For Autumn quarter admission, January 15 is the deadline for both U.S. applicants and international applicants. October 15 is the application deadline for Winter quarter admission for both U.S. and international applicants. All application materials must be received by the deadline. English language test scores (if applicable) need to be received by the University of Washington by the deadlines, and applicants should schedule their exams accordingly.
The GRE is no longer required for the MUP program. Applicants applying for Autumn 2023 onward are not required to submit GRE scores.
If you submit your application and receive a message asking to submit official GRE scores, please disregard it.
Starting with the entering class of Autumn 2015, the MUP program will no longer require prerequisites. However, because resource allocation is often a key issue in planning, we consider a solid understanding of basic economic principles essential for all planners. Moreover, students should be aware that they are expected to have a foundation in microeconomics for certain courses and thus should be adequately prepared if they plan to take such a course. Students who join the MUP program without having completed a course in economics (microeconomics in particular) may be counseled to take an economics course as part of their curriculum.
Students who lack knowledge in economics but wish to take a microeconomics course prior to entering the MUP program have several options. Students may take a microeconomics course at a community college or through an on-line program. Students may also take ECON 200, Intro to Microeconomics, at the University of Washington (5 credits). This course is offered every quarter, but tends to have greater availability in summer quarter. Please note, however, that the credits will not count towards the MUP degree.
U.S. applicants should complete and submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The aid form can be found here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.
Departmental support is different from federal financial aid. The Department is usually able to offer some financial support to the top-ranked applicants in the incoming class. The MUP Program Supplemental Information Form in the online MUP application includes an area to indicate your interest in Departmental financial support. You need not submit a separate application to be considered for Departmental funding.
To learn more about funding opportunities, please see the MUP Finances webpage.
Financial aid awards, as awarded by the University of Washington Office of Student Financial Aid, are usually known by early April.
Applicants who are offered Departmental funding will be notified between March to June prior to Autumn enrollment.
Master of Urban Planning program applicants are invited to upload an electronic portfolio or work sample to their online application, though one is not required. The work sample should illustrate their interests and abilities in areas related to urban design and planning. This can be an essay, a paper, a publication, a report, or a project for which the person applying to the program has had major responsibility.
When submitting a work sample, please keep the following in mind:
- The work sample must be submitted as a PDF file to the online application (due to security issues and size restrictions, work samples cannot be submitted via email).
- The work sample must be no larger than 30 MB and no more than 20 pages in length.
- Please add your name, the program to which you are applying and the year and quarter at the top of the document.
Applicants are notified regarding Autumn quarter admission by early April.
Yes, you can pay the application fee and submit your application if your recommendations and official test scores have not yet been received–those application materials will be matched to your application when they are received. Note that after you pay the application fee and submit your application you cannot make further changes to your application with the exception of designating your recommenders, updating your contact information, and uploading updated versions of your transcript(s). You can check the status of your application after you submit it by logging in.
If the courses you took during your study abroad program appear on your primary institution’s transcript with the course title, credits, and grade, than you do not need to upload the study abroad transcript. However, if the course title, credits, or grade do not appear on your primary transcript, than you will need to upload the transcript from your study abroad program translated into English. When uploading these types of transcripts to your application, you may leave the fields blank for major and degree received.
Applicants must upload unofficial transcripts to their on-line application. Individuals offered admission will be required to send a complete set of hard copy official transcripts.
The University of Washington Graduate School has an Admissions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage. To learn more about the application process to the Graduate School, please see UW Graduate School How to Apply
Most applicants do not have extensive academic or professional experience in urban planning or design and they come from a wide range of undergraduate backgrounds. This is reflective of the field of planning, which is interdisciplinary by nature. The largest number of applicants tend to come from design fields, engineering, environmental sciences, geography, etc. Another large group come from the social sciences including sociology, political science, anthropology, etc. All these and others are useful backgrounds. What we look for is someone who has gotten some initial exposure to the planning field through any of a variety of means such as taking courses, community involvements, possible interning, and/or self-directed study or travel that has brought them to a point where they can make an informed decision about entering this field and can articulate some of their interests and objectives related to it. These, as well as a thoughtful discussion of why our program is a good fit, are the substance of the written statement of purpose for the application.
The Department of Urban Design and Planning has a Professionals Council (PC) comprised of local planners in the Seattle area who volunteer their time to mentor MUP students. For every MUP student, there is a PC member assigned to mentor them based on mutual interests. The PC mentors help students network, identify internships, provide career advice, and much more. The PC holds events for MUP students throughout the year, including resume workshops, interview clinics, studio tours, panels of prominent planners discussing important issues, social events, scholarship funds, and more. The Professionals Council is a unique resource for our students not found in other planning programs, and is recognized by the Planning Accreditation Board as a model for planning programs across the nation.
On average, ~90% of alumni secure a planning-related or professional planning job within one year of graduating from the MUP program. Planning-related jobs are defined as being any paid position in which the skills and knowledge acquired through the MUP program were routinely used in the context of the job.
Our alumni find work locally, nationally, and internationally. The positions they enter are diverse and include both the public and private sector; but typically, the highest percentage work for government agencies at the local level.
For a representative selection of current positions of MUP Alumni who graduated in 2010 and onward, please see our Resources page under the heading Alumni – Where Are They Now.
Internships are highly encouraged but not required. Students identify internship opportunities through email announcements sent through the Urban Design and Planning office and postings on our LinkedIn page.
Many of our MUP students work part-time in planning-related jobs and internships while enrolled in the program, typically in the spring or summer of their first year and beyond. Many make professional connections during their internship, which for some can lead to permanent employment after graduating from the MUP program.
Please see “Am I an international applicant?” on the Graduate School’s University of Washington Graduate School’s Admissions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage.
Proficiency in English is required for graduate study at the University of Washington. Therefore, every applicant whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. No waivers of this English proficiency requirement may be given. For more information, please see the Graduate School’s English Language Proficiency Requirements webpage. Please note that, for applicants submitting a TOEFL score to demonstrate English proficiency, a minimum score of 92 is required by the MUP program.
International applicants are typically eligible for the Departmental fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, scholarships, and awards as described in the Finances webpage. However, because funding for MUP students is not guaranteed, it is crucial that International students be prepared to fully fund their education.
Please see the University of Washington Graduate School’s Admissions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage for assistance.
If transcripts are arriving by courier or express service (e.g., FedEx, DHL, UPS), they should be addressed to:
MUP Program Admissions Committee
University of Washington – Department of Urban Design and Planning
3950 University Way NE, 410 Gould Hall
Seattle, WA 98195-5740