The University of Iowa planning program is now in its 46th year, and our alumni have made important contributions to planning - in "traditional" government positions, in private sector development and consulting firms, and in the growing non-profit sector. The faculty at Iowa are committed to providing an excellent teaching environment for students. Our faculty / student ratio is outstanding and most of the classes have fewer than 15 students. Faculty are responsive to student needs - current students and alumni often tell us that faculty-student interaction in Urban and Regional Planning is more typical of a small liberal arts college than a major research institution: informal, relaxed and friendly. But unlike small colleges, we have the student and faculty resources of a large Research I university. The master's degree in planning at the University of Iowa is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
Curriculum
Prof. Jim Throgmorton leading a field tour of a New Urbanist neighborhood in Iowa City.
3D rendering of Peninsula neighborhood, same location as photo above.
Our curriculum is under constant review - courses are updated annually to reflect changes in the "real world" of urban planning practice. We have been amongst the leaders in incorporating new technologies in our curriculum. Feedback from current and graduating students, and regular surveys of alumni, show our success at providing both the practical, analytic skills planners need day-to-day, and the rich, in-depth education planners need to become leaders. Our curriculum is rigorous but remains flexible. There is a "core" set of classes that all students take (though students with prior coursework in an area are encouraged to waive out of the appropriate classes); these classes cover the basic analytic, legal, economic and historical knowledge that all planners need. Students choose an area of concentration (housing and community development, land use and the environment, transportation, or economic development), and supplement these specialized classes with a range of elective options that enhance particular skills (such as conflict negotiation, Geographic Information Systems, or government finance). The curriculum also emphasizes themes that are part of all areas of concentration: international/global concerns in planning, GIS in planning, and welfare policy in planning.
Several joint degrees, with Law, Health Management and Policy, Occupational and Environmental Health, Social Work, or Civil and Environmental Engineering, are offered. A capstone studio course, Field Problems, organizes teams of six or seven students to work on a "real world" project for a local client - a city government, or a non-profit or state agency. For those who would like to supplement their planning education with more design work, students are able to take summer courses at Iowa State University College of Design Programs in Rome, Italy. Various other study abroad options exist. Our on-line brochure provides more detail on course offerings, joint degrees, and the structure of our curriculum. The most current student manual is also available online.
Career Assistance
We maintain close contact with our alumni, who play a tremendous role in referring job and internship positions to our students, and our graduates secure positions nationwide and internationally. Graduates tend to move up the planning ladder quickly; years later, they are still happy with the education they received at Iowa. More details are on our career assistance page.
Faculty
Our faculty are internationally diverse - one third of the core faculty was born outside the United States, and many of the core faculty have had professional or research experience abroad. The faculty is committed to research - we believe that research is crucial to staying on top of currents in American planning practice and thus is crucial to excellence in planning education.
Of the core faculty, Peter Fisher has conducted research on state and local taxes and economic development policy and published two important books on the subject with Alan Peters. Peter has also published on the changing nature of work in the U.S. and on tax and budget policy. He is also a founder of the Iowa Policy Project, a non-profit think-tank located in Iowa City.
Jim Throgmorton's work has focused on planning theory, especially in relationship to planning practice and the sustainability of America's city-regions. He has published a number of books in this area. John Fuller works on the regulation of the American transportation system. Jerry Anthony's interests are American growth management and housing policy. Paul Hanley works on transportation issues, particularly transportation safety. He also has an interest in environmental issues. Lucie Laurian conducts research on meaningful public participation in environmental planning processes. Rick Funderburg's research investigates the ability and limitations of public development policies to entice private businesses to locate, start up, or expand in regions where such growth would not otherwise occur but for the intervention. Charles Connerly's work focuses on housing and community development, growth management, and the history of urban and regional planning.
Recent books by URP Faculty
The Practice of Planning
All our faculty are active in planning practice. We act as consultants with federal, state and local planning agencies, with non-profit organizations, and with the private sector. Faculty serve on the boards of agencies such as 1000 Friends of Iowa, the National Transportation Research Board, the Iowa Coalition for Housing and the Homeless, and Iowa City's Housing and Community Development Commission. Faculty often provide expert testimony on planning issues in the courts, in city halls, in state houses, and even in the U.S Congress. One faculty (Jim Throgmorton) has gone so far as to get himself elected as a City Councilor.
The Iowa planning program encourages student involvement with the practice of planning in a variety of ways. During the student's first semester in the program, the seminar in planning practice introduces students to the diversity of planning issues through a series of presentations by visiting professionals. We help students obtain a paid internship with a planning agency during the summer between their first and second years in the program, and provide a small number of additional internships during the academic year, where we have established an ongoing relationship with local planning agencies. The program regularly offers two to four courses on various aspects of planning practice, taught by adjunct faculty who are professional planners from the Iowa City area with many years of experience.