2026-2027 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Degree Core Requirements | ||
| Required Courses | ||
| UAP 1004 | Introduction to Career & Professional Development in Public Service | 1 |
| UAP 1024 | Leadership, Service, and Public Problem Solving | 3 |
| PSCI 1014 | Introduction to United States Government and Politics | 3 |
| STAT 3604 | Statistics for Social Science | 3 |
| SPIA 3554 | Systems Thinking for Public Policy | 3 |
| UAP 4754 | Legal Foundations of Planning | 3 |
| UAP 3224 | Policy Implementation | 3 |
| UAP/PSCI 3744 | Public Policy Analysis | 3 |
| UAP 3024 | Urban and Regional Analysis | 3 |
| UAP 4914 | Seminar in Public and Urban Affairs | 3 |
| UH 4514 | Honors SuperStudio | 1 |
| Subtotal | 29 | |
| Major Requirements | ||
| Required Core Courses | ||
| SPIA 2004 | Introduction to Urban Analytics (Covers Pathway 5a) | 3 |
| SPIA/GEOG 2244 | Sustainable Urbanization | 3 |
| UAP 4004 | Professionalism in Public Service | 1 |
| SPIA 4464 | Data and the Art of Policy-Making and Planning (Covers Pathway 5a) | 3 |
| SPIA 4454 | Future of Cities | 3 |
| Subtotal | 13 | |
| Required Elective Courses | ||
| Select nine credit hours from the list below | 9 | |
| Subtotal | 9 | |
| Bridge Experience | ||
| SPIA 3900 | Bridge Experience | 0 |
| Free Electives | ||
| Select as many credits as needed to reach 120 credits | 30 | |
| Subtotal | 30 | |
| Pathways to General Education | ||
| Pathways Concept 1 - Discourse | ||
| ENGL 1105 | First-Year Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 1106 | First-Year Writing | 3 |
| Select three credis in Pathway 1a | 3 | |
| Pathways Concept 2 - Critical Thinking in the Humanities | ||
| PHIL 1304 | Morality and Justice | 3 |
| or PHIL 2304 | Global Ethics | |
| Select three credis in Pathway 2 | 3 | |
| Pathways Concept 3 - Reasoning in the Social Sciences | ||
| SPIA 2554 | Collaborative Policy-Making and Planning | 3 |
| ECON 2005 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
| or AAEC 1005 | Economics of the Food and Fiber System | |
| Pathways Concept 4 - Reasoning in the Natural Sciences | ||
| Select six credits in Pathway 4 1 | 6 | |
| Pathways Concept 5 - Quantitative and Computational Thinking The Pathways 5a requirement is met by completing the SSC Major core (specifically - SPIA 2004 and SPIA 4464) | ||
| MATH 1014 | Precalculus with Transcendental Functions | 3 |
| Pathways Concept 6 - Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts | ||
| Select three credits in Pathway 6a | 3 | |
| Select three credits in Pathway 6d | 3 | |
| Pathways Concept 7 - Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States | ||
| Pathways Concept 7 is currently suspended effective Fall 2025. Please refer to the Pathways Page for more information. | ||
| Select three credits in Pathway 7 | 3 | |
| Subtotal | 39 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
No labs are required
Select nine (9) credit hours from the elective courses listed below. All courses listed below are 3 credit hours.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Urban Policy and Decision-Making | ||
| UAP 3014 | Urban Policy and Planning | 3 |
| UAP/PSCI 3714 | The U. S. Policy Process | 3 |
| UAP 3264 | Contemporary Urban Issues | 3 |
| UAP 4344 | Law of Critical Environmental Areas | 3 |
| UAP 4374 | Sustainable Land Use and Environmental Planning | 3 |
| UAP 4394 | Community Renewable Energy Systems | 3 |
| UAP 4854 | Planning of the Urban Infrastructure | 3 |
| UAP/PSCI 4624 | The Washington Semester: Seminar in American Politics and Public Policy | 3 |
| UAP/PSCI 4644 | Washington Semester: Politics, Policy and Administration in A Democracy | 3 |
| SPIA 4964 | Field Work/Practicum | 3 |
| SPIA/HNFE 2314 | Active Transportation for a Healthy, Sustainable Planet | 3 |
| SPIA 3704 | Urban Contention and Mobilization | 3 |
| HD 3024 | Community Analytics | 3 |
| PSCI 3424 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| PSCI 3434 | Urban Politics | 3 |
| UAP 4964 | Field Study | 3 |
| GIS/Data | ||
| GEOG 2084 | Principles of Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| GEOG/GEOS 4084 | Modeling with Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| CS 1064 | Introduction to Programming in Python | 3 |
| Urban Design | ||
| ARCH 3504 | Topics in Architectural Media and Methods | 3 |
| ARCH 4324 | Advanced Topics in Architectural Media and Methods | 3 |
| LAR 3044 | Land Analysis and Site Planning | 3 |
| CEE 2834 | Civil Engineering Drawings and Virtual Modeling | 3 |
| Cities, Culture, and Place | ||
| LAR 2254 | Social and Cultural Landscapes | 3 |
