University of Louisville
Contact
Sumei Zhang, Program Director
Dept phone: 502.852.7915
sumei.zhang@louisville.edu
https://urbanlouisville.org/master-of-urban-planning
Public Information
Accreditation Actions
Accreditation through December 31, 2028
Last Accreditation Cycle: 2022 – 2023
Next Accreditation Cycle: 2027 – 2028
Progress Report: July 1, 2026
Summary of Recent Actions
October 2023: Program granted five-year accreditation.
PAB accreditation indicates that the Program has undergone an external review and substantially meets the PAB standards and criteria. Programs granted accreditation demonstrated conformity with PAB Standards after a thorough review from the Board. PAB bases its decisions on the overall quality of the program, its performance relative to its mission and strategic plan, and its performance relative to PAB’s five standards, which encompass a total of 29 criteria and 18 curriculum sub-criteria. When PAB determines that a Program does not fully meet a criterion or curriculum sub-criterion, the Program is encouraged to take steps to improve in that area and provide information to PAB on its efforts, either during the next accreditation review or in an interim progress report.
The Planning Accreditation Board has required the Program to address issues in the following areas:
- Criterion 1B / Current Strategic Plan determined to be partially met. The Program should develop a timeframe associated with the goals and provide measurable objectives.
- Criterion 1D / Student Learning Outcomes Assessment determined to be partially met. The Program should deploy direct measures to assess the full range of competencies in the PAB Standards and strive to inform curriculum decisions with the assessment outcomes.
- Criterion 3B / Faculty Diversity determined to be partially met. Efforts to diversity faculty can be expanded, in either fulltime or parttime faculty or both.
This information is a summary only. Please consult the school directly for in-depth information regarding programs, course offerings, and compliance with PAB standards. Programs should also be consulted directly for additional information on issues and areas of improvement identified during an accreditation review, and the actions that the school is taking to address these areas. If the Program has provided a response to any of the issues cited above, please see below for a link to the response.
October 2019: Program granted a 2-year extension of accreditation based on a satisfactory Progress Report that addressed issues identified in the previous accreditation review.
October 2016: Program granted 5-year accreditation. The 5-year decision is based on PAB’s findings that multiple minor deficiencies exist and/or deficiencies have been recently corrected. Progress Report by July 1, 2019 to be submitted by the Program for possible extension of accreditation.
PAB accreditation indicates that the Program has undergone an external review and substantially meets the PAB standards and criteria. Programs granted accreditation demonstrated conformity with PAB Standards after a thorough review from the Board. PAB bases its decisions on the overall quality of the program, its performance relative to its mission and strategic plan, and its performance relative to PAB’s 7 standards, which encompass a total of 35 criteria and 17 curriculum sub-criteria. When PAB determines that a Program does not fully meet a criterion or curriculum sub-criterion, the Program is encouraged to take steps to improve in that area and provide information to PAB on its efforts, either during the next accreditation review or in an interim progress report.
This information is a summary only. Please consult the school directly for in-depth information regarding programs, course offerings, and compliance with PAB standards. Programs should also be consulted directly for additional information on issues and areas of improvement identified during an accreditation review, and the actions that the school is taking to address these areas.