Urban and Regional Planning is a professional program that provides students with the knowledge base and analytical and design skills to address issues that affect the quality of life in neighborhoods, suburbs, cities, and regions. The curriculum consists of planning lecture courses, design courses, and professional practice courses that give students real-world planning experience. Students select courses from a wide variety of distributed electives that allow them to focus on topics of particular interest. Graduates of the program qualify for positions in a variety of public and private organizations, including local and state planning departments, nonprofit organizations, and private sector planning and development firms.