Queen’s accredited two-year Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MPL) program has been preparing students for fulfilling careers in planning since 1970.
At Queen’s SURP, students develop the knowledge and skills they require to become leaders in the planning field who tackle some of society’s biggest challenges.
The time is now to kick-start your career in urban and regional planning.
Why Study Urban and Regional Planning Now?
Planners are in high demand in Canada. The climate emergency, the housing crisis, social inequalities, along with government commitments to fast-track major infrastructure projects, all require the expertise of planners to navigate. As a country, we need to meet the challenges of rapidly evolving environmental, economic, and social imperatives, from the local to the global scale.
Top 5 Reasons to Apply to Queen’s SURP
- Bridge to the planning profession. Queen’s two-year accredited planning program is a key stage toward earning the Registered Professional Planners designation.
- Specialized training. Specialize in environmental services, health and social planning, or land use and real estate to develop the knowledge and skills required to compete in the labour market and become a leader in the planning field.
- Earn while you learn. Help pay for your studies through a paid professional internship during the summer term that will offer marketable experience for your career in planning.
- Employability. Leverage ’s close connection with the profession to enter or return to the workforce quickly; over 90% of our graduates have obtained planning-related employment within three months of graduation.
- Lifelong connections. By joining the close-knit Queen’s SURP community, you will forge strong bonds with other students, faculty, and alumni who will support and mentor you during your studies and throughout your planning career.
Note, these are only the top 5 reasons – there are many more, which you learn about below or by connecting with SURP!
Connect with Queen’s SURP
Connect with SURP faculty, staff, and students in person or online at an upcoming event or in a 1:1 meeting.
Join us for:
- SURP Virtual Info Session on Tuesday, November 18 at 4:00 pm:
- SURP Open House on Thursday, November 20, at 12:00 pm EST in Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room E208, Queen’s University
You can also join us for Queen’s Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) Think Grad Studies online and in-person events on November 12 and 13, which will be panel discussions and informal meet and greets with our current graduate students from some of the Faculty’s 30+ departments, including SURP.
Or meet a current SURP student or Patricia Collins, the SURP Admissions Coordinator, in a 1:1 meeting in person or online:
- Learn by doing through collaborative teamwork, experiential pedagogy, and course-based projects with real-world clients.
- Specialize in Land Use and Real Estate; Environmental Planning; or Health and Social Planning.
- Choose the degree pathway that is right for you: course-only; report; or thesis.
- Gain paid and relevant experience as SURP facilitates professional internships in the summer term as well as teaching and research positions.
- Learn from a team of exceptional professors (see the sections on SURP Faculty below) and study with a diverse group of classmates drawn from across Canada (see our alumni and student profiles) in a close-knit and collegial environment.
- Gain a global perspective with opportunities for an international studio or exchange in your fifth term. Global engagement is also fostered through international case studies, visiting scholars, and international students.
- Attend provincial and/or national planning conferences and participate in field trips to three of Canada’s largest cities: Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
- Stay in touch with your friends and classmates after you graduate through our newsletters, social media, and alumni events.
- Gain a Canadian and international network of almost 1000 planning colleagues. SURP alumni hold senior positions from St. John’s to Vancouver to Yellowknife, and many cities in-between.
- Our program is professionally accredited by the on behalf of the and the . As a graduate, you will be eligible for professional registration across Canada and the USA (through arrangements with the American Institute of Certified Planners).
- Over the past five years, more than 90% of our students have obtained paid professional internships during the summer term, and more than 90% of our graduates have obtained planning-related employment within 3 months of graduation.
- About 50% of SURP graduates work in the public sector, with policy agencies at the federal and provincial levels or as planners at local and regional governments.
- Approximately 1/3 of SURP graduates work in the private sector, as planning consultants or in the real estate industry. Other graduates work with non-profit agencies, NGOs, or continue to doctoral studies.
’s core faculty combine years of professional experience with strong research skills and a passion for promoting learning. The core faculty are complemented by highly-qualified adjunct lecturers who are practicing professional planners.
Planning Faculty and Continuing Adjuncts
- SURP is a part of the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS), the largest faculty at Queen’s, making up over 60% of the University.
- FAS offers over 60 graduate programs, including professional master’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, and is home to over 1,600 graduate students.
- Queen’s University is one of Canada’s leading research-intensive universities, with other strong professional schools that can enrich your MPL studies, and a compact campus that is nestled on the shores of Lake Ontario.
- SURP's immediate neighbours are the GIS Lab, Geography research labs, the IT Support Centre, Global Development Studies, , School of Policy Studies, and the .
- Adjacent buildings include and the new . The Schools of Environmental Studies, , and are all within a five-minute walk.
- Kingston has been a dynamic and welcoming town for university students for over 150 years.
- Described by students as both “quaint” and “eclectic,” Kingston is big enough to provide all the conveniences of modern life, and small enough for students, staff, and faculty to feel instantly comfortable and at home.
- Queen’s is an integral part of the Kingston community, with the campus only a 10-minute walk to the city’s vibrant downtown offering a range of shopping, dining, and entertainment opportunities.
- Most students live within walking distance of campus and Kingston’s historic and active downtown.
- You won’t need a car, since your student card is a transit pass. With its mild winters and flat terrain, students are also encouraged to bring a bicycle as a year-round commuting option.