School of Planning, Design and Construction

The Urban & Regional Planning Program at Michigan State University was established in 1946 and offers a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning.

The Program provides a broad education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with particular expertise in community development, environment and sustainability, real estate and housing, economic development, and transportation. Faculty members have strong academic and professional backgrounds, offering a diverse range of perspectives on the practice of planning. The Program adopts a global focus and provides several international opportunities for students to study abroad, and to work with international students and faculty visiting the Program.

Student Achievement

The program measures student learning and achievement through direct (tests, capstone projects, rubrics, employer ratings, scores and pass rates on licensure exams) and indirect (course grades, surveys, student self- ratings, alumni satisfaction with learning) assessment methods. Our expectation is that upon graduation, students demonstrate mastery in knowledge, skills and values of the planning profession preparing them for an entry-level position.

The first measure is an objective evaluation by faculty members through the rubric systems, assessing the Program's Culminating Experience with emphasis on knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies, and habits of mind. This evaluation tool has four levels of mastery, with LEVEL I = Unacceptable, indicating being a beginner in learning about the planning profession; LEVEL 2 = Acceptable, indicating someone who willingly learns about the profession; LEVEL 3 = Good, indicating someone who has a self-motivated drive to learn and benefit the profession; and LEVEL 4 = Exemplary, indicating someone who is mastering knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies, and habits of mind of the planning profession.  Table 1 below shows the median LEVELs for the incoming and graduating class in 2022 and the progression from the incoming to the graduating class.  The same is also depicted visually in Figure 1.

Table 1: Median mastery level trends between the Incoming Class to Graduating Class in 2022

The second measure is feedback from our capstone clients, who are qualified external sources that provide specific information about our program learning outcomes. Planning practicum is the capstone project in our curriculum and the final milestone in our student's development. As our students apply their knowledge, skills and values to real world examples, they are evaluated by external stakeholders.

Evaluation of mastery of the planning profession through cap stone client (2022)

N=22; the capstone is taught jointly with undergraduate and graduate students

 2022-2023 Tuition and Fees

 Student Retention Rate

 Student Graduation Rate

 Number of Degrees Awarded

 AICP Certification

 Employment