Program Introduction

Founded in 1961 as Turkey’s first planning school, METU’s Department of City and Regional Planning (CRP) transforms students into planners who go beyond producing zoning plans. You will learn to read cities, analyze complexity, think at multiple scales, and make decisions amid uncertainty. The program’s interdisciplinary structure integrates analytical thinking with design skills, scientific methods with public responsibility, and evidence-based approaches with human-centered solutions. By the time you graduate, you will be able to answer not only “what should be done where?” but also “how can cities be more just, resilient, and sustainable?”—equipping you to shape the urban environments of the future.

Key Highlights

Post-Graduation Opportunities:

●      Public Sector: Municipalities, ministries, regional development agencies, and related government bodies.

●      Private Sector: Planning and consulting firms, real estate development companies, city design and project offices.

●      International Organizations: UN-Habitat-like institutions, international NGOs, and EU project firms.

●      Academia and Research: Opportunities for graduate studies, academic careers, and city research projects.

●      Data and Technology Fields: GIS, spatial analysis, city modeling, smart city applications, and R&D firms.

Distinctive Approach of the Department:

●      Dynamic education environment supported by a young and internationally oriented faculty with regularly updated curriculum.

●      Interdisciplinary understanding of planning that integrates social, economic, and environmental systems.

●      Integration of cutting-edge tools such as AI, advanced visualization, and effective presentation techniques.

●      Focus on climate-sensitive city design, nature-based solutions, and city transformation to strengthen critical thinking and public responsibility.

●      Fully English-taught program with Erasmus+ exchange opportunities for international exposure.

Application, Project, and Industry Exposure:

●      Studio projects conducted every semester in collaboration with local governments.

●      Field trips and direct interaction with municipalities, public institutions, and stakeholders.

●      Studio projects presented to juries and shared with academic and professional communities.

●      Mandatory internships providing hands-on professional experience.

●      Meetings and forums with alumni to explore career paths and professional practices.

Real Experience

●      Studio intensity is real: During studio project weeks, architecture faculty buildings stay lit until early morning. Model-making, drawing preparation, printing, and last-minute adjustments are part of the experience. Here, you truly learn time management and teamwork.

●      Group work is inevitable: Conflicts, task divisions, and last-minute coordination challenges happen every project. You learn collaboration, negotiation, and shared responsibility.

●      Jury culture is challenging but instructive: Submitting a project is just the start; you must defend it. You learn to accept criticism, respond to it, and justify or adapt your decisions.

●      Field trips are essential: You observe land uses, conduct surveys, and spend long hours on-site, understanding that planning is rooted in lived experience.

●      The workload is intense: Theory, technical courses, and studios run concurrently, fostering discipline and strong work habits for your future career.

●      GIS, digital tools, and visualization are central: You produce maps, analyze data, interpret results, and transform findings into actionable policy recommendations.

●      Critical thinking is embedded: Questions like “Who benefits? Who is excluded? What are the long-term impacts?” are always present, enabling you to understand the societal and political dimensions of planning decisions.

●      Your view of cities evolves: Walking through Ankara or other cities, you start reading transportation, density, public spaces, and environmental relationships. Cities become systems to analyze, plan, and improve.

●      Transformation is in the way you think: By your final year, you evolve from asking “what is planning?” to developing scenarios for the future of entire cities.

In this program, you gradually develop a mindset that can read space, society, and decision-making processes simultaneously—equipping you to become a skilled, reflective, and forward-thinking city planner.

For further information: https://crp.metu.edu.tr/