The University of Maryland's Doctoral Program (PhD) in Urban and Regional Planning and Design takes full advantage of the resources of a leading research university and its location within the heart of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Intimate and highly competitive, the PhD program offers students a tailored PhD experience and the flexibility to bridge a number of disciplines related to the built environment, including urban planning, design, historic preservation, and real-estate development. The PhD program prepares students to teach at the university level. It also qualifies graduates to conduct research and participate in high-level decision-making in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Our nationally-renowned faculty and the affiliated National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education allow students to a rich intellectual environment to study and engage with issues of land use planning and future patterns of urban development; with local communities to address issues of education reform, economic development, housing stabilization and revitalization, and urban design; and with foreign governments on issues of urban development and planning.