About the Program

The mission of the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley is to improve equity, the economy and the environment in neighborhoods, communities, cities, and metropolitan regions by creating knowledge and engagement through our teaching, research and service. We aim to design and create cities, infrastructure, and public services that are sustainable, affordable, enjoyable, and accessible to all.

Wisely and successfully intervening in the public realm, whether locally, nationally, or globally, is a challenge. Our urban future is complex and rapidly changing. Resource scarcity and conflict, technological innovation, retrofitting of existing built environments, and social empowerment will alter the ways in which planning has conventionally been carried out. We believe the planning academy has a special responsibility to always address social justice, equity, and ethics; to teach and research means of public participation, collective decision making, and advocacy; and to focus on reforming institutions, urban governance, policy and planning practices to make these goals possible.

Master of City Planning (MCP)

The two-year Master of City Planning (MCP) program comprises a solid core of knowledge in the field of city and regional planning—including history and theory, planning methods, urban economics, and urban institutions analysis—and an opportunity to specialize in one of four concentration areas: Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities; Housing, Community and Economic Development; Transportation Policy and Planning; and Urban Design.

Advising

Students plan their individual programs with the help of their assigned faculty advisors. Faculty advisors will also guide students as they plan, develop and write their Professional Report, Client Report or Thesis. First-year students should set an initial meeting with their assigned advisors during the first or second week of classes. Students declare a concentration at the end of the first semester by completing a study plan, signed by the advisor, and filing it with the Graduate Student Affairs Officer (GSAO). Students may change advisors to one in their declared concentration.

PhD in City Planning

The PhD in City Planning at the University of California, Berkeley provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 170 doctorates. Alumni of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policy makers and practitioners. Today the program is served by nearly 20 City and Regional Planning faculty with expertise in community and economic development, transportation planning, urban design, international development, environmental planning, and global urbanism. With close ties to numerous research centers and initiatives, the program encourages its students to develop specializations within the field of urban studies and planning and to expand their intellectual horizons through training in the related fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Civil Engineering, Anthropology, Geography, Sociology, Public Policy, Public Health, and Political Science.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Uniform minimum requirements for admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A minimum grade-point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g. Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, 90 on the iBT test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants who already hold a graduate degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees as evidence of broad research training, not as vocational training certificates; therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to take up new subject matter on a serious level without undertaking a graduate program, unless the fields are completely dissimilar.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may only apply to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required documents for admissions applications

1. Transcripts:  Upload unofficial transcripts with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs.
   If you have attended Berkeley, upload unofficial transcript with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required if admitted.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants can request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and most European countries. However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a U.S. university may submit an official transcript from the U.S. university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the PhD in City Planning program is highly competitive. Applicants are required to have completed a Masters degree in planning or a related field. They are expected to demonstrate capacity for advanced research and to present a compelling research topic as part of their application. Once admitted to the program, students are eligible to compete for various university fellowships, including the Berkeley fellowship, Cota-Robles fellowship, and the Foreign Language & Area Studies fellowship. Students of the program have also been successful in securing funding for dissertation research from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and the Fulbright scholarships.

The Masters in City Planning admissions committee is concerned with an applicant's intellectual ability, maturity, self-discipline, preparation, self-understanding, desire and sensitivity. We look at what you have undertaken as an undergraduate, both inside and outside the classroom, and whether you have done it well. We would more readily admit an excellent poet, an accomplished student of physics or of the classics, or a talented and knowing campus activist than someone with a record of four years of wandering and indecision.

Admissions are drawn from many different kinds of majors. The tendency in admissions has been in the direction of individuals with social science majors — economics, political science, sociology — but each year half the class is drawn from majors in architecture, geography, engineering, the natural sciences, math, English, journalism, and so on. We prefer students to possess broad perspectives on society and culture as well as have sufficient grounding or interest in particular areas of study related to planning.

For statistics on last year's M.C.P. admission cycle — number of applications received, number of applicants admitted, average GPA, age range, gender breakdown, etc. — see Admission Statistics .

Admissions Criteria

Minimum requirements for admission include:

• A 3.0 GPA for the last two years of undergraduate study.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• The Graduate Record Examination (General Test)
• Applicants coming from universities where English is not the teaching language must take a test of English proficiency (TOEFL, TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL, or IELTS).

The median grade point average of admitted applicant is around 3.60, but we accept some people with lower grades where they have done something outstanding. GRE scores tend to be used to the student's advantage in that high GRE's might overcome a low grade-point average. All applicants (even those needing to take a test of English-language proficiency such as the TOEFL, the TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL or the IELTS examination) must take the Graduate Record Exam no later than December. People who have worked several years in planning-related activities, providing they show that they can meet the intellectual standards of graduate study in Berkeley, are encouraged to apply. Work experience does not mean only full-time employment in offices engaged in planning. Rich internship experience during summers, intensive activity in community affairs, employment in positions and organizations trying to address urban problems—all of these can be comparable to employment in planning offices in terms of providing learning experience we desire.

Other factors given serious consideration during admission include letters of recommendation, your personal history statement and statement of purpose, and background. Be sure to submit recommendations from individuals who know you well and can speak for the quality of your work. One or two recommendations should be submitted from people who are in position to appraise your depth of character and commitment, work effectiveness, ability to work with people and leadership potential on the job or in community activities. At least one should come from someone who can evaluate your performance in academic settings. You should encourage them to be as specific as possible about the work you have done.

