Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP)

Electives can be courses (within SCARP or in other departments) that relate to your interests and can count towards your MCRP program course requirements. 

There are many possibly advantageous or relevant electives that may serve to complement and broaden your understanding of planning issues. Please talk to your faculty advisor, who may have advice depending on your particular lens on planning.

Please note:

• Some courses require you contact the course instructor and/or department offering the course for permission to be registered
• Course offering and availability are subject to change by the School offering the course. 
• No more than 6 credits of undergraduate-level (300-400) courses will count towards your MCRP program.
• Courses can potentially be taken at other universities through the Western Deans' agreement.
• Please make decisions about whether to take SCARP, UBC, or non-UBC courses in consultation with your faculty advisor. SCARP's established electives have a diverse and comprehensive array of lenses into the world of planning.

Electives as developing expertise

MCRP students sometimes want to develop additional expertise in subject areas that are covered in MCRP core courses. One way to develop such expertise is to take elective courses that address subject areas that are covered in the core courses.

To help guide MCRP students in their selection of electives, the following table indicates elective courses that address subject areas that are covered in core courses. Each core course (numbered from 500 to 513) indicates at least one elective course that relates to the core course.

Remember that electives are subject to availability term by term.

The Comparative Development Planning area of concentration represents critical analysis of the development/governance logics, processes, and policies shaping local conditions with respect to ongoing urban transition. The scope of this analysis includes local, regional, national, and global scales.

Comparative Development examines the importance of local knowledge, cultural specificity, and relevance of local political, social, and economic structures and forces, as well as their consequences for local trajectories of socioeconomic change and development. It covers the range of factors (e.g., elites, politics), forces (e.g., agency, capitals, modes of accumulation) and institutions (e.g., states, markets, communities, organizations) whose origins lie beyond the local.

This AoC prepares MCRP students for careers in the fields of local, national, regional, and international development planning, at various levels of:

• Governance
• Multilateral and bilateral development agencies
• Philanthropic foundations
• Volunteer-based organizations
• Social enterprises
• Non-profits
• Non-government and corporate organizations

Environmental Planning is concerned with the interaction of human settlements and the natural environment. Communities and governments make many decisions, policies, and plans that have profound impacts on the health and integrity of social and ecological systems. Environmental Planning responds to this problem, with an overarching goal of helping planners design human settlements in a way that minimizes impacts on natural ecosystems and minimizes risks to humans.

In addition to a general Environmental Planning AoC, some options for customized AoCs include:  Disaster and Risk Management Planning; Environment and Infrastructure Planning; and Environment and Health Planning.

This AoC prepares MCRP students for careers in environmental planning at various levels of government, non-profit organizations, and consulting companies. Graduates of this area have worked in such areas as sustainability planning, climate change adaptation planning, and disaster resilience planning.

Social Policy and Planning for Inclusive Communities is concerned with the always-uneven impacts of economic growth and change, and thereby of developing innovative ways of addressing urban and regional inequalities. It is also concerned with life-cycle planning issues such as child friendly cities and aging in place. From affordable housing and homelessness to the social integration of immigrants, urban Indigenous voice and wellbeing, accommodating transgender needs and more, the overarching goal is to support the development of inclusive, non-discriminatory communities.

This AoC prepares MCRP students for careers in social planning at various levels of government, Indigenous-serving organizations and communities, philanthropic foundations, volunteer-based organizations, social enterprises, and non-profits such as the Social Planning & Research Council of BC.

In addition to a general Social Planning & Policy for Inclusive Communities AoC, some more options for customized AoCs include:

• Housing Policy
• Indigenous Planning
• Feminist Planning
• Life Cycle Planning
• Food Security and Sovereignty
• Immigrant & Refugee Integration
• Inclusive Public Engagement
• Advocacy Planning

Transportation Planning is a field of expertise concerning the development of goals, policies, designs, and programs to facilitate the movement of people and goods; at scales ranging from a single street to an entire country.

Transportation planners seek to implement participatory processes through which diverse stakeholders can bring their knowledge, experience, and values to the development of transportation plans. Transportation planning considers a wide array of positive and negative transport system impacts, including community vitality, economic resilience, human health, and the natural environment.

