Urban and Regional Planning

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning is uniquely poised to educate future and current planning professionals and to generate innovative research to further the discipline. The university is located in downtown San José, the largest city in Northern California and the capital of Silicon Valley, one of the most rapidly changing and socially complex metropolitan areas of the nation. The department takes advantage of its urban location by collaborating with local planning agencies and through hands-on work with community-based organizations. Faculty and students engage in public service projects designed to assist local communities in addressing topical planning issues, while also providing students with real-world professional experience. Through these projects and other course work, students become familiar with cutting-edge planning concepts and applications that are evolving locally in the Silicon Valley and the larger Bay Area. In addition, departments across SJSU offer courses in a wide range of fields that complement the offerings within the Urban and Regional Planning Department, such as design, engineering, environmental studies, ethnic studies, geography, public administration, social work, and sociology. The department offers an undergraduate minor in Urban Studies, six graduate certificate programs, and a Master of Urban Planning (MUP) degree.