The two statements, as a unit, should clearly present why you are interested in a planning career, your goals and the reasons for them, and what you hope to achieve in a Berkeley professional program. Your statements are very important to us, but they need not be long.

Prerequisites

Work in this field requires at a minimum the ability to write well and the ability to master analytic skills in quantitative methods. It also requires some familiarity with political institutions and governmental organizations. DCRP expects entering students to demonstrate basic skills/conceptual understanding in the following areas:

• Writing Ability: All entering students must demonstrate their ability to write clearly and organize their thoughts in a coherent manner. Evidence of this skill would be provided in an applicant's Statements of Purpose, or a submission of written work.
• Introductory Statistics: In planning, one must be able to identify the characteristics of and interrelationships between aggregates of one kind or another: people, places, structures, buildings, organizations, etc. Some knowledge of descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing is therefore essential for introductory planning studies, especially for those student who seek to master the more advanced statistical methods in planning analysis. Students with no mathematics background may find it helpful to also take some college-level math in addition to the statistics, to enhance your comfort with the field if for no other reason.
• Economics: Students should have taken introductory microeconomics at a minimum. Most planning issues involve resource allocation problems of one kind or another, and microeconomic analysis can be an immensely helpful tool in such instances.

These prerequisities are not requirements for admission. Any student who shows potential and meets general university requirements as well as current DCRP criteria, may be admitted. However, when students are notified of admission, those who do not meet these prerequisites will be reminded that they may need some study/review in these areas before entering the program in the fall.

Course prerequisites notwithstanding, if you are considering a professional career in urban planning and if there is a specific problem area that interests you (e.g., land use, transportation, housing), we suggest taking a course in that area to increase your understanding of the problem and your awareness of whether such a specialization in your graduate planning program is really what you want. You may also wish to arrange internships with public agencies or private companies whereby you can observe what career in urban planning and problem solving might entail.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

The PhD program in City and Regional Planning has the following goals:

• To provide critical understanding of the history of thought in city and regional planning and urban studies, and to train students to contribute to theoretical advances in these fields;
• To enable students to develop their individual specializations within city and regional planning;
• To prepare students to undertake original research through the formulation of research questions, use of research methods, and application of research design;
• To encourage students to disseminate their research such that it has an impact in the worlds of social science scholarship, planning education, and national and international policy;
• To create and nurture an intellectual community committed to promoting research in city and regional planning.

With these goals in mind, all students must complete the following requirements:

• Completion of courses in Planning and Urban Theory
• Completion of courses in Research Methods
• Preparation and completion of Inside and Outside Field courses, statements, and examinations
• Completion of the oral qualifying examination
• Completion of written dissertation, which reflects original research, approved by the dissertation committee

Students must also meet the university’s minimum residency requirement of two years and complete 48 units of coursework. Note that DCRP requires doctoral students to complete several of these requirements through letter-graded courses. In keeping with Graduate Division guidelines, doctoral students must maintain an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 on the basis of all upper division and graduate courses taken in graduate standing.

Planning and Urban Theory

Planning and Urban theory is a hallmark of the PhD program. All students are required to demonstrate competence in this body of scholarship by completing at least two theory courses. It is recommended that students complete this requirement during their first year of study. Students are also urged to take more than one theory course during their time in the program.

Students who have taken any of these courses during their MCP studies at the University of California, Berkeley, may choose another course from the list, or petition the PhD Program Committee for a waiver of this requirement.

Research Methods

All students in the PhD program are expected to demonstrate competence in research design, data‐gathering methods, and data analysis and interpretation. To complete the methods requirement, doctoral students must fulfill the first three of the following components of the methods requirement prior to taking their oral qualifying examination and the fourth requirement after advancing to candidacy. Note that advancement to candidacy is contingent upon approval of the student’s methods program by the primary advisor. It is recommended that students start taking their methods courses during their first year of study.

Prior to advancement to candidacy

1. Take CY PLAN 280A Doctoral Seminars: Research Design for the Ph.D: Research Design for the PhD, which addresses a variety of research methodologies and assists students in preparing a research prospectus. This course may be taken more than once. It must be taken at least once for a letter grade.
2. Take TWO advanced methods courses to be decided in consultation with the student’s primary advisor. These courses prepare students for doctoral research. They must be taken for letter grades.
3. Take CY PLAN 280C Doctoral Seminars: Doctoral Colloquium: PhD Research Colloquium for at least two semesters. Doctoral students are encouraged to regularly attend the colloquium when they are in residence.

After advancement to candidacy

Take CY PLAN 280B Course Not Available, Doctoral Writing Seminar, at least once. This intensive writing course should be taken during the process of writing the dissertation. It may also be taken for the purpose of writing articles for publication. This course may be taken more than once. It must be taken at least once for a letter grade.

Field Requirements

In addition to general training in planning and urban theory and in research methods, the PhD program in DCRP encourages students to gain depth of knowledge in at least two fields of their choosing. Completed under the supervision of a faculty committee usually chaired by the student’s primary advisor, the Inside Field statement and examination is a self-defined specialization of study within city and regional planning. Completed under the supervision of an outside field advisor (a faculty member outside the department), the Outside Field is a set of courses and assignments that build expertise in an area of study related to city and regional planning.

