Welcome!

As the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, we aim to make the environments, settlements, and cities in which we live more livable. In doing so, we have adopted as core principles the rational use of nature’s resources in a way that preserves them for future generations, the protection of cultural heritage and historical values, and a commitment to equity and tolerance.

Our vision is to be a department that guides the planning discipline across all scales, competes at national and international levels, integrates its deep-rooted legacy with contemporary initiatives, and provides a leading environment in education, research, and professional practice through an innovative academic staff. Our mission is to educate city and regional planners and scholars who can comprehend life and space in order to shape the future, integrate accumulated knowledge with a creative and enlightened professional identity, and continuously develop themselves through innovation. In addition, our mission is to translate knowledge produced through research and practice into societal value in the public interest.

Since the 1983–1984 academic year, our Department has delivered education with one of the largest academic staffs in Türkiye. To educate city planners who can also practice their profession in a foreign language, 30% of the courses in the curriculum have been offered in English since 1997. The program consists of compulsory, elective, and studio courses. Starting from the 2010–2011 academic year, the program has been delivered fully in English. The total program credit is 130 (240 ECTS). The curriculum has been structured to facilitate double major opportunities within the Faculty of Architecture and participation in exchange programs such as Erasmus.

Our graduates can work as city planners in both the private and public sectors, across urban and rural contexts. In the public sector, city planners serve at different levels, ranging from central government institutions (such as the State Planning Organization and ministries) to the smallest municipalities. Their work spans a wide spectrum, from high-level decisions such as defining development policies and strategies and guiding societal development, to practice areas such as planning metropolitan regions or supporting the development of small rural settlements. In the private sector, planners may provide services through their own planning offices and also work in real estate development companies, banks, industrial firms, mass housing institutions, and investment companies.

In the 2001–2002 academic year, our master’s and PhD programs affiliated with the ITU Graduate School of Science, Engineering, and Technology were restructured. Currently, within the ITU Graduate School, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning offers master’s programs in Urban Planning and Regional Planning, as well as a PhD program in Urban and Regional Planning. In addition, the interdisciplinary Urban Design Program, jointly delivered with the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture within the Faculty of Architecture, began admitting students from the 2002–2003 academic year onward. Students are admitted to each program from disciplines such as Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Geomatics, Statistics, Geography, Economics, and Sociology.