Shape the future of sustainable communities.
Join us for an online open house to get your questions answered about graduate programs and the admissions process. Meet admissions staff, financial aid professionals, faculty, and academic advisors from various graduate programs. Learn more about your journey at UMass Boston.
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Turn your education into a career in urban planning that reimagines how cities grow. Gain experience through internships, build relationships with alumni and industry leaders, and tap into connections with organizations like the Boston Planning & Development Agency, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and Massachusetts Department of Transportation. With support from faculty mentors and a dedicated advisor, you’ll be prepared to take on real-life challenges and improve how people live and work.
Here’s where this degree can take you:
Deadlines:
Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.
Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the program-specific requirements.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Estimate Your Program Cost: Get a feel for your expected program costs using the Graduate Program Cost Calculator.
Program Cost Information: Significant on-campus tuition discounts are available to residents of Massachusetts, the other New England states, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For more detailed information on costs, visit the Bursar's website to learn more about Regular Session Tuition & Fees for in person courses and Special Price Tuition & Fees for online courses. Please refer to Financial Aid for more information.
In addition to the criteria below, applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements.
Core Courses (27 Credits):
Concentration Required Courses (9 Credits): Complete three courses from one of the concentrations below.
Community Resiliency Planning Concentration
Environmental and Land Use Planning Concentration
Housing and Community Development Concentration
Concentration Electives (6 Credits): Complete two additional courses approved by your advisor.
Capstone Course (6 Credits): Two semester series of classes that result in a professional group or individual product.
For more information on curriculum, including course descriptions and degree requirements, visit the Academic Catalog.
Complete 48 credits from 15 courses including nine core courses, three concentration required courses, two concentration electives, and two capstone courses.
Concentration: Select a concentration in environmental land use and planning, housing and community development planning, or community resiliency planning.
Capstone: Completion of UPCD 750 and UPCD 751
Statute of limitations: Five years.
Public Information
The Planning Accreditation Board requires this information be posted for the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Master of Science in Urban Planning Program.
Student Achievement
Applied Studio Pedagogy through the Urban Planning Studio
The Department of Urban Planning and Community Development advanced its commitment to applied, equity-centered planning education through UPCD 750/751: Urban Planning Studio, a two-semester sequence aligned with the university’s Grand Scholarly Challenge on Climate Adaptation and Social Vulnerability. The studio focused on flood-induced managed retreat and climate vulnerability among older adults in coastal Massachusetts communities, including Revere, Lynn, Medford, Chelsea, Quincy, and Wareham. Students engaged with a complex, real-world planning problem that required integrating spatial analysis, policy review, demographic analysis, and ethical community engagement. The studio structure emphasized iterative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional standards of planning practice.
A core component of the studio was direct community engagement, including background vulnerability assessments, institutional mapping, and structured interactions with older adults in six Massachusetts communities. Students analyzed Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) plans, FEMA and state climate risk data, and housing system characteristics to develop community-specific climate and vulnerability profiles. These assessments served as the analytical foundation for subsequent fieldwork, including focus groups and surveys conducted in partnership with local organizations and municipal agencies. Through this process, students developed competencies in ethical research design, stakeholder engagement, data interpretation, and professional communication—skills central to planning practice.
The studio produced professional-quality deliverables intended for both academic and practitioner audiences, including comparative vulnerability profiles, preliminary policy analyses, and synthesis reports addressing the implications of managed retreat for aging populations. Students demonstrated the ability to translate complex data into actionable planning insights while grappling with normative questions of equity, displacement, and intergenerational responsibility. Collectively, the studio strengthened the department’s applied learning portfolio, reinforced its ties with municipal and community partners, and provided students with sustained exposure to planning challenges at the intersection of climate change, housing, and social vulnerability. This work exemplifies UPCD’s pedagogical emphasis on experiential learning, public-interest planning, and preparing students for professional practice in a rapidly changing policy and environmental context.
2025-2026 Tuition and Fees
|
In State Residents, spring semester: |
$885.50 per credit, $7,969.50 per semester |
|
Out of State Residents, spring semester: |
$1,692.30 per credit, $15,230.70 per semester |
Student Retention Rate
|
Percentage of students who began studies in fall 2024 and continued into fall 2025: |
84% |
Student Graduation Rate
|
Percentage of students graduating within 4 years, entering class of 2021: |
86% |
Number of Degrees Awarded
|
Number of degrees awarded for 2024-2025 Academic Year |
4 |
AICP Pass Rate
|
Percentage of students taking the AICP exam within 3 years who pass, graduating class of 2021 |
73% |
Employment
|
Percentage of all graduates obtaining professional planning, planning-related, or other positions |
100% |
Graduate Program Director Richard Hung
richard.hung@umb.edu
The MS program in Urban Planning and Community Development is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
Collaborate with students and professionals across the globe through planning experiences that connect classroom learning to communities. Work with students from Feng Chia University on joint environmental planning projects focused on Boston and Taichung, and take part in immersive experiences like the Summer Sicily Program, where students analyze GIS and property data, conduct research, and contribute to community-centered planning discussions alongside local residents and organizations.
Explore the department and college that supports your journey in Urban Planning & Community Development.
