Department of Community and Regional Planning
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7th
overall among all Midwestern graduate urban planning programs in 2023 by Planetizen, the leading online network for the urban planning, design, and community development.
The Department of Community and Regional Planning is one of only 16 accredited undergraduate planning programs in the United States, and we have an outstanding international faculty who are committed to excellence in the teaching of planning at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Through the department’s degree programs, students develop the skills and experience to become practicing planning professionals in a variety of contexts. Students learn:
- • land-use planning and zoning
- • environmental planning
- • transportation planning
- • site planning
- • urban design
In addition, our students regularly work with real communities to understand the challenges and achievements of planning. We also undertake high-quality research on behalf of federal and state government, business, the nonprofit sector, and other funding agencies, all of which feeds into the courses we teach to give our students a well-rounded foundation for their future careers.
Degree programs
Iowa State’s undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning (BSCRP) and graduate Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree programs are nationally accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
The studio class provided an opportunity to work directly with communities on real-world projects and gave me a firsthand look at what planning looks like beyond the classroom. I was able to apply what I had learned, collaborate with others, and truly understand the impact of planning in people’s lives.
Matthew Reu – Master of Community and Regional Planning, Class of 2025
Success in design
Students in the College of Design graduate career-ready with internships, capstone projects, professional practice, and portfolio classes integrated into each of the design programs, and with support from the Design Career Services Office. The College of Design also hosts an annual Design Career Fair that is focused only on design majors. It attracts more than 125 firms recruiting for jobs and internships, with College of Design alumni making up more than half of the recruiters in attendance.
With 91% of our 2021-2022 graduates employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation, our students are in high demand. Some recent graduates of Iowa State’s community and regional planning program have pursued careers in the following:
- Comprehensive planning
- Economic development
- Environmental planning
- Historic preservation
- Land-use planning
- Neighborhood planning
- Planning management
- Urban revitalization
- Zoning administration and coordination
- Transportation planning/analyst
- Conservation and economic recovery
Student resources and opportunities
A Planner in the Making
Find your place at Iowa State University’s College of Design, where we like to ask questions, poke and prod, create something new, and make a difference through design.