Welcome to the Department of Urban Planning and Policy (UPP)
Located within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at UIC, UPP is one of the largest graduate planning programs in the nation and the only accredited planning program in the Chicago area. The Department offers Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Urban Planning and Policy. We invite you to explore these pages to learn more about our activities, teaching, research, and scholarship.
UPP Open Houses
UPP hosts Open Houses for prospective students in fall and winter.
Our Open House date below is 6-8pm.
Wednesday, February 24th
Open Houses are held in Room 110 at CUPPA Hall, 412 S. Peoria St. Registration and refreshments is at 6:00, with the Open House program from 6:30-8:00. Interested students should review the Prospective Students page on the UPP website for information on the program. Please RSVP to upp@uic.edu if you plan to attend. Here's more information about travel.
Undergraduate Course Offerings
UPP 205: Cinema and the City
3 hours. The course will explore how diverse societies, cities and urban phenomena are represented in film at different points in history by exploring theories of urbanism and individual relationships to cities and urban society and institutions. A diverse array of films, from Metropolis to Blade Runner and City of God will be studied. Individual & Society course.
UPP 403: Introduction to Urban Planning
3 hours. This course will allow you to explore what urban planners do and possible career paths in urban planning. Topics include patterns of city growth, physical, socio-economic, and environmental issues, contemporary debates and planning issues and the future of cities. Click here to download the course syllabus.
UPP 493: Topics in UPP--Gender and the City
3 hours. This section of Topics in Urban Planning is an interdisciplinary course exploring gender relations in the city. The course uses feminist and other theoretical approaches to analyzing the city and studying gender relations, with an emphasis on the important role of space and urban form. Topics of the “gendered city” to be explored include work (broadly defined), urban politics and planning, health, activism, and safety. Click here for course description.
UPP 493: Public Space: Theory, Analysis, and Planning
3 hours. This section of Topics in Urban Planning explores public spaces, the backbone of the city. Streets, parks, plazas and playground represent the quality of the built environment as well as the vitality of civic life. This course will explore the theoretical, physical, social and political aspects of public space. Students should have some knowledge of visualization techniques such as free-hand drawing, Sketch-Up, Photoshop. Click here to download the course flyer.
Spring 2010 Incoming Students
Download the checklist to prepare for the first day of class.
Spring 2010 Campus Care
Download information about student health insurance through CampusCare as well as a revised contact list for CampusCare.
Hiring Leaps in Public Sector
USA Today reports that Federal, state and local governments are hiring new workers at the fastest pace in six years, helping offset job losses in the private sector. Read more...
Urban Planning Makes Top 50 Job Rankings for 2010
U.S. News & World Report has ranked urban planning as one of the top 50
jobs for 2010 with expected strong growth over the following decade. The
article notes that expanding population requires investment in
transportation, affordable housing, and schools-all of which require
planning. It is projected that the field will grow by 19 percent from
38,400 to 45,700 jobs. Read more...
Urban Planner:
As one of the 50 best careers of 2010, this should have strong growth
over the next decade
Click here to read more from usnews.com.
Be sure to check out Ahead of the Curve as well; your MUPP degree can prepare you for some of those careers.
MUPP Students win
International Design Competition
Congratulations to four students: Yochai Eisenberg, Jieun Kim, Marcela Lopez, and Meng Sun who won third place in an international urban design competition in Guangxi, China. Click here to read more.
Friday Forum
Watch a video of the Fall 2009 Friday Forum "Planning Your Masters Project" (1 GB .mp4 file, right click to "save as" before watching)
Listen to the November 2 Friday Forum "Planning Your Masters Project" (13MB .wma file, right click to "save as" before listening).
Disability Resource Center
You can download a brochure (123KB, doc) with basic information about the UPP program and application process.
The Disability Resource Center (DRC) works to ensure the accessibility of UIC programs, courses and services to students with disabilities. For additional information, please contact DRC at 312-413-2183 (voice) or 312-413-0123 (TTY).
If you need information in an alternative format, please contact Ann Barnds at 312-996-2165 or abarnd1@uic.edu.