The Master of City Planning (MCP) program boasts a combination of breadth and depth unmatched anywhere else in the U.S. Just browse our course schedule to see the variety and quality of courses we offer every semester. Our program also provides the flexibility to allow students to take up to one-third of course credit in other departments at CED and on campus. Most all of Berkeley's graduate programs are world-class. MCP students can develop the skills and perspectives they will need to lead in the practice of transportation, regional planning, and housing, land use, and environmental planning, as well as in the fields of urban design, community planning, GIS, and community development. There are also ample opportunities to create your own course of study or to undertake concurrent degrees in architecture, landscape architecture and environmental planning, transportation engineering, public health, international and area studies, and law.

The Admissions Committee is concerned with an applicant's intellectual ability, maturity, self-discipline, preparation, self-understanding, desire and sensitivity. We look at what you have undertaken as an undergraduate, both inside and outside the classroom, and whether you have done it well. We would more readily admit an excellent poet, an accomplished student of physics or of the classics, or a talented and knowing campus activist than someone with a record of four years of wandering and indecision.

Admissions are drawn from many different kinds of majors. The tendency in admissions has been in the direction of individuals with social science majors—economics, political science, sociology—but each year half the class is drawn from majors in architecture, geography, engineering, the natural sciences, math, English, journalism, and so on. We prefer students to possess broad perspectives on society and culture as well as have sufficient grounding or interest in particular areas of study related to planning.

Admissions Criteria

Minimum requirements for admission include:

• A 3.0 GPA for the last two years of undergraduate study.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• The Graduate Record Examination (General Test)
• Applicants coming from universities where English is not the teaching language must take a test of English proficiency (TOEFL, TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL, or IELTS).
   

The median grade point average of admitted applicant is around 3.60, but we accept some people with lower grades where they have done something outstanding. GRE scores tend to be used to the student's advantage in that high GRE's might overcome a low grade-point average. All applicants (even those needing to take a test of English-language proficiency such as the TOEFL, the TOEFL CBT, iBT TOEFL or the IELTS examination) must take the Graduate Record Exam no later than December. People who have worked several years in planning-related activities, providing they show that they can meet the intellectual standards of graduate study in Berkeley, are encouraged to apply. Work experience does not mean only full-time employment in offices engaged in planning. Rich internship experience during summers, intensive activity in community affairs, employment in positions and organizations trying to address urban problems—all of these can be comparable to employment in planning offices in terms of providing learning experience we desire.

Other factors given serious consideration during admission include letters of recommendation, your personal history statement and statement of purpose, and background. Be sure to submit recommendations from individuals who know you well and can speak for the quality of your work. One or two recommendations should be submitted from people who are in position to appraise your depth of character and commitment, work effectiveness, ability to work with people and leadership potential on the job or in community activities. At least one should come from someone who can evaluate your performance in academic settings. You should encourage them to be as specific as possible about the work you have done.

The two statements, as a unit, should clearly present why you are interested in a planning career, your goals and the reasons for them, and what you hope to achieve in a Berkeley professional program. Your statements are very important to us, but they need not be long.

Application Deadline

December 5, 2007:  Deadline for all applications, those seeking admissions with university/departmental merit-based support and those seeking admission without departmental financial support. Application forms are available beginning September 10, 2007.

Prerequisites

Work in this field requires at a minimum the ability to write well and the ability to master analytic skills in quantitative methods. It also requires some familiarity with political institutions and governmental organizations. DCRP expects entering students to demonstrate basic skills/conceptual understanding in the following areas:

• Writing Ability: All entering students must demonstrate their ability to write clearly and organize their thoughts in a coherent manner. Evidence of this skill would be provided in an applicant's Statements of Purpose, or a submission of written work.
   
• Introductory Statistics: In planning, one must be able to identify the characteristics of and interrelationships between aggregates of one kind or another: people, places, structures, buildings, organizations, etc. Some knowledge of descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing is therefore essential for introductory planning studies, especially for those student who seek to master the more advanced statistical methods in planning analysis. Students with no mathematics background may find it helpful to also take some college-level math in addition to the statistics, to enhance your comfort with the field if for no other reason.
   
• Economics: Students should have taken introductory microeconomics at a minimum. Most planning issues involve resource allocation problems of one kind or another, and microeconomic analysis can be an immensely helpful tool in such instances.
   

THESE PREREQUISITES ARE NOT REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION. Any student who shows potential and meets general university requirements as well as current DCRP criteria, may be admitted. However, when students are notified of admission, those who do not meet these prerequisites will be reminded that they may need some study/review in these areas before entering the program in Fall.

Course prerequisites notwithstanding, if you are considering a professional career in urban planning and if there is a specific problem area that interests you (e.g., land use, transportation, housing, health), we suggest taking a course in that area to increase your understanding of the problem and your awareness of whether such a specialization in your graduate planning program is really what you want. You may also wish to arrange internships with public agencies or private companies whereby you can observe what career in urban planning and problem solving might entail.