| LAR 3264 | People Community and Place | 3 |
| LAR 4034 | Evolution of the American Landscape | 3 |
| FREC/HORT 2134 | Plants and Greenspaces in Urban Communities | 3 |
| FREC 4454 | Principles of Urban and Community Forestry | 3 |
| GEOG 3244 | The U.S. City | 3 |
| Economics | ||
| UAP/REAL 2004 | Principles of Real Estate | 3 |
| ECON 3024 | Economic Justice | 3 |
| ECON 4014 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| AAEC 3324 | Environment and Sustainable Development Economics | 3 |
| International | ||
| UAP 3954 | Study Abroad | 3 |
| UAP/SOC/GEOG 4764 | International Development Policy and Planning | 3 |
| SPIA 2544 | Policy Dynamics in Global Health | 3 |
| SPIA 4954 | Study Abroad | 1-19 |
Students are responsible for ensuring that all graduation requirements are met and should consult their academic advisor regularly for assistance with degree planning.
To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Public and Urban Affairs (major in Urban Planning), students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours. All courses used to meet major requirements must be taken for a letter grade (A–F), unless otherwise specified. Courses taken on a pass/fail basis may not be used to satisfy major requirements.
All courses in the Degree Core and Major Requirements are included in the in-major GPA calculation. A GPA of 2.0 or above (overall and in-major) is required for graduation.
No course can double count within or between SPIA-related majors or minors with the exception of the PUA Core Degree Requirements. In accordance with university guidelines, courses satisfying degree core requirements may not be used to satisfy other areas of a degree (e.g., Pathways).
Students may pursue more than one major or minor associated with the School of Public and International Affairs Program. In this case, the policy pertaining to the “Dual Use of Courses” will apply.
Some courses have prerequisites. Consult the University Catalog and/or check with your advisor regarding course planning.
Students must meet the university’s language study requirement by completing two units of a single foreign, classical, or American Sign Language in middle or high school. Students who do not complete two units prior to admission must earn six semester hours of college-level credit in a single, foreign, classical, or American Sign Language. These credits are in addition to the total number normally required for graduation.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| ENGL 1105 | First-Year Writing | 3 |
| UAP 1024 | Leadership, Service, and Public Problem Solving | 3 |
| MATH 1014 | Precalculus with Transcendental Functions | 3 |
| PSCI 1014 | Introduction to United States Government and Politics | 3 |
| PHIL 1304 or PHIL 2304 | Morality and Justice or Global Ethics | 3 |
| UAP 1004 | Introduction to Career & Professional Development in Public Service | 1 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ENGL 1106 | First-Year Writing | 3 |
| SPIA 2244 | Sustainable Urbanization | 3 |
| Pathway 4 (Student choice) | 3 | |
| Pathway 2 (Student choice) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| ECON 2005 or AAEC 1005 | Principles of Economics or Economics of the Food and Fiber System | 3 |
| SPIA 2554 | Collaborative Policy-Making and Planning | 3 |
| SPIA 2004 | Introduction to Urban Analytics (Pathway 5a) | 3 |
| UP Major Elective | 3 | |
| Pathway 4 (Student choice) | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| STAT 3604 | Statistics for Social Science | 3 |
| UAP 3744 | Public Policy Analysis | 3 |
| Pathway 1a (Student choice) | 3 | |
| Pathway 6a | 3 | |
| Free Electives | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| UAP 3024 | Urban and Regional Analysis | 3 |
| SPIA 4454 | Future of Cities | 3 |
| Pathway 6d | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| SPIA 3554 | Systems Thinking for Public Policy | 3 |
| SPIA 4464 | Data and the Art of Policy-Making and Planning (Pathway 5a) | 3 |
| UAP 4754 | Legal Foundations of Planning | 3 |
| UAP 3224 | Policy Implementation | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| UAP 4004 | Professionalism in Public Service | 1 |
| UP Major Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Pathways Concept 7 - Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States | 3 | |
| SPIA 3900 | Bridge Experience | 0 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| UAP 4914 | Seminar in Public and Urban Affairs | 3 |
| UH 4514 | Honors SuperStudio | 1 |
| UP Major Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
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