Message from the director
Welcome to the School of Planning at Waterloo!
This is Canada’s largest and one of the longest-established Planning Schools in this country. Our School is an interdisciplinary community, reflecting and building on the learning and research culture that was established in 1969. We maintain strong connections with the Planning profession, and we focus on combining conceptually rich education with applied experience.
We think that this is such a great time to study and work in Planning. There is so much important work to be done. Our professors and students study, and carry out research that addresses, some of the most pressing societal issues such as affordable housing, climate change, environmental conservation and policy, active transportation, urban economies, participatory planning processes, and equity and inclusion, among many other subjects. We offer a range of subfields in Planning including social planning, environmental planning, community sustainability, urban design, transportation, housing, urban economics, heritage and more.
Located in the Faculty of Environment's LEED Platinum certified Environment 3 building, we are the only Planning School in Canada to offer programs at the Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD levels. Our BES, MA, and MES programs are accredited by the Canadian Planning Profession. Our students explore Planning practice and theory, and they gain practical experience through co-op jobs or internships. The PhD program welcomes scholars with career aspirations in academia or the policy worlds. We are proud to provide a high-quality, experience-based education that is the foundation for students’ future success, whether in Planning practice, related fields, or further studies.
We look forward to connecting with you.
Sincerely,
Mark Seasons PhD, FCIP, RPP
MA/MES Domestic application deadlines
Application deadline is January 15th. Please contact potential supervisors prior to applying to discuss your interest in this program and confirm that they are still accepting new students.
Quick links
News
Dr. Dawn Parker Awarded Top Honor in Land Systems Science
Celebrating Dr. Dawn Parker: Recipient of the 2024 Influential Female Researcher Award
Planning Students Participate in Campus Plan Walking Tour and Design Charette
Dr. Katherine Perrott and students from the School of Planning welcomed consultants from Brook McIlroy for a student-led walking tour, followed by a design charette focused on outdoor learning spaces.
New research from Dr. Martine August shows corporate property owners are fueling rent increases in Toronto
Research from Dr. Martine August from the School of Planning shows that between 2022 and 2024, corporate landlords charged rents for multifamily units that were 44 percent higher on average than those charged by other landlords for comparable housing types.