Urban, Rural, and Community Planning

Program Overview

Urban, Rural, and Community Planning is an interdisciplinary minor that brings together diverse place-making and community-building approaches with relevant practical experiences and technical skills. Students interested in issues of transportation systems, housing, land use, public spaces, community wellbeing, natural and cultural landscapes, and environmental sustainability will find the minor allows them to explore across disciplines. The URCP minor serves as an excellent complement to students majoring in social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, policy fields, community development, environmental studies, and ecology.

Curriculum

The curriculum of URCP is robust yet flexible. After taking a common core course, Introduction to URCP, students may curate their courses from within approved options in the areas of Methods, Experiential Courses, and Advanced Content/Context Courses.  

Urban, Rural, and Community Planning Minor Requirements

Outcomes

How Does a Minor in Urban, Rural, and Community Planning Prepare Graduates for the World? 

Entry-level jobs in the fields of Urban, Rural, and Community Planning are accessible to graduates with a Bachelor’s level education, making the minor a valuable course of study. Advanced (Master’s-level) training can later amplify one’s qualifications and is sometimes undertaken while one is employed as a Planner. The field of Planning is growing due to expanding complexities of climate change, resilience, adaptation and disaster recovery, social justice concerns, sustainability, environmental conservation, transportation, energy crises, and the need for affordable housing. In addition to local, regional, and state-level Planning agencies, there are extensive non-profit and private sector opportunities for graduates as the role of consulting firms and public-private partnerships has expanded. In both public and private sectors, the technical and research skills expected of planners have grown to include digital approaches such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping, remote sensing, and quantitative data analysis, as well as rigorous qualitative approaches required for community-based research and public engagement practices as well as the qualitative analysis of public feedback.