Urban Planning Degrees

Urban planning decides how cities and regions use land: where housing goes, how people get around, how growth affects the environment and how communities recover from disasters. Planners write zoning rules, comprehensive plans and transportation plans for local governments, regional agencies and consulting firms.

Geography is one of the most common routes into planning. Many planning degrees are run by geography departments, and GIS is a core planning tool. This guide covers the degree paths, geography departments that offer planning degrees, accreditation and certification, online options and careers.

How to Become an Urban Planner With a Geography Degree

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says planners typically need a master’s degree from an accredited planning program. Geography graduates usually take one of four routes:

• Geography bachelor’s, then a planning master’s: the most common path. Master’s degrees go by MUP, MURP, MCRP or MUEP.
• Accelerated bachelor’s-to-master’s: ASU lets geography and GIS majors start its accredited planning master’s while still undergraduates.
• Planning bachelor’s in a geography department: enough for many entry-level planning technician and assistant planner roles, especially if the program is accredited.
• Geography master’s with a planning concentration: an option at App State and Texas State. These degrees build skills, but they are not accredited planning degrees.

What You Study

Planning coursework mixes policy, design and spatial analysis. Common courses in the programs below include:

• Planning theory and history: how plans are made and who they serve.
• Land use and zoning: comprehensive plans, development review and land use law.
• GIS and planning methods: mapping, census data and spatial analysis. See our GIS and geography degrees guide.
• Specialty areas: transportation, housing and community development, urban design, coastal and environmental planning, and climate resilience.
• Studio and practicum: team projects for real communities, often with an internship.

Geography Departments With Planning Degrees

Each of these programs is run by a geography, geography and planning, or earth sciences department. Accreditation status comes from the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) list; other details come from each school’s official pages, checked in October 2026.

Arizona State University

ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning offers a Bachelor of Science in Planning (120 credits) and a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (47 credits). The master’s is PAB-accredited, does not require the GRE (FAQ) and ends with a thesis, applied project or planning workshop. Both degrees are also offered through ASU Online. Specialty areas include environmental planning, GIS, housing, transportation and urban design.

East Carolina University

ECU’s B.S. in Community and Regional Planning is a PAB-accredited bachelor’s in the Department of Earth, Environment and Planning. Students choose a Coastal Planning or Community Planning emphasis, take three GIS courses and finish with a planning studio and practicum (program page).

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

IUP’s B.S. in Geographic Information Science and Planning has a Community and Environmental Planning track and a GIScience track. The planning program is PAB-accredited, requires an internship and lists 2025–26 tuition of $11,724 per year in-state and $16,804 out-of-state (PAB disclosure).

West Chester University

West Chester’s Department of Geography and Planning offers a PAB-accredited B.S. in Urban and Environmental Planning. The 66-credit major includes GIS coursework and two capstone planning studios.

Appalachian State University

App State’s Department of Geography and Planning offers a B.S. in Community and Regional Planning with a planning studio, internship and a professional portfolio built around a GIS story map. PAB lists its accreditation as effective January 1, 2027. For graduate study, App State offers an M.A. in Geography with a Planning concentration, which is not PAB-accredited.

Rowan University

Rowan’s Department of Geography, Planning and Sustainability offers a B.S. in Community and Environmental Planning with studio work, an internship or research clinic and required GIS. PAB lists its accreditation as effective January 1, 2027. Rowan also offers a combined path into a master’s in urban and regional planning.

Texas State University

Texas State’s B.S. in Geography: Urban and Regional Planning includes Community and Regional Planning, Cities and Urban Design, GIS courses and a planning practicum. At the graduate level, the 33-hour Master of Applied Geography offers planning seminars, no GRE and a professional project. Neither degree is PAB-accredited.

Missouri State University

Missouri State’s B.S. in Community and Regional Planning sits in its School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability and ends with a planning capstone. It is not PAB-accredited. The school also offers a planning and development graduate certificate.

Online Urban Planning Degrees

Several planning degrees are now online, but accreditation varies. Check PAB status before enrolling if you plan to pursue AICP certification.

UF’s accreditation runs through December 31, 2026, so confirm its renewal. UF’s planning program is in its College of Design, Construction and Planning, not geography. Both UF and ASU also offer online geography degrees; see our ASU and UF profiles and the full online geography and GIS degree guide.

PAB Accreditation and AICP Certification

PAB accredits planning master’s programs and a small number of bachelor’s programs. Accreditation matters most for AICP certification, the American Institute of Certified Planners credential. The American Planning Association sets the experience you need before certification based on your degree:

A geography degree counts as “any other degree,” so geography graduates can still earn AICP with four years of planning experience.

Urban Planning Careers and Salary

BLS counts about 45,800 urban and regional planners, with about 3,200 openings a year. Most work for local governments; others work for regional agencies, consulting, engineering and architecture firms, and nonprofits. Geography graduates in planning-adjacent GIS roles fall under other BLS categories. See all options in our geography degree jobs guide.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook. Interested in natural resources and land conservation? See our environmental planning degrees guide.

Bottom Line

For most geography students, the surest route to a planning career is a geography bachelor’s with GIS skills, followed by a PAB-accredited planning master’s. If you want to start planning as an undergraduate, ECU, IUP and West Chester offer PAB-accredited bachelor’s degrees inside geography or earth science departments, with App State and Rowan joining in 2027. ASU combines both paths, with an accelerated geography-to-planning master’s that is also offered online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is geography a good major for urban planning?

Yes. Geography teaches spatial analysis, GIS, land use and population patterns, which planning master’s programs and employers value. Many planning degrees are housed in geography departments.

Do you need a master’s degree to be an urban planner?

BLS says most planner jobs typically require a master’s degree from an accredited planning program. A planning bachelor’s can lead to entry-level roles such as planning technician or assistant planner.

What is PAB accreditation?

The Planning Accreditation Board accredits planning degree programs in the United States. A PAB-accredited degree shortens the experience required for AICP certification to 2 years (master’s) or 3 years (bachelor’s).

Can you get an urban planning degree online?

Yes. The University of Florida offers a PAB-accredited online Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and ASU, Hunter College and East Carolina offer online planning degrees with varying accreditation status.

How much do urban planners make?

BLS reports a median salary of $89,320 for urban and regional planners in May 2025, with 4% projected job growth from 2025 to 2035.

Official Sources

We checked these official sources in October 2026. Program details and accreditation change, so confirm current requirements and costs with each school before you apply.

• PAB accredited programs list
• APA: AICP certification eligibility
• ASU B.S.P. Urban Planning
• ASU Online B.S.P. Urban Planning
• ASU Master of Urban and Environmental Planning
• ASU Online MUEP
• ASU MUEP FAQ
• ASU accelerated geography to MUEP
• ASU accelerated GIS to MUEP
• ECU B.S. Community and Regional Planning
• ECU planning bachelor’s
• ECU M.S. Planning and Development
• IUP B.S. Geographic Information Science and Planning
• IUP PAB public information
• West Chester B.S. Urban and Environmental Planning (catalog)
• App State B.S. Community and Regional Planning
• App State geography graduate programs
• Rowan B.S. Community and Environmental Planning
• Texas State B.S. Geography: Urban and Regional Planning (catalog)
• Texas State Master of Applied Geography (catalog)
• Missouri State planning program
• UF online Master of Urban and Regional Planning
• Hunter College online Master of Urban Planning
• BLS: Urban and regional planners
• BLS: Cartographers and photogrammetrists
• BLS: Geographers