This ranking places Georgia Tech 5th among public university planning programs in the nation, and 2nd among all university planning programs in the southern states. In addition, the program was one of seven cited as highly rated in the specialty of Transportation Planning. 

“We’re pleased to add the results of Planetizen’s analysis to the successes of our alumni and students,” said School Chair Bruce Stiftel. “It is evidence that students can expect a very high-quality city planning education at Georgia Tech, preparing them well for the challenges of leadership in cities and regions globally.”   

Rankings are based on a reputational survey of planning educators, program characteristics such as course offerings and student/faculty ratio; faculty characteristics such as diversity and research productivity; and student characteristics including acceptance rate, retention rate and diversity.

“This considerable jump reflects our dedication to offering the most significant, relevant education in preparing our students to be leaders in the profession,” said College of Architecture Dean Alan Balfour. “Although the Planetizen rankings are not the sole measure of our success, we certainly are proud to be among the very best in the nation.”

Tech’s 8th place ranking follows Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cornell University; Rutgers University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and University of Southern California. The top ten also includes University of California, Los Angeles and University of Pennsylvania.

Georgia Tech’s graduate planning program began in 1952 and counts more than 1,200 alumni now working in 49 states and territories and 29 foreign countries. The School of City and Regional Planning also offers courses for undergraduates as well as a PhD program.

Planetizen’s 2012 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs is available online at http://www.planetizen.com/topschools and in print.