Master's Degree in Urban Planning
Lead the way in shaping vibrant, sustainable cities equipped to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow with NYU Wagner's Master of Urban Planning program ranked #1 in urban planning and policy by U.S. News and World Report.
Program Overview
NYU Wagner’s Master of Urban Planning (MUP) degree equips you with the technical, organizational, and analytical skills to address the challenges of modern cities while having an effective and lasting impact on the well-being of its people. Located in the world’s most exciting global city and housed in a school of public service, this urban planning program provides you with hands-on experience in shaping how people frame, understand, and act on critical public issues that influence communities and their built environments. You'll gain expertise in land use planning, community development, financial management, and policy analysis—a unique blend that distinguishes beautiful designs from real-world impact—within and beyond New York City’s vibrant and diverse neighborhoods.
Professor Ingrid Gould Ellen provides an overview of NYU Wagner's Master of Urban Planning degree program.
Unlock Your Potential With a Master’s in Urban Planning
NYU Wagner's MUP degree equips you with the skills to shape the future of cities and communities. Whether you're focusing on urban development or promoting climate resilience, our graduates are making a global impact. Here are some of the roles you can pursue:
- Urban Planner
- Land Use Planner
- Transportation Planner
- Environmental Planner
- Emergency Management Professional
- Recovery Program Manager
- Research and Data Analyst
- Advocacy Director
- Sustainability Coordinator
- Community Development Planner
- Urban Redevelopment Manager
- Community Lender
- Public Works Director
- Senior Project Manager
- Director of Economic Development Policy
- Capital Planning and Budget Analyst
Skills You'll Gain With an NYU Urban Planning Degree
The Master of Urban Planning program immerses you in the complexities of modern cities, equipping you with a diverse and comprehensive set of skills to address pressing urban challenges. A combination of theory and hands-on practice ensures that you're prepared to design resilient and inclusive cities in a rapidly changing world.
Throughout the program, you’ll hone skills such as:
Learn to manage budgets and resources for large-scale urban projects.
Understand zoning, land use regulations, and how to create functional urban spaces.
Use GIS and spatial data to analyze and solve urban planning problems.
Interpret data to make informed decisions and communicate complex ideas effectively.
Gain the ability to engage diverse stakeholders, lead teams, and manage urban planning processes and outcomes from ideation to completion.
Navigate local, national, and international urban planning regulations and policies to implement effective solutions.
Assess market trends and economic factors that impact urban development.
What Our Graduates Say
"The Wagner community has had a lasting impact on my professional and personal development, fostering lifelong friendships and professional connections. My peers have consistently challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, encouraging personal growth and resilience. We continue to support each other both personally and professionally, sharing technical best practices and leveraging our diverse experiences to tackle complex urban challenges. This network has become an invaluable resource throughout my career."—Namon Freeman (MUP 2016), Manager, Housing and Sustainability at Bloomberg Associates
Why Choose NYU Wagner?
NYU Wagner is home to one of the only urban planning programs in the nation located within a school of public service rather than a traditional design or architecture school. As such, our graduates are uniquely trained to underscore critical linkages between planning and its broader social, political, economic, and organizational contexts, alongside physical considerations of the built environment.
Here’s what makes us stand out:
Our program offers both full-time and part-time options, allowing you to tailor your studies to your schedule. Full-time students typically complete the urban planning degree in two years, while part-time students finish in three to four years.
Learn from renowned experts in fields such as planning, economics, public policy, and emergency management. NYU Wagner’s faculty bring real-world experience and cutting-edge research to the classroom, preparing you to tackle the challenges of today’s cities.
Gain practical experience through internships, fellowships, and a yearlong, team-based capstone project. Our students benefit from the program's strong connections to New York City’s extensive urban planning ecosystem, NYU’s leading urban research centers, and a global campus network, giving them unparalleled access to real-world projects, international opportunities, and professional networks.
Situated in the heart of New York City, our location offers you a living laboratory to explore urban planning challenges and solutions with implications for communities across the United States, and the globe. From transportation and housing, to climate resilience and environmental sustainability, NYC’s dynamic landscape serves as a critical resource throughout your studies.
Graduates from our Master of Urban Planning program go on to impactful careers in city planning, sustainability, transportation, and more. Our alumni work in leading government agencies, nonprofit organizations, international development firms, and private consultancies worldwide.
Curriculum Overview
Our 45-credit program includes a blend of foundational courses, specializations, electives, and a capstone project. Designed to tackle the complexities of modern cities, our curriculum blends rigorous core courses with specialized electives and hands-on projects, giving you the tools to drive real change in urban environments.
Below is an overview of the required coursework.
Degree Core Requirements
Students must complete the following core courses:
CORE-GP.1011, Statistical Methods
CORE-GP.1018, Microeconomics
CORE-GP.1020, Management and Leadership
CORE-GP.1021, Financial Management
URPL-GP.1603, Urban Planning: Methods and Practice
URPL-GP.2660, History and Theory of Planning
Specialization Requirements
Students will choose one of two specializations, each comprising nine credits, which allow you to develop advanced expertise in key areas of urban planning:
Focus on land use law, spatial analysis, and urban economics to address local and regional planning issues.
Gain insight into global planning challenges by studying decentralized development, governance, and urban economics in international contexts.
Additional Requirements
The capstone program, which is a year-long consulting or research project, puts you out in the world to resolve a problem or conduct an analysis for a client organization. All students must complete the program-specific courses in conjunction with their capstone experience.
Clustering elective courses around one of five focus areas enables you to develop a self-directed course of study that most closely meets your needs and interests and provides specialized training around an area of expertise.
