Best Urban Studies and Affairs graduate certificate programs - Updated 2020

Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change, Graduate Certificate. With 75 percent of the world’s population projected to be living in cities by 2050, the need for professionals in urban planning and related careers will only increase. The Graduate Certificate in Urban Analytics seeks to prepare students outside of the Master of Science in Urban Informatics program to manage the progressively complex issues involved with rapidly expanding data and technological resources in cities. As Claire Lane of the City of Boston recently noted, The blueprints for great cities are increasingly anchored in big data, expressed in GIS [Geographic Information Systems] and codified in coherent policy. Successful graduates with an urban analytics certificate have skills in each of these areas, which prepares them to be professionals ready to shape the future of cities across the globe.

Along with the MCP, MUA, and bachelor’s programs, the College offers a four-course, interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Applied Sustainability that looks at urban and economic development through an environmentally conscious lens, with courses in environmental law, green IT, urban planning history, and sustainability within the context of climate change. These certificates will be designed by top leaders in the field and will address the most pressing issues in urban sustainability that face aspiring and experienced planners, practitioners, policy makers, and industry leaders alike.

The Certificate in Urban Revitalization provides specialized training in the techniques and processes of city and neighborhood revitalization. Topics include adaptive reuse of buildings, historic preservation, real estate market analysis and the role of private-public partnerships in financing development projects. It also is useful for recent college graduates who desire advanced training beyond the baccalaureate level and accelerated entry into the job market. At any time, students in the certificate program may for admission into the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program and, if accepted, may transfer the certificate credits toward partial fulfillment of the master’s degree requirements. In addition to the general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School, the prerequisites and general criteria of eligibility for admission to the urban revitalization certificate program include:. Letter of intent describing interest in applying for the Certificate in Urban Revitalization. Demonstration of professional experience in planning or work related to the certificate program (The experience requirement may be waived for candidates who demonstrate professional promise.). All courses in the graduate Certificate in Urban Revitalization may be applied to meet the requirement of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree. However, successful completion of the certificate does not guarantee admission into the M.U.R.P. degree program. In addition to general VCU Graduate School graduation requirements, the Certificate in Urban Revitalization program requires 18 graduate credit hours of course work, which blends instruction in planning, urban design, economics and finance. Other elective, if approved by the program chair or certificate program coordinator. The minimum total of graduate credit hours required for this certificate is 18.