In addition to a general Transportation Planning AoC, some options for customized AoCs include:  Transportation Planning and Health, Transportation and Land Use Planning, and Transportation and Urban Design.

This AoC prepares MCRP students for careers in transportation planning at various levels of government, non-profit organizations, and consulting firms. Graduates of this area have gone on to work in planning departments at various municipalities, transit agencies, and transport consultancies.

The study of urban design is one of the fastest growing fields in North American planning schools. New urban design concentrations and degree programs are appearing in many schools, to help create urban communities in which people can live, work, learn, play and recreate. This is an antidote to the large lots of single-family homes that are a car trip away from everything and that have come to characterize urban sprawl. Contemporary urban designers are conscious of the holism necessary for improving transit functions, public health, place-making, providing ecological services, and creating a lively public realm and livable neighbourhoods. Urban design, together with transportation planning, play a direct role in shaping the quality of life or urban dwellers.

The main objective of the Urban Design concentration is to give SCARP students interested in urban design a set of fundamental theories, models and planning tools that can help them understand and shape the built environment.  Faculty in SCARP have considerable expertise in urban design both as a stand-alone discipline and as an integral part of larger city making processes. The concentration at SCARP is particularly focused on the integration of social, ecological, hydrological, energy and transportation systems into urban design thinking. Courses are applied and typically include real projects with real clients working in current problems in nearby communities.

The School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) adheres to the minimum academic requirements established by the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies:

• If you received your undergraduate degree from a post-secondary institution within Canada or the United States, verify your eligibility.
• If you received your undergraduate degree from a post-secondary institution outside of Canada or the United States, verify your eligibility.

Please note the following required information:

• Applicants are required to scan and upload digital copies of all official transcripts, including transcripts for study abroad semesters, non-degree studies, or credential programs. 
• Please ensure that the uploaded documents are official transcripts and include a transcript key. (Transcript keys are often printed on the reverse sides of official transcripts.) 
• Grade reports, marking sheets, and transcripts marked “unofficial” are not acceptable and will not be considered for review. 
• Degree certificates are required only if the degree conferral is not listed on the transcript. 
• Transcripts in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by certified translations. If applicable, transcripts that do not have an indication of the date the degree was conferred must be accompanied by a degree certificate (and translation, if appropriate).
• Uploaded transcripts should be in PDF format, with each transcript complied as one PDF document. Include only one copy of the transcript key. Any additional or extraneous documents will be excluded from the final application file.

The uploaded copies of official transcripts are considered “unofficial documents”. We use the unofficial documents to evaluate applicants and make conditional offers of admission. 

Please note that applicants are not required to send hardcopies of official transcripts to the School of Community and Regional Planning office at the time of application.

For more information, please visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies sections on Canadian Official Transcripts or International Official Transcripts.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not mandatory, and is only recommended in situations where an applicant’s GPA is close to the minimum and does not reflect the applicant’s true academic potential. GRE scores show students' level of reasoning skills, critical thinking and the ability to communicate in writing which provides us with additional information about the likelihood of a student's success in graduate school.

The GRE is particularly helpful in situations where applicants do not have undergraduate grades (because their program may have been ungraded), or if there are obvious gaps in an applicant’s academic record. A strong GRE score will provide the admissions committee with another data point to consider academic ability.

The GRE is widely required for graduate school applications throughout North America. We urge applicants to carefully review the guidebook that comes with the test application. It illustrates the kinds of questions on the test and helps the student practice for the test. Please see the GRE website.

Submission of GRE test scores must be followed in accordance to the instructions outlined by the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Standardized test of English language proficiency is required unless the previous post-secondary degree is from a university where the primary language of instruction was English. 

To be eligible for admission, applicants must meet the following minimum scores:

TOEFL: 

• Overall score of 100 or higher
• Reading & Listening: Score of 22 or higher
• Writing & Speaking: Score of 21 or higher

 IELTS (academic only):

• Overall score of at least 7.0
• Reading, Writing, Listening, & Speaking: Score of 6.5 or higher

Submission of test scores must be followed in accordance to the instructions outlined by the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Learn how to submit test scores as per UBC guidelines. 

More information on these tests can be obtained from their websites: TOEFL | IELTS.

