The University of California, Berkeley, is the premier university in the world for transportation research, education and scholarship. Our large, diverse and evolving community is interested in all aspects of transportation, including intelligent transportation systems, data science and demand forecasting, autonomous and connected vehicles, aviation and airport design and operation, traffic safety, transportation finance, transportation economics, infrastructure design and maintenance, traffic theory, public policy, logistics, and energy and environmental systems analysis.
Transportation Engineering
Interdisciplinary Transportation Engineering Degrees(link is external) at the masters and PhD levels are based in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department(link is external) and draw on faculty from City and Regional Planning(link is external), Economics(link is external), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science(link is external), Industrial Engineering and Operations Research(link is external), Business Administration(link is external), Political Science(link is external), Energy Resources Group, Global Metropolitan Studies(link is external) and other departments.
Many research projects are housed at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), a research institute funded in 1947, that includes seven research centers, startup-incubators and accelerators, a tech transfer program and one of the leading transportation libraries in the world. The research funding averages $40 million/year and involves 300 faculty, staff and graduate student researchers, who make use of our unique facilities including self-driving vehicles, UAV, the first hydrogen vehicle fueling station in the Bay Area, traffic simulators, and battery and drone testbeds.
Areas of emphasis:(link is external)
Transportation Engineering
Transportation Systems Analysis
Transportation Planning
Supporting focus:
Economic
Energy and environmental
Infrastructure engineering and management
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Logistics and supply chain management
Planning and policy
Traffic analysis and control
For more information on programs, go to
Concurrent Master of City Planning/Master of Science
The Concurrent Master of City Planing/Master of Science(link is external) degree program with the Program in Transportation Engineering(link is external) within CEE enables students interested in transportation planning to acquire the tools for rigorously approaching transportation-engineering problems. CEE's approach to transportation is technical and analytical, while the Deparment of City and Regional Planning focuses on policy issues, particularly as related to the influence of transportation on the political, environmental, and social fabric of communities. In this way, the concurrent degree program enables those interested in the field to bridge the "process" and "policy" components of transportation studies in a complementary and reinforcing manner.
The concurrent degree program allows the qualified student to obtain both the Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in about 2-1/2 years. Students must be admitted to each department individually. Because this is a concurrent degree program, exceptionally well-qualified persons may apply to both programs simultaneously. Most students, however, apply to one program during their first year in the other program.
Master of City Planning/PhD
Since its founding in 1948, the Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) has grown into one of the largest and most respected graduate city and regional planning programs in the United States.
The MCP is a two-year nationally accredited professional-degree program. We aim to provide our students with:
- Lifelong analytical, research, and communication skills;
- The knowledge and skill sets to successfully practice planning in a variety of urban, metropolitan, and regional settings;
- An understanding of the history and theory of planning and of cities and urban regions;
- Expertise in various fields and sub-fields of city and regional planning;
- Sensitivity to the human impacts of planning decisions, with particular attention to equity, diversity, and social justice.
The Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) degree combines a common core curriculum with the opportunity to specialize in one or more of the following concentration areas:
- Environmental Planning and Healthy Cities
- Housing, Community, and Economic Development
- Transportation Policy and Planning(
- Urban Design
The Ph.D. in City and Regional Planningat the University of California, Berkeley, provides training in urban and planning theory, advanced research, and the practice of planning. Established in 1968, the program has granted more than 160 doctorates. Alumni of the program have established national and international reputations as planning educators, social science researchers and theorists, policy makers, and practitioners. Today, the program is served by nearly 20 city and regional planning faculty with expertise in community and economic development, transportation planning, urban design, international development, environmental planning, and global urbanism. With close ties to numerous research centers and initiatives, the program encourages its students to develop specializations within the field of urban studies and planning and to expand their intellectual horizons through training in the related fields of architecture, landscape architecture and environmental planning, civil engineering, anthropology, geography, sociology, public policy, public health, and political science.
Master of Engineering Program
Taking place at the forefront of today’s tech world requires more than technical expertise. It demands the management and business acumen to lead. Become that groundbreaking engineer by joining us here in the heart of Silicon Valley and completing your Master of Engineering degree at the world’s number one public university.
The Master of Engineering (MEng) program(link is external) at UC Berkeley combines breadth of topics in business and engineering management applied to depth of study in your technical concentration.
Together with a select student cohort, you will gain the management skills necessary to lead a complete spectrum of technology ventures. As a cross-disciplinary community of peers, this cohort ultimately forms a broad network of professional colleagues that you will be able to connect with throughout your entire career. These networks are reinforced through career advising and placement, access to alumni and industry connections, and other services.
Useful Links:
The Transportation Graduate Students Organizing Committee (TRANSOC)(link is external) is a very active graduate student transportation group enriching graduate life at UC Berkeley.