The Ph.D. in Urban Planning at UCLA Luskin prepares students to become leading scholars, teachers, and researchers who advance knowledge about cities, regions, and the complex systems that shape urban life. The program offers rigorous doctoral training in planning theory, research design, methods, and interdisciplinary scholarship, with opportunities to pursue original research on critical issues such as housing, transportation, climate and environmental justice, economic development, governance, spatial inequality, international development, and urban design.
Doctoral students work closely with faculty whose research spans a wide range of fields across urban planning, public policy, geography, environmental studies, architecture, transportation, social welfare, labor studies, and the social sciences. The program’s flexible curriculum allows students to build a course of study around their research interests while developing the theoretical, methodological and analytical foundation needed to contribute new knowledge to the field.
National Reputation: Famous for producing outstanding planning scholars and teachers through a flexible curriculum and progressive research opportunities.
Top Faculty Mentorship: Personalized guidance from distinguished urban planning faculty active in research across critical fields.
Flexible Curriculum: Coursework adjusts based on whether students enter with or without a Master’s in Urban Planning.
Research-Focused: Three Advanced Research Methods courses related to a major field, plus dissertation contributing original planning knowledge.
Applicants to the Ph.D. program must hold a master’s degree in planning or a closely related field. Through advanced coursework, comprehensive preparation, faculty mentorship and dissertation research, students develop the expertise to pursue careers in academia, applied research, policy analysis, and leadership roles that shape planning scholarship and practice in Los Angeles, California, and beyond.
| Coursework | Quarter | Enter With Urban Planning Masters | Enter Without Urban Planning Masters |
| UP 207: Applied Microeconomics for UP | Fall | X | |
| UP 208A: Colloquium in Planning Research | Fall | X | X |
| UP 208B: Intro to Research Design ** | Spring | X | X |
| UP 208C: Advanced Research Design | Fall | X | X |
| UP 211: Law & the Quality of Urban Life | Spring | X | |
| UP 220A: Quantitative Analysis in Planning I | Fall | X | |
| Up 220B: Quantitative Analysis in Planning II | Winter | X | X |
| Up 222A: Intro to Histories and Theories of Planning | Fall | X | X |
| UP 222B: Advanced Planning Theory I | Winter | X | X |
| UP 222C: Advanced Planning Theory II | Spring | X | X |
| Urbanization Requirement (choose one):·UP 236A·UP242·UP M250·UP 265A·UP 281 | Various | X | |
| Three Advanced Research Methods courses related to your major field (selected in consultation with your faculty advisor) | Various | X | X |
| Three related courses in an area outside the major field (selected in consultation with your faculty advisor) *** | Various | X |
** Can be substituted for UP M204: Research Design and Methods for Social Policy (quarter varies)
*** Students who do not have a Master’s degree in Urban Planning must complete the master’s core. These courses will replace the outside field course requirement
After successful completion of all requirements in planning theory and history, the major field, research methods, and outside coursework, students petition for appointment of a doctoral committee. The doctoral committee guides the student in preparing the dissertation, which is to be a monograph representing an original contribution to planning knowledge.
View the PhD Student Handbook for more information on Urban Planning dissertations
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