University Students
Do you want your students to stand out in the job marketplace? Do you want to see them leading the future of land use and urban development? UrbanPlan is the key to unlocking the potential of your students in the classroom and beyond through a one-of-a-kind educational experience.
The UrbanPlan curriculum, originally developed by ULI in partnership with the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley, engages undergraduate and graduate students in a powerful, interactive case study that puts them in the middle of a fictional city’s development project.
When delivered by universities, UrbanPlan aims to develop land use professionals–developers, planners, architects, investors, and policy makers–who are more sophisticated and effective when they enter the workforce.
Outcomes
UrbanPlan is practical, realistic, dynamic, and challenging-and that’s on purpose. By providing the chance to put theory into practice, UrbanPlan helps students:
- Get to know their classmates, often from different disciplines, in a team-building exercise.
- Think critically about the fundamentals of the development process and to participate in the simulation in a role different from their area of study.
- Move from a theoretical and ideological understanding of their discipline to the practical realities and demands of the development team and process.
- Enter the workforce as a more sophisticated, compassionate, and effective professional. Move from a theoretical and ideological understanding of their discipline to the practical realities and demands of the development team and process.
- Get involved with ULI and network with industry professionals and for some, they are introduced to careers in real estate outside of their area of study.
At a Glance
UrbanPlan is a flexible, modular program that can be tailored to undergraduate and graduate students in real estate or land use courses of study or where appropriate to students studying marketing, business, economics, etc. The unit, which can be delivered in person or remotely, runs over 12+ hours or in a condensed one-day workshop. Professors receive training and are fully supported by ULI in delivering the program with industry professionals serving as volunteers.
Bring UrbanPlan to Your University
Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in learning more about bringing UrbanPlan to your institution or check to see if UrbanPlan is already offered near you.
Success Story
[UrbanPlan] expands your students’ grid of what careers are in their reach and is a springboard you can give them as they make those decisions.
– Christine Obnial, Educator, Orange Coast College, California
Success Story
The realistic course curriculum helped me understand how the development process really works: all the way from analyzing an RFP to presenting our proposal to the City Council.
– Ross Petersen, Student, NC State University
Success Story
Urban Plan is an accessible and hands on introduction to learning about the development process in the U.S…I enjoy volunteering and meeting the diverse participants who are engaged in the workshops!
– Andrea Wise, Student & Volunteer, Georgetown University
Success Story
All the support behind these programs encourages students to think about stakeholders and their urban experience. The ULI program humanizes the urban concept so that people are considered as the main asset on a project rather than just a user.
– Fabrizzio Arteaga, MRAD Student, George Mason University
Success Story
Students – UrbanPlan is a great way to test drive a career in commercial real estate development, urban planning, community engagement, and other related fields.
– Brian Andrews, Professor, E.J. Ourso College of Business at LSU
91 % of Students
rated the program “good,” “very good,” or “excellent”
94% of Students
would recommend UrbanPlan to a friend
1,332 Students
participated in UrbanPlan at 35 Universities in FY22
Want to learn more about our impact?