NYU Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service
Master of Urban Planning
New York, USA
Master degree
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Fall 2026 Early Action Deadline Dec 1
Key Summary
The world is becoming more urbanized, and cities are growing denser and more diverse. It's exciting—it's also challenging. From transportation to environment and crime to education, urban issues are complex because they're interrelated. NYU Wagner gives you the unique opportunity to study urban planning in the context of these issues, within a school of public service. You'll interact with people from other disciplines who are grappling with these real-world social, cultural, and economic issues. And there's no better place than NYC to learn what happens when ideas meet messy urban realities. The skills and insights you'll gain here and the multidisciplinary toolkit you'll build with core courses in finance, policy, and management are what you need to design more livable and sustainable cities—anywhere in the world.
Program Highlights
- Housed within a school of public service, you'll study a unique blend of planning, management, finance, and policy, preparing you to tackle financial constraints, resource limitations, market realities, and poltiical hurdles to make a real impact.
- A responsive program that adapts to evolving urban challenges and equips you with a comprehensive set of skills to address them.
- A tight-knit and energized student community within a global university.
- Flexibility for full- or part-time students, with options to switch between the two. Earn your degree in two years full-time, or 3-4 years part-time.
The Master of Urban Planning (MUP) is a 45-credit degree program made up of core courses, a required specialization, electives, the Professional Experience Requirement (PER), and a capstone.
Total Credits Required: 45
I. Degree Core (18 Credits)
- Statistical Methods || Microeconomics
- Management and Leadership || Financial Management
- Urban Planning: Methods and Practice || History and Theory of Planning
II. Specialization Requirements (9 Credits)
Each of the two specializations requires three courses (9 credits) to give students an introduction to key concepts and skills.
| City and Community Planning | International Development Planning |
|---|---|
| Spatial Analysis and Visualization | Institutions, Governance, and International Development |
| Land Use Law | Decentralized Development Planning in Developing Countries |
| Urban Economics | Urban Economics |
III. Electives: Program-Recommended and School-Wide Focus Areas (15 Credits)
You may choose courses across Wagner for your electives. To assist you, we've grouped courses by recommended Focus Areas.
You can go deeper in your specialization by choosing elective courses within program-recommended focus areas that help you develop more advanced skills.
If you wish to gain a breadth of knowledge and skills or sharpen your career focus, you may also choose electives within and across the school-wide focus areas.
- Environmental Planning
- Global Perspectives
- Housing and Economic Development
- Transportation and Infrastructure
- Urban Analytics
- School-wide
IV. Capstone (3 Credits)
The Capstone Program, a year-long consulting or research project that's required for all MUP students, puts you out in the world, resolving a problem or conducting an analysis for a client organization.
V. Professional Experience Requirement
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 MPA and MUP students to graduate with professional experience that is directly related to their degree program and field of interest.
Students can fulfill this requirement in one of two ways:
- Enter NYU Wagner with at least two years of full-time, degree-relevant, professional experience; or
- Complete the Professional Experience Requirement (PER), which means working in a degree-relevant job or internship while attending NYU Wagner and before enrolling in Capstone. Students typically fulfill the PER via a relevant work experience over one semester (i.e. 15-20 hours per week during a semester, or 35-40 hours per week in the summer).
Once you begin classes, NYU Wagner’s Office of Career Services staff is available to advise you on strategies and resources for identifying degree-relevant positions, submitting strong application materials, conducting successful interviews, or seeking a PER waiver for previous experience.
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