The Department of City and Regional Planning at METU launched graduate education in 1961, introduced its undergraduate program the following year, and awarded its first graduate degree in 1963. Since then, the Department has sustained uninterrupted teaching and has educated more than 2,500 undergraduate students, nearly 800 master’s graduates, and 150 PhD graduates.

Across leading planning schools worldwide, curricula are expanding beyond a studio-centered model complemented by theoretical and contextual coursework toward an agenda that integrates data analytics, climate action, urban services, and professional practice. Spatial computation, coding, and remote sensing are increasingly recognized as essential skills, alongside design, geography, and policy as core literacies. Real-time data and digital twins are also being incorporated into planning processes and plan-making.

Keeping pace with developments in Türkiye and internationally, the Department maintains a dynamic profile through a rejuvenated and increasingly international academic staff and regularly updated curricula. Recent program enhancements include new courses on climate-sensitive urban design, nature-based solutions, and inclusive public space, complemented by analytical offerings in artificial intelligence for planning and design and advanced spatial visualization techniques. In planning studios, urban plans at multiple scales are developed through multidisciplinary analysis and synthesis, supported by housing and mobility scenarios oriented toward risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

The Department is also actively engaged in ERASMUS student and staff exchange programs and holds full membership in the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and the Association of Turkish Schools of Planning (TUPOB).

Prof.Dr. Emine Yetişkul Şenbil

Chair of the Department