Urban Informatics

Climate and resilience

Specialize in policy challenges related to climate change and the tools designed to respond to them. Understand and instill resilience in communities vulnerable to disruption.

Communities and economic development

Specialize in policy challenges associated with neighborhoods and communities and the tools for addressing them. Examine how communities work and the interventions that help them thrive.

Transportation and infrastructure

Specialize in the policy challenges and methods associated with transportation and related infrastructure. This includes questions of policy and operations pertaining to traffic management and public transit and the skills for analyzing mobility decisions.

• Complete your degree with the flexibility of online coursework and part- and full-time options.
• Learn from and collaborate with respected experts at a leading university in participatory modeling and urban informatics.
• Specialize with an optional concentration in climate and resilience, communities and economic development, or transportation and infrastructure.
• Help solve real-world problems with local agencies, companies, and nonprofits through a capstone project, practicum, collaborative research, and other opportunities.
• Build experience and get paid while you earn your master’s with an optional six-month full-time co-op.
• Network with alums in influential roles at top companies, impactful organizations, and key governmental bodies.

• The employment rate for MS in Urban Informatics graduates one year after graduation is 100% (College of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2024).
• There is a 16% increase in salary for professionals with a master’s over those with only a bachelor’s (Indeed, 2024).
• With 75% of the world’s population projected to be living in cities by 2050, there is a strong and increasing demand for professionals in careers that manage growth and development in the urban environment.
• In addition to large public and private interests, a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and startups have turned their attention toward urban informatics.

• Application

• Application fee

• Personal statement

• Resumé

• Three letters of recommendation

• Unofficial transcripts from all institutions attended

  • The Foreign Credential Evaluation (FCE) is a required assessment of all transcripts and documents from non-U.S. accredited post-secondary education institutions. (Review the

    FCE requirements

    by country.)

• English proficiency for international applicants

• Standardized test scores such as the GRE are not required for master's degree applicants to the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. However, such test scores may be helpful for applicants with little or no experience beyond undergraduate school.