Inside Field

The Inside Field is a self-defined specialization of study within city and regional planning. Such a specialization can be a sub-field of city and regional planning (e.g. community development, regional planning, housing, international development, urban design, transportation planning, land use, environmental planning) or it can be a unique field defined by the student in consultation with faculty advisors. Note that the intent of the Inside Field is not to make a theoretical contribution to the field but instead to demonstrate mastery of existing paradigms and debates within a field of inquiry.

Mastery is defined as

1. demonstrating knowledge of key, foundational texts within the inside field subject of study;
2. understanding how the history of thought within that area has developed (including epistemologies and methodologies, critiques and points of contention), and
3. engaging analytically with the current state of research and recent work in the field.

To undertake the Inside Field requirement, each student must constitute an Inside Field committee of three Academic Senate faculty from the department. This committee is usually chaired by the student’s primary advisor.

Inside Field Statement

Working closely with their Inside Field committee, the student must prepare an Inside Field statement, which explains the scope of the field and provides a bibliography encompassing the key conceptual frameworks that make up this field. Typically an Inside Field statement is 10-20 double-spaced pages in length with a bibliography of at least 50-60 academic books and peer-reviewed journal articles. Note that the length and scope of the Inside Field will vary depending on the expectations of the Inside Field committee and the nature of the Inside Field topic. What is important for doctoral students to keep in mind is that the Inside Field statement is not the Inside Field examination but rather an analytical exercise meant to set the stage for the examination. With this in mind, the Inside Field statement should generate the analytic categories and concepts that will then be used by the Inside Field committee to structure the Inside Field examination.

Inside Field Examination

Once the statement has been approved by the Inside Field committee, the student may proceed to the Inside Field examination, a three day take-home written examination. Students with accommodations approved by the Disabled Students’ Program (DSP) may be granted an additional day for the examination.

In DCRP, the Inside Field examination consists of three sections related to the categories and concepts outlined in the Inside Field statement. Each section contains 2-3 questions and students answer one question in each section, with a limit of 10 double-spaced pages per answer. All sections of the examination are graded by all members of the Inside Field committee.

The examination is administered by DCRP’s Student Affairs Officer. Students are responsible for arranging the examination date and coordinating the logistics of the examination with the Student Affairs Officer. Students with disabilities should consult with the Student Affairs Officer for campus-approved accommodations. A copy of the Inside Field statement must be filed with the Student Affairs Officer; this will also be archived in the Environmental Design Library.

Students must successfully complete the Inside Field requirement before proceeding to the Oral Qualifying examination. DCRP requires a 6 week minimum gap between the Inside Field examination and the Oral Qualifying Examination, to allow for adequate time for faculty feedback and revision. Grading of the examination is coordinated by the chair of the Inside Field committee. Possible grades include: Distinction, Pass, and Fail. If one of the three essays receives a failing grade, the student will be asked to rewrite this essay within a time period determined by the committee. If two or more essays receive a failing grade, the committee will ask the student to retake the entire examination. Students who fail the examination twice will be asked to withdraw from the PhD program.

Outside Field

The Outside Field is a set of courses and assignments meant to build expertise in an area of study related to city and regional planning. Such a specialization can be a discipline relevant to planning (e.g. Geography, Anthropology, Public Health, Economics, Sociology) or it can be a unique field defined by the student in consultation with the Outside Field advisor. Note that the intent of the Outside Field is not to make a theoretical contribution to the field but instead to demonstrate mastery of existing paradigms and debates. Students must successfully complete the Outside Field requirement before proceeding to the oral qualifying examination.

To undertake the Outside Field requirement, a student must select an Outside Field advisor, a member of the Academic Senate faculty in a department other than City and Regional Planning. The Outside Field advisor usually serves as the outside member of the oral qualifying examination committee and as the outside member of the dissertation committee. The content of the Outside field is determined by the Outside Field advisor but must include at least two letter-graded courses supplemented by an additional reading list and writing assignments. These specific requirements must be listed by the Outside Field advisor on a form, which is filed with DCRP’s Students Affairs Office and which serves as a declaration of the Outside Field. On successful completion of the Outside Field, the advisor signs a second form, which is also filed with the Student Affairs Office.

Oral Qualifying Examination

The oral qualifying examination marks advancement to candidacy. The examination is governed by policies set by the Graduate Division. In addition, DCRP has requirements for the examination.

Eligibility to take the Oral Qualifying Examination

 To be eligible to take the exam, a student must:

1. be registered and enrolled for the semester in which the exam is taken or, if it is taken during the winter or summer sessions, be registered in either the preceding or the following semester;
2. have completed at least one semester of academic residence;
3. have at least a B average in all work undertaken in graduate standing;
4. have no more than two courses graded Incomplete;
5. have satisfactorily completed departmental preliminary exam requirements (Planning and Urban Theory; Research Methods; Inside and Outside Fields; preparation of dissertation prospectus).

Applying to take the Qualifying Examination

Graduate Division approval is required to take the oral qualifying examination. In order to allow Graduate Division sufficient time to review and approve the application, students must apply to take the Qualifying Examination and file the necessary paperwork with DCRP’s Student Affairs Office no later than one month before the examination date. The application is available from the Graduate Division website .

Note that students must list on their applications at least three subject areas to be covered during the examination. These three areas are: Planning and Urban Theory; Inside Field topic, Outside Field topic.

