Urban and Regional Planning - BS, Urban Design Track
The Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning degree program is based in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning (LAUP) within the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. The Urban and Regional Planning program equips students for entry-level positions in planning allied fields and prepares them for graduate studies in fields such as Urban Planning and Land Development. The core curriculum, designed to equip students with knowledge and skills to deal effectively with the opportunities and challenges inherent in the development, growth and culture of neighborhoods, cities, and regions, is based on theoretical training in the natural, physical, and social sciences. Students acquire skills that enable them to apply these theories to develop communities, cities, and regions which are safe, healthy, and sustainable.
Critical thinking and analytical skills are emphasized for problem-solving at the community and regional scale. Classroom service-learning experiences enable graduates to more reliably and realistically assess complex community problems, design solutions for overcoming those problems, and evaluate the outcomes of programs and policies in meeting community and regional needs.
The Urban Design Track emphasizes physical solutions and the urban form of communities and cities, related to land uses, site planning, the provision of infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, and storm water management, and the provision of public spaces. Skill-building emphasizes graphic representation and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for both analysis and design.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ENDS 101 | Design Process | 3 |
| ENGL 104 | Composition and Rhetoric | 3 |
| LAND 101 | Introduction to Landscape Architectural Practice 1 | 1 |
| RENR 205 | Fundamentals of Ecology | 3 |
| URPN 201 | The Evolving City 1 | 3 |
| General elective | 1 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| ECON 202 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
| LAND 240 | History of Landscape Architecture | 3 |
| MATH 140 | Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences | 3 |
| POLS 206 | American National Government | 3 |
| URPN 202 | Building Better Cities 1 | 3 |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MATH 142 | Business Calculus | 3 |
| URPN 210 | Urban Analytical Methods I 1 | 3 |
| URPN 220 | Digital Communication I 1 | 3 |
| American history | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 4 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENGL 210 | Technical and Business Writing | 3 |
| RENR 215 | Fundamentals of Ecology--Laboratory | 1 |
| URPN 310 | Urban Analytical Methods II 1 | 3 |
| URPN 320 | Digital Communication II 1 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Classical Sociological Theory | ||
| Social Change | ||
| Population and Society | ||
| Social Problems | ||
| Racial and Ethnic Relations | ||
| American history | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| POLS 207 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| URPN 325 | Introduction to GIS in Urban and Regional Planning 1 | 3 |
| URPN 330 | Land Development I 1 | 3 |
| URPN 420 | Principles of Urban Design 1 | 3 |
| URPN 489 | Special Topics in... 1 | 1 |
| General elective | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| CARC 481 | Seminar 1 | 1 |
| RENR 375 | Conservation of Natural Resources 1 | 3 |
| URPN 326 | Advanced GIS in Urban and Regional Planning 1 | 3 |
| URPN 401 | Policy Implementation 1 | 3 |
| URPN 483 | Studio in Urban and Regional Science 1 | 3 |
| General elective | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Semester Away 2 | ||
| Select one of the following: | 6 | |
| Field Studies in Design Innovation 1,3 | ||
| Internship 1,4 | ||
| Concentration elective 1,5,6 | 6 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Spring | ||
| URPN 331 | Public and Private Infrastructure Funding 1 | 3 |
| URPN 409 | GeoDesign Studio 1 | 5 |
| Life and physical sciences | 1 | |
| Concentration elective 1,5,6 | 3 | |
| General elective | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 | |
| 1 | Must make a grade of C or better. |
| 2 | See advisor for a list of approved courses. |
| 3 | Semester Away: May be satisfied by study abroad, at another university, internship, or special arrangement by advisor or instructor. Concentration electives may be taken during summer, online, distance education, at another university or college, or at a study abroad university. |
| 4 | Study abroad course. If electing to study abroad, must take CARC 311 and CARC 331 as concentration electives. |
| 5 | If a student takes URPN 494 in Fall of 4th year, 6 hours of concentration electives must be added to different semesters other than this fall. |
| 6 | This course will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. If not participating in study abroad, 3 hours must come from approved course in International and Cultural Diversity. |