Project-Based Learning


Project-based learning is the cornerstone of planning education because it enables students to apply theory, methods, and professional judgment to real-world problems. Through studios, client-based projects, and independent thesis research, students learn to synthesize knowledge gained from their core requirements and apply it to an intellectual pursuit or contemporary challenge. Working with external constituencies exposes students to the political, institutional, and ethical dimensions of planning while strengthening skills in collaboration, communication, and project management. A thesis allows students to pursue an original research question or planning project, potentially in preparation for doctoral education. Together, these experiences prepare graduates to draw conclusions from data and translate evidence into action.

MUP students must fulfill a minimum of 8 units of intensive, project-based learning experiences. These can take the form of an option studio (8-units), a total of 8 units in approved applied planning practice classes, or an independent thesis (8-units plus a 4-unit thesis preparation course, ADV 9204).

Students declare their second-year curricular pathway by the first Monday in April of their second semester to aid in course planning.

Two students present behind a podium and in from of a panel of reviewers in Dan Stubbergaard's City as Resouce studio

Option Studio

In addition to the two first-year core urban planning studios, MUP students may elect to enroll in an option studio in their third and/or fourth term(s). Option Studios present domestic and international projects that allow students, individually or as members of collaborative teams, to think creatively and apply interdisciplinary problem-solving methods to planning questions. While students may be able to take studio classes offered in other GSD departments, the Urban Planning and Design department always offers a selection of studios intended for planning students.

Option Studio Information
The proposal will bring community ideas to the forefront of design decision-making through interactive installations, conversations in the park hosted by Lynching Sites Project of Memphis, and collaborative design workshops (photo adapted from Interboro Partners).

Applied Planning Practice Courses

In addition to the two first-year core urban planning studios, MUP Applied Planning Practice (APP) courses offer students the chance to explore studio-type problems in less-intensive, 4-unit seminar courses across a broad range of areas of focus. An Applied Planning Practice course includes a substantial real-world project developed in collaboration with an external client, with this applied work comprising 40% or more of the course’s total assignment requirements. There is no restriction on the total number of Applied Planning Practice courses students may take as electives. Applied Planning Practice courses may also count toward an Area of Concentration, provided they are included in the list of approved concentration courses.

Approved Applied Planning Practice Courses
Facundo Soraire's sketch of the land trust in Santa Barbara

Independent Thesis

In addition to the two first-year core urban planning studios, MUP Applied Planning Practice (APP) courses offer students the chance to explore studio-type problems in less-intensive, 4-unit seminar courses across a broad range of areas of focus. An Applied Planning Practice course includes a substantial real-world project developed in collaboration with an external client, with this applied work comprising 40% or more of the course’s total assignment requirements. There is no restriction on the total number of Applied Planning Practice courses students may take as electives. Applied Planning Practice courses may also count toward an Area of Concentration, provided they are included in the list of approved concentration courses.

UPD Thesis guidelines