Also note that in keeping with Graduate Division guidelines, DCRP’s Head Graduate Advisor (chair of the PhD program committee) must also be certain that students who are non-native speakers possess the English skills necessary for participating in an oral exam since the Qualifying Examination must be conducted in English.

The Oral Qualifying Examination Committee

The Oral Qualifying Exam committee in DCRP is composed of four Academic Senate faculty members (see section F4.9 of the Guide to Graduate Policy ). The chair of the Qualifying Examination Committee must be an Academic Senate faculty from City and Regional Planning; the OQE chair cannot also serve as chair of the student’s dissertation committee. The committee must include at least one outside member, i.e. an Academic Senate faculty from a department other than City and Regional Planning. Typically three of the four OQE members will serve on the student’s dissertation committee.

Scheduling the Examination

Scheduling the Oral Qualifying Examination is the responsibility of the student. Students are urged to begin the process of finding an examination date several months ahead of their preferred window of time. The OQE must be scheduled for three hours and all members of the Oral Qualifying Examination committee must be present for the entire duration of the examination.

If the student’s health or personal situation makes it impossible to take the examination as scheduled, or if accommodation for a disability is necessary, the student is required to make this known before the examination so the chair can arrange for a postponement or appropriate accommodation.

The Examination

In DCRP, an oral qualifying examination consists of the main examination followed by a discussion of the dissertation prospectus. The examination starts with a brief biographical introduction (5 minutes) provided by the student. During the main part of the examination, the student is responsible for the three areas listed on the application for the examination. In DCRP, these are: Planning and Urban Theory; Inside Field Topic; Outside Field topic. Committee members ask questions in sequence, usually with 20 minutes allocated per faculty, in an order determined by the student. If the student passes the examination, the committee reconvenes for the remainder of time to discuss the dissertation prospectus. During this section, students present their dissertation research topic and design but their performance here does not determine whether they pass or fail the oral qualifying examination. Note that by Graduate Division guidelines, evaluation of the dissertation prospectus cannot be the primary content of the oral qualifying examination.

The Dissertation Prospectus and other Examination Material

As prerequisites to the oral qualifying examination, DCRP requires the following completed documents to be disseminated to all members of the oral qualifying examination committee at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination.  Four hard copies of this material, organized in spiral bound format, must be submitted to DCRP’s Student Affairs Office, by this deadline. An electronic copy must also be submitted to the Student Affairs Office. Both hard copies and electronic copies will be sent out by the Student Affairs Office to the members of the oral qualifying examination committee.

• Inside Field Statement and Bibliography
• Inside Field Examination
• Outside Field List of Requirements + Reading List
• Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus is a statement of research design. Written under the supervision of the primary advisor, the prospectus typically lists the key research questions that guide this research project; explains the significance of these questions in relation to existing empirical and theoretical literature; presents a detailed research methodology and plan for gathering evidence; outlines strategies of data analysis and interpretation; and makes a case for the general application of anticipated research findings. A full-length dissertation prospectus is usually 20-25 double-spaced pages in length and includes a detailed bibliography.

Oral Qualifying Examination Outcomes

The Graduate Division policy regarding grading, reporting and re-administering Oral Qualifying Exams is as follows:

Pass. The Qualifying Examination committee unanimously votes that the student passed the examination with scholarship that is at least acceptable.

Failure. A total failure occurs if the Qualifying Examination committee votes unanimously that the student failed the entire examination. The committee either: 

1. recommends that the student take a second and final examination on all examination topics; or
2. does not recommend reexamination, the consequence of which will be the student’s dismissal from the program.

If a second and final examination is recommended, the following procedures apply:

1. the committee must submit its “Report to the Graduate Division on the Qualifying Examination” with its recommendation;
2. committee membership for the student’s retake must be the same as for the first exam;
3. the student may not retake the exam until 3 months after the first exam unless an exception is approved by the Graduate Division; and
4. a third examination is not permitted. If the committee wishes to suggest preparation for the second examination through additional course work or special tutoring, this must be communicated to the student in writing with a copy to the Graduate Division.

If the committee does not recommend a reexamination, a written explanation by the committee chair must accompany the completed “Report to the Graduate Division on the Qualifying Examination” and sent to the Graduate Division. If the Graduate Division concurs with the chair’s explanation, the student is sent a letter of dismissal from the program by the Graduate Dean, with a copy to the department.

A partial failure. A partial failure occurs if the Qualifying Examination committee votes unanimously that the student passed some topics but failed others. In this instance, the following apply:

1. a second and final examination is required;
2. the chair of the committee must write a letter to the student, with a copy to the Graduate Division, conveying information about his or her performance (pass, partial fail, or fail) on each of the three subject areas covered during the examination;
3. the committee may choose to examine the student on all topics or only on those failed during the first exam, but must communicate its decision in the letter regarding the student’s performance; and
4. the retake must be scheduled no earlier than three months after the first examination unless an exception is approved by Graduate Division. A third attempt to pass the Qualifying Examination is not permitted.

A split vote. If the Qualifying Examination Committee cannot reach a unanimous decision concerning a pass, total failure, or partial failure, the chair should

1. determine the areas of disagreement; and
2. request that each committee member write, as required, a detailed assessment of the student’s performance for submission to the Administrative Committee of the Graduate Council.

