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, November 18, 2009
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.
Recently Released Report on Low-Wage Workers
Nik Theodore, UPP Associate Professor and Director of CUPPA's Center for Urban Economic Development was co-author of a report on the prevalence of labor and employment law violations in the low-wage labor market. Read the article citing the report in the New York Times. Go to the CUED site for a full copy of the report, Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers.
Fall 2009 Incoming Students
Download the checklist to prepare for the first day of class.
Fall 2009 Campus Care
Download information about student health insurance through CampusCare as well as a revised contact list for CampusCare.
The Upper Midwest Conference
Make Big Plans: The 2009 Upper Midwest Conference will be held from September 24-26, 2009 at the Chicago Hyatt Regency to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the 1909 Plan of Chicago.
For Registration, Hotel, and Travel Information, visit www.ilapa.org
To download the event flyer, please click here.
For a list of event venues, please click here.
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.
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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 Rated TOP 31 Careers in "US News and World Report"
U.S. News and World Report's 2008 survey chose urban planner as one of 31 careers that offered outstanding opportunities based on a number of factors including job satisfaction, training difficulty, prestige, job market outlook, and pay. Read more...
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
Listen to the November 2 Friday Forum "Planning Your Masters Project" (13MB .wma file, right click to "save as" before listening).