Why Pursue a Master's Degree in Urban Planning
The Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s downtown location in San Antonio is composed of several historic layers from the 17th century to the present, making the program a perfect laboratory for the in-depth exploration of creativity, professions, and research.
The program’s primary focus is to prepare students to become practitioners in the planning profession and takes an interdisciplinary perspective on understanding modern urban challenges. There are two specializations offered – Urban Policy, and Urban Design – though students may graduate as generalist planners with no prescribed specialization. Students can expect a strong quantitative focus preparing planners to learn data science skills such as computer programing, geospatial data manipulation, exploration and modeling.
Accreditation and Organizational Memberships
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.
| Urban and Regional Planning (MS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Coursework | 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level. | |
| 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 | |
| TOEFL/IELTS Score | 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS scores for International applicants (exempt countries). | |
| Purpose Statement | Required | |
| Resume | Required | |
| Letters of Recommendation | 2 academic or professional reference(s) demonstrating your attributes for successful completion of this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time) | |
| *Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University. | ||
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 (MS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | November 1 | December 1 |
| Summer 2025 | Not Available | March 1 | March 1 |
| Fall 2025 | February 1 | June 1 | August 1 |
| Spring 2026 | Not Available | November 1 | December 1 |
| Summer 2026 | Not Available | March 1 | May 1 |
Funding Opportunities
The Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design offers opportunities for competitive recruitment scholarships, for qualified applicants, which allow out-of-state and international applicants to pay tuition at the in-state rates. All applicants to the department’s graduate programs are automatically considered for these scholarships. The Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design also has an annual scholarship program for existing students, which includes college scholarships. In addition, the MSURP program can offer partial funding from the Nungesser Family Graduate Research Endowed Fellowship. Applications for these scholarships are solicited in the spring semester for the following academic year.
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 classes are offered at the Downtown Campus.
The School of Architecture and Planning also offers a certificate program in Urban and Regional Planning. Interested individuals should contact the Urban and Regional Planning Certificate Program Coordinator within the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design. To learn more, visit the Graduate Catalog using the link below.
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