Metropolitan Planning, Policy and Design

PhD Website

Architecture Building (037)
CMP Office Suite RM 220

Phone: 801-581-8255

The doctoral degree in Metropolitan Planning, Policy and Design helps meet society's need for researchers, scholars, teachers, and leaders to make our metropolitan areas sustainable and resilient. The planning challenge is to anticipate change and learn how best to manage it; the policy challenge is how to craft and implement policies needed to facilitate desired change, and the design challenge is how to shape the built environment to achieve desired outcomes. The degree program is managed by the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning and is designed to facilitate the interdisciplinary culture of the University of Utah. The doctoral degree includes core courses, electives, qualifying examination, proposal and dissertation benchmarks. The total number of credits needed to graduate is 55 with a master's degree in planning, 58 with a master's degree in another field and 76 without a master's degree.

We have a selective doctoral program. Students entering the program will demonstrate a clear purpose in pursuing doctoral studies; this assures direction in students' doctoral work. In addition, students' interests will be highly correlated with several faculty members to assure a critical mass of mentoring. The objective is to assemble a group of highly motivated, self-directed, and talented students who show great promise to complete the degree and succeed in society after graduation.

Applicants are normally expected to have a master's degree in or related broadly to the fields of planning, policy, and/or design; but this will not be exclusive. The Doctoral Admissions Committee carefully screens all applications. At least one faculty member must agree to supervise an applicant whose record meets admissions requirements before they will receive a formal offer of admission.

For more information, go to the department's Ph.D. Admissions Page.