The chair’s letter should outline the progress of the examination itself, the efforts made by the committee to reach a unanimous agreement, the remaining areas of disagreement, and the chair’s own assessment of the student’s performance. Such letters may be released to the student under provisions of the 1972 Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), current Department of Health and Human Services regulations, and California public records legislation.

If the exam results in a split vote, the committee will only inform the student that the matter was sent to the Administrative Committee for a final decision. The student has neither passed nor failed the exam until the Administrative Committee decides the results.

Student Appeals

Student appeals of an oral qualifying examination outcome must be directed, in writing, to the PhD Program Committee. The committee will convene to discuss the appeal and may refer the matter to Graduate Division. If a student is not satisfied with the result of the appeals decision made by the department, the student is permitted to bring the complaint to the Graduate Division under the Formal Appeal Procedure .

The Dissertation

The final requirement of the PhD program is completion of a written dissertation, which presents original research, and which has been approved by the dissertation committee. On completion of the oral qualifying examination, a student advances to candidacy (see the following section) and is allowed to establish a dissertation committee. The committee is composed of three Academic Senate faculty, two from the department and an outside member from another department. Of the two inside members, one serves as chair of the dissertation. Note that in keeping with Graduate Division guidelines, the dissertation chair cannot be the faculty member who served as chair of the student’s oral qualifying examination committee. In some cases, a dissertation is chaired by more than one faculty.  At least one of the co-chairs is a member of the department. The dissertation committee must be approved by the Graduate Division.

During the fieldwork and data analysis phase of the dissertation, students are urged to stay in close touch with their dissertation committees. The department expects students to be in residence during the dissertation writing phase of their study, a practice that has proven successful in ensuring that students finish their dissertations in a timely manner.

Note that all students are expected to complete a final research methods requirement, the Doctoral Writing Seminar, during the post-candidacy phase of their doctoral training.

In Absentia Status

In absentia registration is available to graduate students undertaking coursework or research related to their dissertation outside of California. Students registered in absentia are only assessed full health insurance fees, and 15 percent of the combined University Educational and Registration Fees. Students in absentia must be enrolled in 12 units (usually 299 Independent Study Units with their dissertation advisor). The student’s dissertation advisors signature is required on the form.

Students may hold University fellowships and GSR appointments, but may not hold GSI, Reader, or Tutor appointments during the in absentia period.

International Students planning on registering in absentia. Those students in F and J status who plan to be outside California must register in absentia and also inform the Berkeley International Office (2299 Piedmont Avenue, 642-2818) of their plans.

Filing Fee

The Filing Fee is a reduced fee, one-half of the Student Services Fee, for doctoral students who have completed all requirements for the degree except for filing the dissertation. Filing Fee may only be used once during a student’s career and the student must have the approval of their dissertation advisor.

To use Filing Fee the student must be registered the semester (or summer session) prior to the semester they plan to use filing fee. If a student does not complete the dissertation during the semester for which the Filing Fee is approved, the student must pay regular registration fees during the semester in which the requirements are completed, unless they file during summer session while registered for a minimum of three units. Additional information is located on the graduate division website.

Filing Fee status and international students. Filing fee status can satisfy the SEVIS requirement for international students only if the student has obtained the signature of the BIO student adviser (contact the Berkeley International Office, located in International House, 2299 Piedmont Avenue; 642-2818).

Health insurance for students on Filing Fee: U.S. resident students may purchase Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) coverage for the semester they are on approved filing fee status if they have not already purchased SHIP during a period of withdrawal beyond one semester. UHS allows purchase of SHIP if a student is in a non-registered status for two semesters only, which pertains to both filing fee and withdrawal. For eligibility information and enrollment details, refer to the UHS website

Residency and Unit Requirements

The university requires a minimum of two years of residence and 48 units of coursework (or equivalent) for the PhD degree. Full-time students are expected to take a minimum equivalent of four courses or twelve units per semester. Credit for pre-candidacy examination preparation (CY PLAN 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students) is limited by the University to 16 units total, and 8 units per semester. Units in CY PLAN 299 Individual Study or Research, independent study, may also be taken by arrangement with a faculty instructor.

Professional Development

The PhD program encourages its students to build intellectual community and to participate in national and international venues of scholarship. Doctoral candidates regularly present their research at the annual conferences of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Association of American Geographers, Association of European Schools of Planning, World Planning Schools Congress, Urban Affairs Association, and American Anthropological Association. They organize and participate in a weekly research colloquium and manage the Berkeley Planning Journal, a peer-reviewed academic publication. Such activities utilize the vast intellectual resources available to doctoral students at the University of California, Berkeley, both within their departments and across the campus.

PhD students are encouraged to seek appointments as Graduate Student Instructors (GSI) or Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) during their residency. The GSI Teaching & Resource Center offers classes in pedagogy, and all students are expected to finish a departmental pedagogy course.

Master's Degree Requirements

Unit requirements

Degree Requirements for the MCP degree:

• 48 units of coursework within two consecutive years of residence, or 36 units in concurrent degree programs (normative time to degree).

The core curriculum:

• A concentration curriculum; and
• A Client Report, Professional Report, or Master’s Thesis.

Core Curriculum

For days/times offered, check the Online Schedule of Classes .

Concentrations

Concentrations provide an opportunity for students to develop deeper knowledge and skills in a particular sub-area of planning. (Note: The same course may NOT be used to satisfy core and concentration requirements.)

