Urban & Regional Planning

M.PL.

The School of Urban & Regional Planning emphasizes excellence in teaching, with a low student-to-faculty ratio and courses that capitalize on the considerable planning experience of our energetic faculty.

This is a professional education program, that also has a significant research component. It is officially recognized by the Canadian Institute of Planners as a key stage toward earning the Registered Professional Planners designation.

We take pride in our internship program, which offers our students the opportunity to work as paid interns with public and private sector organizations in Ontario and across Canada, including corporations, government agencies, consulting firms, public interest groups, community-based organizations and other potential employers. In recent years, we have been very successful in matching students to employers, helping them secure valuable work experience and the chance to apply newly emerging theories to real-world planning problems.

We also offer a coordinated degree program for geography and civil engineering students looking for a fast-track second professional degree in urban and regional planning. The program allows Queen's students to finish their Bachelor and M.PL. degrees in less time than it would take to complete them separately.

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"I couldn’t be happier with my decision to become an urban planner. My experiences at Queen’s University opened many doors for me, and prepared me for entering the industry with a solid background of planning theory and practical applications."

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Degrees Offered / Length of Program

• M.PL.: 2 years

Method of Completion

• Course work and report or course work and thesis. Most students also complete a paid summer internship

Degree Level Expectations & Learning Outcomes

MPL - view this information as a pdf (99 KB)

Travel Opportunities

Our International Experience Awards Program provides funding for three students to study and work abroad. Several students have taken internships or courses in China each year. We also have exchange agreements with Fudan University, the University of Western Australia, Otago University in New Zealand and others.

Supervisors and Fields of Study

You select your supervisors during the second year, based upon the proposed topic of your report or thesis and the availability of a faculty member to supervise. Approved fields of study are: Land Use & Real Estate Development; Housing & Human Services; Environmental Services

• Ajay Agarwal: metropolitan spatial structure, urban transportation
• Patricia Collins: healthy communities, health policy, social service integration
• David L.A. Gordon: planning history, suburbs, waterfronts, Canada's capital city implementation.
• John Meligrana: local government institutions and how they respond to urban growth and development, especially within the rural-urban fringe.
• Andrejs Skarburskis: exploring the changing structure of cities
• Leela Viswanathan: social planning, equity, healthy communities, cultural diversity
• Graham Whitelaw: environmental assessment, land use planning, community based and multi-party monitoring and First Nations

Employment Opportunities

Our graduates are extremely popular among employers. Some of the jobs our graduates hold include: city planner, environmental planner, industrial planner, land use planner, municipal planner, recreation and park planner, regional planner, social planner, strategic planner, and transportation planner; community development officer; conflict resolution mediator/negotiator; economic development officer; geographic information system planner; heritage coordinator; housing analyst; planning consultant; policy analyst; resource development officer; and urban designer.

Funding Information

We encourage you to apply for Queen’s Graduate Awards and external grants (OGS and SSHRC) and fellowships. Entering graduate students who win federal government tri-council awards are automatically provided a $5,000 top-up award by Queen’s. We also offer internal awards and provincial and national corporate scholarships.

Academic Prerequisites

Our students come from a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, as well as engineering, architecture and the natural sciences. We also encourage applicants who have been working in planning. Candidates with either four-year bachelor or honours degrees may be admitted with full graduate student status. Generally, we prefer candidates with an upper second class standing in their undergraduate degree. Averaging a 3.0, 75% or 'B+' or better in your final 2 years.

Other Requirements

• Statement of Interest, two letters of reference
• Numeracy skills and the ability to solve basic math problems using algebra and geometry are expected.

Test Requirements

International students need a TOEFL score of 600 (paper based)or TOEFL iBT minimum scores of: writing (24/30); speaking (22/30); reading (22/30); listening (20/30), for a total of 88/120. Applicants must have the minimum score in each test as well as the minimum overall score.

Program Profiles

• Sarah Bingham - an experiment in planning & tanning: Australian adventure...
• Tara Spears - inaugural recipient of the Sue Hendler Fellowship...
• Kevin House - first to go on an student exchange with the University of Western Australia...
• David Gordon (faculty) - took a trip downunder to look for exchange opportunities for our students...
• Athletes that Plan (and play) - meet three of our MPL varsity athletes
• Pamela Sweet - the importance of a notable degree for networking and learning best practices...

View this information as a PDF(389 KB)

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