The Graduate Program in Community and Regional Planning (CRP) is housed within The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture (UTSOA). Our program draws upon the full resources of a top-ranked, tier-1 research university, and offers a course of study that combines cutting-edge research and practice where students engage in real-world projects.
The CRP Program provides its graduates with the theoretical foundations, specific skills, and practical experience to succeed in professional planning and related policy careers. We strive to create a diverse student body and program and are deeply committed to building a professional planning community that resembles the communities in which our students and faculty work.
WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE
We are a small and friendly program of about 100 graduate students housed in a major tier-1 research university, with a student-faculty ratio under 9:1. Our program has a strong focus on sustainable development processes and practices. We seek development paths that balance growth with improved environmental performance while expanding opportunities for all segments of the community. Planning faculty and students are involved in an array of innovative research and practice activities in sustainability through our major research center, the Center for Sustainable Development, and our program also carries out exciting research and project work in our local community and around the world.
AUSTIN IS OUR LABORATORY
Our program is located in one of the most vibrant and fast-growing cities in the country, providing students with a bounty of interesting and exciting things to do. The city and surrounding region also offer a unique breadth of real-life planning challenges and serves as a laboratory for our courses and research projects. In addition to local planning decisions, Austin, as the state capital, is the central forum for state-level issues. The result is a unique setting for community and regional planning, where there are diverse opportunities for planning-related academic study and engagement, and an attractive job market for planners and for a variety of allied professions.
#9 PLANNING PROGRAM IN THE U.S.

The only comprehensive ranking of graduate planning programs, Planetizen’s ranking is a testament to the program’s commitment to preparing the next generation of planners to change the world.
Community and Regional Planning
DEGREES + PROGRAMS
The Community and Regional Planning Program at the University of Texas at Austin offers six graduate-level degree programs as well as a Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning.
GRADUATE | PH.D. | |
---|---|---|
Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning [MSCRP] |
MSCRP + Master of Arts in Latin American Studies |
CITY FORUM LECTURE SERIES
City Forum is a planning and urban issues speaker series intended to provide a space for open, critical dialogue regarding crucial planning-related issues in Austin and elsewhere. The speaker series is intended to encourage discussion of diversity, multiple publics, and social change.
COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING WORK
Click on images below for more information on CRP projects.
FOLLOW US
- Instagram Post@utsoa
The countdown is on! This Saturday, we celebrate YOU, our incredible planning and design graduates. We are so proud of everything you’ve achieved and can’t wait to cheer you on at Commencement. 🎉
Instagram Post@utsoaSave the date for 40 Hours for the Forty Acres! This year, on May 7-8, we’re focusing on raising support for travel scholarships to provide students with opportunities to experience architecture, planning, and design in real-world contexts.
Instagram Post@utsoaAssistant Professor Ria Bravo’s (@riabravodesign) Interiors Fabrications course introduces students to a range of fabrication techniques and materials, including sewing, 3D printing, CNC routing, and hands-on construction methods.
Instagram Post@utsoaWe’re excited to welcome pioneering Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom to campus next week as the School of Architecture’s 2025 Commencement Speaker.
Instagram Post@utsoaYou did that: final reviews are done! 🙌 We saw incredible work throughout the week and couldn’t be more proud of your hard work this semester.
Instagram Post@utsoaJoin us next Friday, May 2 for our End of Year Show, an exhibit celebrating a year of UTSOA, themed Overexposed.
Instagram Post@utsoaCongrats @utsoafirstyears on wrapping up Design II final reviews yesterday!
Final review week continues tomorrow through Friday. For a list of guest critics, visit the link in our bio. And tune in and follow along on our stories all week.
Best of luck everyone!Instagram Post@utsoaCongratulations to the three interior design students named to Metropolis Magazine’s 2025 Future 100 list: Winnie Lin @winnlin (MID), Ashley Marie Sparks @ashleysparks_ (BSID), and Nandita Warrier (MID II).
Instagram Post@utsoaThe Interior Design Program at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture is hosting the Interior Provocations symposium, in collaboration with Pratt Institute, on Friday, November 7, 2025.