Concentration in Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities

Faculty Advisors: Charisma Acey, Jason Corburn, Malo Hutson, John Radke, Jennifer Wolch (on leave as Dean of CED)

The concentration in environmental planning and healthy cities is designed to give MCP students the broad knowledge necessary to analyze pressing urban environmental and health challenges, such as climate change, natural resource depletion, access to basic services and infrastructure, as well as ecologic and human health risks. The concentration emphasizes the theory and practice behind the related ideas of urban sustainability, environmental risk and justice, political ecology and human health. Students will study urban and regional environmental and human health issues in a comparative perspective, with a focus on both US and international settings. The concentration introduces students to the relationships between natural, built and social environments in cities, as well as the local, regional and global impacts of urban ecosystems and the political institutions that aim to manage these environments. The emphasis on healthy cities engages in the practices of urban public health, recognizing that planners are increasingly required to analyze and act upon how the urban environment influences human well-being.

Joint degree programs are encouraged and students can receive two degrees in three years with the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (MCP & MLA) and the School of Public Health (MCP and Masters in Public Health, MPH).

Concentration in Housing, Community and Economic Development (HCED)

Faculty Advisors: Nezar AlSayyad, Teresa Caldeira, Karen Chapple, Michael Dear, Malo Hutson, Carolina Reid, Ananya Roy, Michael Smith-Heimer

Housing is probably planning’s oldest sub-field. In one form or another, planners have been involved in framing housing policies, creating housing plans, and developing publicly-funded housing projects for more than one hundred years. Around the world, housing planners work at all levels: at the national level drafting and administering housing policies; at the local level developing and implementing housing programs and plans; as community, non-profit, and for-profit developers of affordable housing; and as advocates for new types of housing and different housing ownership forms.

Community development, as currently practiced in the U.S., grew out of frustrations with urban renewal and anti-poverty efforts of the 1950s and 1960s. Internationally, the community development field has emerged as a way of mobilizing communities to play a larger role in affecting their futures. Today, community developers work in the public sector, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector. They help to develop the skills, capacities, and assets of all segments of society. Of particular concern are disadvantaged communities and the unequal access to opportunities that people of such communities are faced with in their daily lives.

In the past twenty years, the field of economic development has blossomed at the local and community level for several reasons. First, local governments have increasingly experienced fiscal stress, leading to new entrepreneurial approaches to attracting and retaining business and a skilled workforce. Second, the devolution of many programs from the federal to the state/local level, along with (in the U.S. and Europe) decreased funding for the safety net, has led cities to focus increasingly on social equity in their economic development programs. Finally, the field of community economic development has come of age, offering an increasing number of best practices in developing assets and improving employability for disadvantaged community residents. Economic development specialists work not only in local government, but also at business and economics consulting firms and community-based organizations.

In a context of increasing income inequality, practitioners have forged new connections across the housing, community development and economic development areas. We encourage students to take classes in all three concentration subfields.

Students in the HCED concentration must take at least one course from each of the following groupings:

Concentration in Transportation and Landuse

Faculty Advisors: Robert Cervero, Dan Chatman, Karen Chapple, Jason Corburn, Elizabeth Deakin, Fred Etzel, Karen Frick, Elizabeth Macdonald, Paul Waddell

The Transportation and Land Use Concentration focuses on planning for urban transportation and land use systems, and interactions of transportation and land use with the built, natural, and social environments. In presenting the social, economic, and environmental implications of transportation and land use plans and policies, the courses in the concentration are focused around themes of equity, environmental justice, and social welfare. We emphasize the planning and policy challenges encountered by attempting to increase the use of environmentally sustainable travel modes such as walking, cycling and public transit, and the creation of environmentally sustainable land use patterns such as compact growth and transit-oriented development. Topics covered in the core courses include the impacts of transit and highways on urban form and economic development; the impacts of urban form, transit-oriented development and new urbanism on travel behavior; governance, finance, and implementation challenges in making sustainable transport investments; the importance of highway and transit finance, municipal finance, and development finance; the promises and pitfalls of innovative sustainability solutions such as congestion pricing, parking pricing, and master development plans; streets and pedestrian-oriented designs; transportation and land use planning in the developing world; and comparative international transportation and land use policies.

As concerns heighten over regional mobility, air quality, global climate change, energy, and equality of access, it is increasingly important that transportation and land use planners apply a multi-disciplinary approach to the field. Accordingly, students in the concentration are encouraged to augment the department’s transportation course offerings by designing a study program, in consultation with their advisor, that involves course work in other fields and departments.

Students in the Transportation and Land Use Planning Concentration have the option to pursue the concurrent degree program in transportation planning and engineering. This option confers both MCP and MS degrees upon students who complete 60 units of course work (normally over five semesters) that satisfy both city planning and transportation engineering degree requirements. For further information about the concurrent degree requirements, contact Professor Dan Chatman at: dgc@berkeley.edu .