NYU Wagner is deeply committed to education outside of the classroom. First-hand work experience in your field of choice can be a pivotal experience, and our New York City location offers countless opportunities for career exploration. To this end, NYU Wagner requires all MUP students to graduate with professional experience that is directly related to their degree program and field of interest.
Meet Our Faculty
How to Apply
Ready to take the next step? Explore the application process, requirements, and deadlines for our MUP program.
Submit your online application along with two essays (with an optional video essay), a resume or curriculum vitae, two letters of recommendation from academic or professional sources, transcripts from all institutions attended, and standardized test scores if applicable. You will also need to submit the $85 application fee and review any additional requirements specific to international applicants.
To make sure you have everything you need, we created a complete application checklist.
We invite students from all majors and backgrounds who demonstrate aptitude in both quantitative and qualitative coursework, along with strong written and verbal communication skills. We value a deep commitment to public service, whether shown through coursework, work experience, or volunteer efforts, and we encourage career changers to apply. Our admissions process is focused on identifying candidates who have the potential to make a significant impact, regardless of the scope, and appreciates professional experience from all sectors to enhance the learning environment.
While we prefer applicants to have at least two years of relevant professional experience, such as full-time, part-time, internship, or volunteer work, it is not a requirement for admission. Students without two years of full-time, degree-relevant experience will participate in the Professional Experience Requirement (PER) to gain practical experience and enhance their understanding of the public service field.
Yes, we offer a number of merit-based scholarships at NYU Wagner. All part-time and full-time students are considered.
Tuition & Financial Aid
Find out detailed information about the cost of attendance, and access resources to finance your education—including federal loan programs and merit-based fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships.
Tuition is calculated on a per-credit basis. Your tuition costs are customized based on the total number of credits you enroll in each term.
Per-Credit Tuition Costs (2024-2025)
| FALL 2024 | Spring 2025 | Summer 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Tuition per point/credit |
$2,395 |
$2,395 |
$2,395 |
PER-SEMESTER TUITION COSTS (2024-2025)
| Credits | Tuition |
|---|---|
6 credits |
$14,370 |
9 credits |
$21,555 |
12 credits |
$28,740 |
View the tuition and fee calculator at the NYU Bursar's website.
*For Executive Masters students, fees also include a one-time $1,758 EMPA program fee. The program fee will be split across two semesters:
- EXEC-GP 100 = $879 (Fall 2024)
- EXEC-GP 101 = $879 (Spring 2025)
**A typical part-time student enrolls in 6 credits per fall and spring semester each academic year. A typical full-time student enrolls in 12 credits per fall and spring semester each academic year.
|
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
Housing |
$23,588 |
||
Food |
$6,450 |
||
Books |
$1,510 |
||
Transportation |
$2,342 |
||
Personal Expenses |
$3,000 |
||
Student Basic Health Insurance** |
$4,346 |
||
ESTIMATED TOTAL |
$41,236 |
*Please note that these expenses, based on 2024-2025 rates, are discretionary for students and are included here to assist you in planning your budget.
**Based on Basic Plan. For more information on student health insurance options, including premiums, enrollment, and waivers, please visit the NYU Student Health Insurance website.
Most NYU Wagner students fund their studies through a variety of means—private or federal student loans, college work-study, or student employment. You can seek out supplementary funding by applying to external merit-based or need-based scholarship programs that award students pursuing a degree program in public service.
Federal Student Loans
Federal student loan programs offer low-interest student loan options for US Citizens and Permanent Residents. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid. Graduate financial aid programs available to students who study in New York State include:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Grad/Professional Plus Loans
- Federal Work Study
Compare the different types of federal loan programs.
How to Apply
If you are a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and you wish to be considered for need-based federal financial aid, you must complete the current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). List "New York University" as a recipient and include our federal school code number 002785. Deadline: You should submit the FAFSA no later than October 1 for spring-start students or February 1 for fall-start students. While the FAFSA is accepted after these deadlines, late submission will cause a delay in the determination (and notification) of your aid eligibility (but it does not impact the amount of funding for which you are eligibile).
Private Loan Programs
A variety of additional, private (non-federal) alternative loans are also available from individual lending institutions. Please think carefully about your obligations as a borrower before pursuing any educational loan. Consider your educational investment at NYU, as well as your long-term financial commitments when borrowing.
See a reference list of private lenders.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Master of Urban Planning degree opens doors to careers in housing, transportation planning, urban development, and more. Graduates often become city planners, transportation planners, and environmental consultants. You can work with local governments, community-based organizations, or private sector firms focused on sustainable urban development.
NYU Wagner’s Masters of Urban Planning is uniquely housed within a school of public service, allowing students to focus on the social, political, economic, and organizational aspects of planning. Unlike programs situated within traditional design and architecture disciplines, this degree emphasizes public service and real-world policy application.
NYU Wagner offers merit-based scholarships for both part-time and full-time students in this program. Additional financial aid and funding options are available to support your studies.
Through the Master of Urban Planning degree at NYU Wagner, students acquire skills in urban economics, land use regulation, spatial analysis, data storytelling, and management, which are essential for tackling complex urban challenges in cities around the world.
Yes, our Master of Urban Planning is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB), which sets standards for university planning programs in North America. Backed by organizations like the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), PAB accreditation ensures our program meets the highest professional standards, preparing graduates for impactful careers in urban planning.
Applicants to the Master of Urban Planning program must submit educational transcripts, two letters of recommendation, essays, and a resume. Review the application checklist and learn more about specific requirements for international applicants.