UC Planning Program Earns High Marks in National Rankings

The nation’s first-ever independent guide for and systematic ranking of the nation’s best graduate urban planning programs places the University of Cincinnati’s program as fourth in the Midwest and 18th in the entire nation.

The Planetizen 2007 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs is just out from

Planetizen

, the leading Web site for the urban planning community. Planetizen developed the

guide

’s listings, information and directory of programs in conjunction with opinion research firm Davis, Hibbits, and Midghall, Inc. In developing their rankings, Planetizen surveyed hundreds of professionals, educators and students.

The guide offers a comprehensive directory of all graduate urban planning programs in the U.S. and Canada; profiles of planning students; advice on selecting a program; and lists of the nation’s top 25 planning schools, best schools within particular regions, largest schools and those with the lowest tuition.

With its number 18 national ranking, UC is grouped with other top-25 programs like Harvard University, Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. UC ranks ahead of programs like that at Columbia University and at Ohio State University.

With its top ranking in the Midwest – which included schools in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin – UC is grouped with other leading regional schools like the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Michigan. UC’s graduate planning program – part of the School of Planning – is housed within the internationally recognized College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. The college already houses nationally ranked programs in interior design, architecture and industrial design.

Interest in urban planning as a major is on the rise. With the U.S. recently passing the 300-million population mark and with estimates projecting 100 million more Americans in the next 30 years, coping with urban growth is becoming paramount for cities and regions. Urban planning is the profession that guides development and redevelopment, economic stimulus, historic preservation, land use, social policy, transportation systems, housing and environmental protection.