere.   Iowa City is frequently listed as one of the top ten places to live in America and one of the best college towns. 

Located in Eastern Iowa, we are within a half day’s drive of Chicago, the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Kansas City making these cities easy destinations for our field trips.