The Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) at UC Berkeley opened its doors in 1948, and along with the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, became part of the newly established College of Environmental Design in 1959. Since its founding, DCRP has granted more than 2,000 graduate degrees.

For undergraduates, DCRP offers a major in urban studies, culminating in the award of the Bachelor of Arts degree. For undergraduates in other majors, DCRP also offers a minor in city planning.

At the graduate level, DCRP offers a two-year Master of City Planning (MCP) degree and a Ph.D. degree in city and regional planning. The MCP curriculum includes a core curriculum, five concentrations, and two fields:

• Transportation Policy and Planning
• Housing, Community, and Economic Development
• Urban Design
• Land Use Planning
• Environmental Planning and Policy
   

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis
• International and Comparative Planning
   

DCRP offers its graduate students a number of concurrent degree programs: two within the College of Environmental Design—an M.Arch/MCP program with the Department of Architecture and an MLA/MCP program with the Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning—and four with other departments and schools: a JD/MCP program with Boalt Hall/Berkeley Law or Hastings College of the Law; an MPH/MCP program with the School of Public Health; an MS/MCP with the Program in Transportation Engineering (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering); and an MA/MCP or Ph.D. with the Program in International and Area Studies.

Whether you are interested in the undergraduate urban studies major, an MCP degree, a Ph.D., or one of the concurrent degrees, DCRP offers prospective students an unmatched combination of depth and breadth of coursework, research, critical and reflective thinking, community engagement, and professional development opportunities. Many DCRP students are involved with UC Berkeley faculty in their academic research. Recent research projects undertaken by DCRP faculty and students include:

• Promoting Equitable Redevelopment in Richmond, California
• California Infill Study
• Carsharing in San Francisco
• Social Enterprises for Learning
• Planning for Eco-Tourism Development in Thailand and Sustainable Redevelopment in Tianjin, China
   

In addition to conducting research, many DCRP graduate students supplement their educations by working part-time as local planners, community developers, policy analysts, and non-profit entrepreneurs. Ph.D. students should expect to gain experience teaching and organizing and conducting their own research. To add breadth to their educations, entering graduate students should expect to take several courses in other departments and/or colleges, including Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geography, Business, or Sociology.

DCRP graduates go on to teach, work as local and community planners, develop affordable and market-rate housing, create new transportation options, design urban neighborhoods and public spaces, advocate for the natural environment and sustainable development, serve low-income and under-represented communities, and help manage processes of metropolitan growth and change.

DCRP is more than just an academic department. It is a community of scholars, researchers, designers, problem-solvers, and social and environmental activists who are committed to making urban and metropolitan areas better and more sustainable places in which to live, work, raise families, and experience the richness of the natural and built environments.