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Student presenting poster project at UTSA

Why Pursue a Graduate Certificate in Urban Planning

UTSA’s Graduate Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning is a 15-credit hour program that is open to degree-seeking or special graduate students from any discipline at UTSA. The purpose of this graduate certificate in Urban and Regional Planning is to give students an introductory understanding of the historical, social, international, and physical context of comprehensive land use planning and sustainable urbanism. Coursework includes Planning and Land Use Law, History and Theory of Urban and Regional Planning, graduate electives, and more.

Urban and Regional Planning + Other Disciplines = Master's Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies

Earn a Master’s Degree

Are you ready to take your career and academic journey to the next level? Combine this program with another eligible certificate to earn a master’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies! Take advantage of the opportunity to customize your degree to align with your professional and educational goals.

Admission & Application Requirements

Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.

For international students, please note that student visas are not issued at UTSA for non-degree-seeking students, including certificate programs. For more information, visit our international students admission page.

Urban and Regional Planning (CERT)
  Required Degree Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution.
  Minimum GPA 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours
  Transcripts* Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English
  Credential Evaluation Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform
  English Language Proficiency 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS / Duolingo 100
*Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University.
Apply 2024-25 Application Apply 2025-26 Application

Application Deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.

Urban and Regional Planning (CERT)
Timing on Admission Decision: Completed applications will be reviewed for admission on a rolling basis. Decisions generally will be made and sent to applicants within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving the application.
Application Deadlines for: Priority International Domestic
Spring 2025 Not Available October 1 October 1
Summer 2025 Not Available March 1 March 1
Fall 2025 February 1 June 1 August 1
Spring 2026 Not Available October 1 October 1
Summer 2026 Not Available March 1 March 1

Funding Opportunities

Learn More

Career Options

UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.


Program may require leveling courses to be determined by department. Please review the catalog and consult the program advisor with questions.

Program Director

Esteban Lopez Ochoa, PhD

esteban.lopezochoa@utsa.edu
UTSA Contact

Graduate Advisor of Record

Xueyin (Shay) Bai, PhD

xueyin.bai@utsa.edu