Concentration in Urban Design

Faculty Advisors: Nezar AlSayyad, Peter Bosselmann, Elizabeth Macdonald

The urban design concentration is structured to give MCP students the knowledge necessary to design urban built form in relation to social, environmental and economic concerns. “Design” is a key, operative word: urban designers design urban physical environments both directly through the design of actual projects and indirectly through plans. Work ranges in scale from small public spaces and streets to neighborhoods, citywide systems, and whole regions. The emphasis is typically on the public realm of cities, with central concerns being livability, identity, place-making, and the quality of everyday life. The concentration is equally concerned with conceptions of the “urban” and it draws on approaches from the disciplines of city planning, architecture, landscape architecture, as well as theories and methods from the social sciences with the intent of analyzing the urban condition and designing the urban realm. The studio experience is central to the urban design concentration. Working in teams and individually, students explore planning and design possibilities for urban places and learn to articulate and present their ideas in graphic form. Learning from local and global contexts, and how cities have been designed in the past, students envision possibilities for the future. Graduates in urban design work for public agencies, largely at the local government level but also for government institutions at larger scales whose responsibilities include design issues. They work as well with private architectural, landscape, city planning, and community development firms whose clients are both public and private.

Students concentrating in urban design frequently have some design background, typically in architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, or urban planning with a design emphasis, but a design background is not required.

A three or four year joint degree program in urban design is available with the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, where students receive both MCP and MLA degrees. A joint degree is also available with the Department of Architecture, where students receive both MCP and MARCH degrees.

Self-Defined Concentration

Faculty Advisors: DCRP Student’s Faculty Advisor

Students are strongly encouraged to complete one of the defined MCP concentrations. Self-defined concentrations that are not substantively focused on city and regional planning topics and fields of study will not be approved. To develop a defined concentration, select one of the existing concentrations and select courses to develop a concentration with cross-cutting expertise.

Requirements

Students who develop a self-defined concentration must satisfy the MCP common core curriculum. The self-defined concentration is to be composed of three courses, including a studio, which ordinarily should be drawn from DCRP course offerings, including one-time offerings or occasionally offered DCRP courses. However, one course may be drawn from another department if its inclusion in the concentration is justified. If a non-DCRP course is proposed as part of the concentration, a syllabus of the course must be provided, along with an explanation of why the concentration cannot be fulfilled by DCRP courses (i.e. what is the compelling need that DCRP courses cannot fulfill and/or why the non-DCRP course cannot be taken as an elective).

Procedures

Submit a proposal (not to exceed two pages) for the self-defined concentration, including a justification and an explanation on how the concentration has been conceptualized and its content. Fill out a Self-Defined Concentration Declaration form. If a non-DCRP course is proposed, the syllabus must be attached.

The student’s advisor must review the proposal and indicate approval by signing the form before the proposal is submitted to the MCP Program Committee via the GSAO.

All submissions must be submitted to the GSAO two weeks before the deadline to declare a concentration, at the end of the first semester of study. The MCP Program Committee will review the proposal and inform the student of its decision.

Elective Courses

The MCP common core and concentration requirements leave a number of units for students to select courses of interest to make up the required 48 units for the MCP degree (36 units for concurrent degree students). Please review course offerings in the General Catalog and schedule of courses at the Online Schedule of Classes .

The Comprehensive Exam: Final Degree Requirement

MCP students complete a Professional Report, Client Report or a Thesis by end of their studies. A maximum of three credits of CY PLAN 299 may be taken during the semester of writing of a PR or CR, and four credits for writing a Thesis. Regardless of the option selected, students are required to enroll in the PR/ CR/ Thesis Workshop Course during the second or third semester of the MCP degree program.

Comprehensive Exam (Plan II): Client Report (CR)

The Client Report (CR) is undertaken for an outside client or agency and aims to satisfy the needs of the focus institution. It provides an opportunity for students to study a real-world planning issue in diagnosing a problem situation, selecting appropriate analytic methods, evaluating alternative approaches, and recommending an approach or solution. The CR is carried out in a manner demonstrating high professional judgment and competence, and at a length of 40 to 50 pages, it reflects the scope and depth of a comprehensive research project worthy of postgraduate distinction.

The CR is written under the supervision of a three-person committee nominated by the student. This committee typically includes two members of the DCRP faculty and a third member from outside the University—usually the client to which the report is directed. Only ladder-rank faculty (Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor) or Adjunct Professors can serve on CR committees. Final CRs are submitted to the GSAO and will be cataloged in the College of Environmental Design Library.

Comprehensive Exam (Plan II): The Professional Research Report (PR)

The Professional Research Report (PR) is also undertaken for an outside client. Each summer, the department solicits a list of researchable questions from a wide variety of planning, policy and research agencies, firms, and non-profit organizations. Alternately, interested students may solicit outside clients themselves.

PR clients, unlike CR clients, will not provide day-to-day input or management, nor specify the report format. The specific research methodology and report format is developed with the assistance of a two-person DCRP faculty committee nominated by the student, consisting of a primary and secondary advisor. Only ladder-rank faculty (Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor) or Adjunct Professors can serve on PR committees. Completion of the Professional Report requires the signatures of the primary and secondary advisors.

In comparison to the CR, the Professional Report generally focuses more on study design and interpreting findings versus real-world implementation and satisfying the needs and wants of a client. Final PRs are submitted to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer and will be cataloged in the College of Environmental Design Library.

Additional Information regarding Client Reports and Professional Reports

Group Projects

The Graduate Council has stated that joint or group work is not acceptable as the basis for awarding graduate degrees. Students may collaborate on research projects under the traditional supervision of a faculty guidance committee. However, each student must write a thesis or Master’s Project report that represents a cohesive presentation of the research conducted and is capable of standing independently from the project. Each student’s work must be evaluated individually.

