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Public Information about our Master of Science Degree Program

In compliance with Planning Accreditation Board guidelines, the following provides information about the performance of the Department's Master of Science Degree program:

Student Achievement

The average undergraduate GPA of incoming M.S. students to the program is 3.36. Average GRE scores are difficult to calculate due to the variability of testing types. This said, the average percentile of students admitted into our M.S. Program for the currently administered verbal section was 67.9%; the average percentile for the quantitative section was 56.2%, and the average percentile for the analytical writing section was 45.4%. These percentages represent a ranking of all test-takers with the percentage of higher scores (above the average) and lower scores (below the average).

In general, our professional M.S. students in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning are active and successful in maintaining a 3.0 overall grade point average (GPA) in the courses that make up our accredited curriculum. This serves as the cutoff for academic probation as set by the Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. During the 2011/2012 academic year, there were no students on academic probation. Many (roughly 50 percent) attain GPAs above 3.5.

Further, our students are active participants in the Wisconsin Student Planning Association (WSPA) and the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). This is in addition to the variety of extramural activities available on-campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cost (Tuition and Fees)

Tuition and fees for a full-time student for one academic year vary year by year. The most up-to-date description of tuition and fees for graduate study in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning can be found here. In using this resource, please be certain to examine Graduate credit tuition and fees.

Student Retention & Graduate Rates

In 2012, The Department awarded 20 Master of Science degrees and one doctoral (Ph.D.) degree. For more information about past graduation rates, please see the Graduate School Program Profile for Urban & Regional Planning.

Most of our graduate students enrolled in the professional M.S. degree program graduate in 2 years (4 semesters). Of those that don't, the vast majority (above 95 percent) graduate within 4 years.

AICP Exam Success

Recent information from the American Institute of Certified Plannings (AICP) has identified the following pass rate for UW-Madison URPL graduates:

2004-2011: 97.7 percent pass rate
2008-2011: 100 percent pass rate

Note that these are the highest pass rates of ALL graduates from ALL U.S. planning programs.

Employment Rate of Fulltime Graduates

The employment rate of fulltime graduates in professional planning or planning-related job within one year of graduation is a difficult and highly variable statistic to identify. We have an ongoing effort to survey our graduates at the 2, 5, and 10 year post graduation period. At this point, our best estimate is that roughly 80 percent of our graduates are successful in attaining fulltime professional planning or planning-related employment.