Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP)
SCARP's Master of Community and Regional Planning trains you to transform knowledge into action and to plan in partnership, actualizing comprehensive planning theory to support the well-being of communities, improving built and natural environments, and planning for transformational change.
While still a student, you'll be given real-world problems in the community to plan and solve in partnership with organizations in consulting relationships. You'll be honing your skills, building your professional identity, and forging your first professional network all at the same time.
Not only are UBC grads the #3 most employable in Canada...95+% of MCRP grads secure Planning-related employment within 1 year of graduating!
Our curriculum addresses the biggest challenges facing the world today, including climate change, systemic injustice, decolonizing professional planning, and healing Indigenous partnerships.
Graduates of this internationally accredited program are recognised and sought out by organisations that protect and improve communities, from city halls to transportation authorities to social justice organisations. As MCRP is the only master’s degree in Planning accredited in both Canada and the United States, graduates are qualified to work as planners in Canada, the U.S., and any other country that recognizes Canadian and American planning accreditation.
Areas of impact and expertise (click to expand)
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Environment and climate change
Severe impacts of climate change are being felt everywhere, including street flooding, hotter and drier summers, and wildfire smoke, and are projected to get stronger. Beyond energy efficiency and ecological harm reduction, sustainable communities are ecosystems of harmony between developing and nature. We work to prevent impacts of climate change, while working to heal what's already in crisis.
Housing equity
Working towards socio-economic equality helps people access housing, employment, health, education, energy, transportation and everything you access from mobility, and even food. Learn how access to good housing can address equality crises everywhere.
Hazard resilience and disaster planning
How a region and its community can build resilience to risk and disaster in cities, coasts, marine transportation, and beyond. Disaster planning bridges engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences to understand risk, response, recovery, and the impact on communities. Learn how each population and each community is disproportionately affected, and how well-planned infrastructure and disaster response can heal these divides.
Indigenous Community Planning
ICP trains a new generation of planners to break with colonial tradition in respectful partnership with Indigenous communities, centered on their priorities. SCARP's ICP program, MCRP's only formal concentration, immersively teaches a blend of Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Planning with contemporary planning methods.
Transport access
Decisions regarding the shape of our communities and its supporting transportation infrastructure, services, information, policies, and oversight can help enable the ‘good’ cities we strive for. Transportation planning has decisive ramifications for not just the overall productivity of a region, but affordability, socioeconomic self-determination, housing, climate, and land rights.
Urban studies
Urban Studies furthers understanding of the forces that shape cities and how to redirect those forces. Urbanization has shaped and continues to shape the processes of social and environmental change. Explore how urban processes change societies and shape human relationships to each other and nature, how cities interrelate to each other through flow of people commodities money and ideas, and how tomorrow's cities lead to more sustainability and equity.
Each challenge met by planners has elements of all the above sub-fields.
Every community or regional crisis affects marginalised peoples first and foremost,
and therefore every plan begins and ends with how to include everyone in that plan and in its rewards.
Careers in Planning (click to expand)
Likewise, graduates from MCRP work in a wide range of successful and influential careers, from international organizations to local non-profits, from public to private, and including federal, provincial and municipal governments. With a 95% post-graduation planning-employment rate, SCARP's MCRP program not only has something to teach experts from any number of fields, and opens doors for you across all kinds of sectors.
Here's a Where Are They Now of some recent graduates:
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Eanimi Agube, grad 2023
First job after graduation:
Planning and Development Intern, County of Wetaskiwin
"SCARP has truly been a transformative journey for me, opening doors to the captivating realm of urban planning. Throughout my time with SCARP, I dedicated myself to finding the paths in which my interests lie and where I could make the most impact in this dynamic field. During these two years, I have had the opportunity to meet people from many places, who have shared knowledge of their lived experiences that I continue to carry along with me as I start a career. Undoubtedly, SCARP stands out as the ultimate hub to delve into the multifaceted world of planning. The swift passage of two years was filled with invaluable insights, cherished moments, and lasting camaraderie."
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William Canero, grad 2022
First job after graduation:
Systems Change Coordinator, Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society
"PLAN425: Urban Issues and Concepts, articulated everything I had come to identify as issues in public policy and was the driving force to apply for my master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning. Justice, Equity, and Inclusion appear in various facets of urban planning, and I wanted to learn more about what needs my community had."
Tadayori Nakao, class of 2019
First job after graduation:
Deputy Director, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan
Now First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Malaysia
"The way I learned in MCRP courses and exercised in the planning studio has been instrumental to actual policymaking situations today. SCARP also allowed me to deepen technical knowledge and develop research skills in transportation planning. Those skills have been useful to my work after graduation.”
Jean Roe, class of 2020
First job after graduation:
Planner, MODUS Planning, Design & Engagement
"SCARP equipped me with values, curiosity, and skills to embark on a career path as a planner. My learnings at grad school, from urban design theory and Indigenous community planning practices, to engagement techniques and policy best practice, helps me daily at work. I'll also always be grateful for the people I met while at SCARP -- many of whom are now my colleagues and close friends."
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Dawn Smith, class of 2021
First job after graduation:
Policy Analyst (now Sr Policy Analyst), BC Public Service
"MCRP's Indigenous Community Planning Program taught the skills and insights I needed to take up my work to decolonize planning, and support other non-Indigenous professionals in putting our labour and minds to meeting the challenge of reconciliation. I'm proud of my time at SCARP, and the path that it has put me on in the public service."
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Tyler Tichenor, class of 2022
First job after graduation:
Pre-Development Planner, New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development
"There is definitely a lively and honestly accessible planning community in Vancouver. SCARP helps connect you with that professional community. You have the opportunity to see what all the world of planning has to offer and decide what it is you are really passionate about."
This tab is what you need to know about eligibility to apply and how to apply.
Please review all information on requirements before you proceed here.
What you need to know to enroll
- Admission requirements are set by UBC's Faculty of Grad and Postdoctoral Studies.
More information - 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.
Submitting your Application
The option to submit your formal application will appear on this webpage once the application period begins. (The application schedule is detailed at the top of this webpage.)
Procedure
The Admissions Committee considers many factors in making admissions decisions: academic preparation, academic capability, experience, and fit with the School.
Please note that due to the volume of documents received we are unable to confirm receipt of documents by email or phone. Please check your online application regularly for updates.