The University of British Columbia offers Planning: Master of Arts (MAP) - UBCV, a master's degree in Urban Planning programme in Vancouver, Canada. The programme is delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 10,082 per year (CAD 5,739 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Master's Degree
Field:Urban Planning
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 5,739 / year
International tuition: CAD 10,082 / year
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Master of Arts in Planning is SCARP's thesis-based research degree, intended for people progressing toward doctoral research, mid-career professionals, and those building a platform in planning and policy. The required sequence is PLAN 558 on the role of theory in planning research, PLAN 559 on the design of planning- and policy-oriented research, PLAN 560 the master's thesis workshop, and an approved qualitative research methods course, followed by twelve credits of concentration coursework and the master's thesis itself. Students may assemble that concentration from SCARP and wider UBC offerings, which makes the degree deliberately transdisciplinary. Supervision spans community development and social planning, comparative development planning, disaster and risk management planning, ecological and natural resources planning, transportation planning and urban development planning, and the school draws candidates from both arts and science undergraduate backgrounds. Recent graduates have finished in a little over two years.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:76.00 / %
Admission Requirements: Admission is administered by UBC's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS) under its published requirements for this master's program. Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree. FGPS's minimum admission average is in the B+ range (76 per cent), and this program's page states no higher academic minimum, though meeting it does not guarantee admission in a competitive process. Applicants from a university where English was not the language of instruction must meet this program's published English-proficiency minimum: IELTS Academic overall 7 with no band below 6.5; or TOEFL iBT overall 5 with no skill below 4 on the 6-point scale in effect for tests sat from 21 January 2026 (overall 100 with no skill below 21 on the prior 120-point scale); or Duolingo English Test overall 130 with no skill below 120. The GRE is optional. The application also requires three letters of reference and transcripts from all prior post-secondary study.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic and international undergraduate applicants both apply through EducationPlannerBC for Winter Session 2027/28 (September 2027 entry) and Summer 2027: applications open in early October 2026 and the equal-consideration deadline is 15 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. PST, the same date for both groups; a few programs keep reviewing late applications on a space-available basis afterwards. Earlier dates apply only to entrance-award consideration -- 15 November 2026 for the International Scholars Program and 1 December 2026 for Presidential/Centennial/Beyond Tomorrow scholars. Several limited-entry programmes -- Law, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing (advanced entry), Occupational/Physical Therapy, Social Work and Teacher Education -- set their own earlier deadlines from October 2026 through February 2027. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