Human Research Protection

The Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) serves as the institutional review board (IRB) at UC Berkeley. The IRB must review and approve the use of human subjects in research. The process is designed to ensure that the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected throughout their participation in research projects. UC Berkeley operates within the regulations and guidelines set forth by federal authorities, primarily the Office for Human Research Protections and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as other bodies. The Office for the Protection of Human Subjects (OPHS) provides operational and staffing support to the CPHS and administers all human subjects research performed on behalf of UC Berkeley.

To determine if your project requires CPHS/OPHS review, we suggest that you start with the links below. In addition, please consult with the chair of your committee who is required to be a ladder rank DCRP faculty member.

What Needs CPHS/OPHS Review

Where to Start: Decision Tree

CPHS Guidelines on Exempt Research

Master’s Thesis (Plan I)

The Thesis is an alternative to the Professional or Client Reports. It is most appropriate for students actively involved in academic research projects, and must conform to proper scholarly conventions. It must pose an original research question or issue, and develop and carry out an appropriate research design. A thesis frequently will be longer than a Professional Report and less constrained by the particular context of the planning problem.

Thesis committees are composed of three ladder-rank faculty members, two of whom must be from DCRP (including the thesis committee chair); the third committee member must be a faculty member in another department. Theses are filed with the Graduate Degrees Office by the deadlines posted on their website. The Thesis must also satisfy style guidelines set by the Graduate Division .

Students who are using human subjects in their research must complete the “Course in the Protection of Human Subjects” (referred to as the CITI course) available online and print out the certificate of completion, prior to the start of their research. This certificate must be submitted with the advancement form.

Advancing to Candidacy

Students advance to candidacy during their final semester of study. GSAOs will contact students at the end of the next to last semester of study with instructions to fill out and submit the MCP Degree Checklist Form. The degree checklist is submitted to the GSAOs no later than the first week of study in the last semester, and reviewed with the GSAO in a meeting.

The Degree Checklist Form lists all courses and units taken for completion of the MCP degree, for a minimum of 48 units (36 units for concurrent degree students). No more than a maximum of 6 units of 299 independent study, and a combined total of 3 units of 297 and 295 may be applied towards the degree. Lower division undergraduate courses (numbered 1-99) do not count towards the 48 unit MCP requirement, nor does CY PLAN 375 Supervised Teaching in City and Regional Planning: Supervised Teaching in City and Regional Planning. Two-thirds of all course work must be letter-graded, and only courses graded C- or better, or Satisfactory, will count towards the degree.

Accreditation

The Master of City Planning program at UC Berkeley is one of the oldest accredited planning programs in the country. The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) last reviewed the MCP program in October 2012, and in Spring 2013 issued reaccreditation for five years . For more information about PAB, please visit http://www.planningaccreditationboard.org/ . For information about PAB-required reporting, please visit http://ced.berkeley.edu/academics/city-regional-planning/programs/master-of-city-planning/performance/

Graduate Program Outcomes

DCRP provides its many successful graduates with:

1. Lifelong analytical, research, and communication skills
2. The knowledge and skill sets to  successfully practice planning in a variety of urban, metropolitan, and regional settings
3. An understanding of the history and theory of cities and urban regions
4. Expertise in various fields and sub-fields of city and regional planning
5. Sensitivity to the human impacts of planning decisions

Professional Development Activities

Internships

All students are expected to complete a three-month internship in a planning-related position usually between their first and second years of study, unless exempted by previous work experience. Frequently, the work completed during a summer internship forms the basis for the professional report. International students who hold an F-1 or J-1 visa must complete an internship during their two years of study.

Courses

City and Regional Planning

Faculty

Professors

Nezar Alsayyad, Professor. Virtual reality, urban history, Architectural history, Middle Eastern Studies, cross-cultural design, cities and cinema, cultural studies of the built environment, environmental design in developing countries, housing and urban development, Islamic architecture and urbanism, traditional dwelling and settlements, urban design and physical planning.
Research Profile

Peter C. Bosselmann, Professor. Urban design, architecture, city and regional planning, landscape architecture.
Research Profile

Teresa Caldeira, Professor.

Elizabeth A. Deakin, Professor. Urban design, city and regional planning, transportation policy, planning and analysis, land use policy and planning; legal and regulatory issues, institutions and organizations, energy and the environment, new technologies.
Research Profile

Michael James Dear, Professor. Social theory, disability studies, urban theory, comparative urbanism.
Research Profile

Ananya Roy, PhD, Professor. Social theory, city and regional planning, comparative urban studies, international development.
Research Profile

Paul Waddell, Professor. UrbanSim, land use models, transportation models, urban sustainability.
Research Profile

Jennifer R Wolch, PhD, Professor.

Associate Professors

Karen Chapple, Associate Professor. Poverty, economic development, information technology, social networks, metropolitan planning, metropolitan spatial patterns, labor markets, community development, neighborhood change, upward mobility.
Research Profile

Jason Corburn, Associate Professor.

Elizabeth S. Macdonald, Associate Professor. Urban design.
Research Profile

Assistant Professors

Charisma S. Acey, Assistant Professor.

Malo Andre Hutson, PhD, Assistant Professor. Urban and regional planning, community development, urban policy, population health.
Research Profile

Adjunct Faculty

Frederick M Etzel, Adjunct Faculty. Land use planning and regulation.
Research Profile