Applicants to the Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) program must prepare and submit a 600-word Statement of Interest. This will help the Admissions Committee assess whether your objectives can be satisfied by the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP). We recommend you provide this statement to your referees in preparation for submitting your MCRP application.

Your Statement of Interest should outline:

• Your interest in planning and why you have chosen it as a career
• Any previous experience that has influenced your decision to pursue a planning career (e.g., employment and/or volunteer experiences, academic background, conferences attended, etc.)
• Why you have chosen the School of Community and Regional Planning, in particular, for your graduate planning education
• Any other background information you feel is pertinent

PLANNING AREAS

In developing your Statement of Interest, please think about and discuss what particular planning areas you are most interested in. These can include, but are not limited to:

• Community development
• Urban design
• Housing
• Food systems planning
• Natural resource development and planning
• Social justice and environmental equity
• International and urban development planning
• Transportation planning and policy
• Ecological planning
• Health and the built environment
• Land use and environmental policy
• Sustainable and smart growth planning
• Community resilience and disaster management planning
• Planning law

As examples of possible areas of focus, recent graduates’ professional projects have incorporated the following planning topics:

• Transit-oriented development and neighbourhood design
• Public space design
• Community resilience and disaster planning
• Participatory urban design
• Climate adaptation planning
• Food systems and social justice
• First Nations community planning
• Affordable housing design and development
• Developing high-density family-friendly housing
• Planning for non-motorized transportation infrastructure
• Cultural planning and historic preservation
• International sustainable community and economic development

CONCENTRATIONS

The School of Community and Regional Planning also offers a concentration with its own required courses and program of study: Indigenous Community Planning. If you are interested in pursuing one of these concentrations, please include this information in your Statement of Interest.

Each applicant must submit a resume detailing educational background, work and/or volunteer experience, publications (if any), and any academic or professional awards earned. Please include any travel experience.

Exactly three references are required for the application. Additional references will not be considered as part of the final application file.

References should be from individuals who can assess your academic or professional qualifications and your communication skills. In most cases, at least two references should be academic. If you have been away from school for several years, all references may be from non-academics who are capable of assessing your professional and, if possible, your potential academic performance. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their references submit documentation by the deadlines specified.The reference deadline is 10 days after the application deadline. Contact references in advance of submitting an application to ensure they have adequate time to provide a letter. Reference letters may be addressed to the "MCRP Admissions Committee". 

Please note that an online application must be submitted before referees receive a request to provide a reference.

There are three possible formats for references: electronic references, paper letters of reference, and paper reference forms. SCARP strongly prefers that references utilize the electronic reference system in the online application to submit a letter of reference. Please note that the system is unable to accept e-mails from Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, MSN or other free e-mail accounts for referees. Letters should be in PDF format, on letterhead, with signature.

If using the electronic reference is not possible, please send paper letters of reference and reference forms to:  

School of Community and Regional Planning 
Faculty of Applied Science 
The University of British Columbia - Vancouver Campus   
433 - 6333 Memorial Road 
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z2

For more information, please visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies section on Letters of Reference.

SCARP will assign you a faculty advisor, taking into account your particular interests, availability, and preferences. You're not required to contact potential advisors at the time of application.

All available faculty advisors are listed in the dropdown menu in the application. Please select three potential faculty members you'd be interested in working in your application. If you are applying to the Indigenous Community Planning (ICP) concentration, please only select Dr. Maggie Low. 

It is not possible to defer admission. If you are offered admission and decline or if you are offered admission but do not register you may apply again by submitting a new application form and paying the fee. Your admission would be considered along with others applying for that year. Admission is not guaranteed.

Applicants selected by the MCRP Admissions Committee for consideration for admission will be invited to submit a video interview using automatic interview software conducted with videos and the applicant's webcam/phone camera in early March. After the submission of the video interviews, final admission decisions by the MCRP Admissions Committee will be made and offer letters will be sent in mid-March. 

Applicants admitted to the program will commence full-time studies in September. The School of Community and Regional Planning does not admit students at any other time of year. 

No. The students admitted to the MCRP program come from a variety of backgrounds. It’s not necessary to have a background in Planning or any particular field to be considered for the program. 
For example, here are the backgrounds of MCRP students from recent years:

No. The MCRP is a 24 consecutive month full-time program.

No. SCARP does not offer any distance education or online courses.

