AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University's graduate program in community and regional planning earned high marks in the latest survey by Planetizen.
Planetizen is considered the leading online network for the urban planning, design and development community. Produced every three years, the "Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs" provides the only comprehensive rankings of graduate urban planning programs in the United States.
For 2012, Iowa State University is ranked 13th in the nation among programs that do not grant a doctorate in planning. There are 83 non-Ph.D.-granting planning programs out of total 132 programs accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
Iowa State also ranked sixth overall among all Midwestern graduate planning programs, including those that offer a doctoral degree. This is up from 10th place in 2009.
Planetizen's rankings are based on an opinion survey of planning educators as well as detailed statistical data collected from the programs themselves. Educator opinions of their own institutions were not included in the ranking, and other relationships between educators and the programs being rated were weighted to account for bias.
Planetizen also surveyed current students and recent graduates about their graduate planning program. This information was used to help determine which factors were most important to students in choosing a program but was not included in the rankings.
Iowa State's accredited Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree program is a part of the College of Design.