• Be sure your referees will write a strong letter of recommendation: The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at UBC has a guide available to supervisors to assist them in writing strong letters of recommendation. Use this document as a guide to select your referees and to prepare them for writing a letter on your behalf. Strong letters of reference should provide specific examples of your demonstrated abilities.
• Write a strong statement of intent. The MCRP admission page outlines the points to be included in your statement. Prepare your statement carefully.
• Consider volunteering or finding a job shadow. If you don’t have a lot of experience in the planning profession, consider volunteering with an organization or arrange a job shadow to get better insight. Use this experience to inform your statement of intent and include it on your resume.
• If your GPA is close to the minimum, consider writing the GRE. Although the GRE is not required, if there are any obvious gaps in your academic record, it will provide the admissions committee with another data point to consider your academic potential.  

No. SCARP does not provide individualized feedback on applications. If you wish to strengthen your application to apply in a future year, please follow the guidance provided above in the "How can I enhance my application?" section.

SCARP has limited funding for students entering the MCRP: a total of $30,000 in funding to be divided among several eligible students entering the first year of the MCRP Program. The MCRP Entrance Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship and is available to international and domestic students. Students do not apply for the MCRP award, recipients are notified with their admission letter. 

• Award and other funding opportunities open to SCARP students are posted on the Student Funding and Awards page of the SCARP website.

The UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral studies maintains a database of award opportunities open to UBC graduate students.

International students are encouraged to seek funding opportunities from their home countries.

The MCRP is a 24-month program. You will be billed in 6 installments over 24 months, even if you complete your program early.

Remember, once you graduate you’re no longer a “student”. Because of this, if you are receiving financial assistance from UBC, and you finish early, you will not have student status during your 6th installment and will not be able to access awards or loans to pay it.

SCARP adheres to the minimum academic requirements established by the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies:

• I received my undergraduate degree from a post-secondary institution in Canada or the United States
• I received my undergraduate degree from a post-secondary institution outside of Canada and the United States

SCARP welcomes all candidates that would succeed in and contribute to the program and the School. Generally, a brief explanation of why your application does not meet the minimum standards will justify to the admissions committee why they should consider your application. The admissions committee considers all applications as a whole, and does not automatically dismiss applications based on single criteria.

Applicants should note that admission to the MCRP is very competitive. Each year the number of applicants far exceeds the number of spaces available. Meeting the minimum standards of admission does not guarantee admission to the program.

The GRE is only recommended in situations where an applicant’s GPA is close to the minimum and does not reflect the applicant’s true academic potential. If there are any obvious gaps in an applicant’s academic record, a strong GRE score will provide the admissions committee with another data point to consider academic ability.

SCARP is obliged to require that all applicants meet the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ English proficiency requirements.

SCARP has higher requirements than the UBC minimums for its degree programs. Although an application would not be rejected outright, not meeting the posted minimums for the IELTS or the TOEFL does place an applicant at a disadvantage. We encourage students who do not meet SCARP’s minimum English proficiency scores to retake the test where possible.

SCARP welcomes all candidates that would succeed in and contribute to the program and the School. The admissions committee considers all applications as a whole and does not automatically dismiss applications based on single criteria.

In fairness to all applicants, CV/resume changes will not be accepted after the document deadline in the application.

• Before the reference deadline, you can change your reference via the application portal.
• After the reference deadline, you cannot change your reference.

In fairness to all applicants, we will only accept 3 letters of reference for an application.

Generally, SCARP notifies successful candidates in mid-March, and throughout the month. All applicants are notified of their standing (declined admission or placement on the waitlist) in April.

The waitlist is not linear, but comprised of a pool of applicants. There are a number of factors that determine whether a waitlisted applicant will be offered admission. As a result, we are unable to comment on the likelihood waitlisted applicants will be offered admission.

We will notify all waitlisted applicants when the waitlist is closed and we are no longer considering making additional offers of admission.

Accept your offer through the admissions portal. Contact grad.scarp@ubc.ca if you have any questions about the deadline to respond or conditions placed on your offer.

Official acceptance letters (for records, study permits, etc.) are available through the application portal.

No. Acceptance letters are available through the application portal.

SCARP notifies entrance award recipients with their acceptance letters. If funding becomes available, SCARP will notify successful candidates by email.