Transportation planning has become much broader in the past several decades, expanding from its focus on relieving traffic congestion to questions related to social equity, accessibility, climate impacts, and the benefits of physically active travel. This change has underscored the need to attract people from diverse disciplinary and social/ethnic backgrounds to the field. The next generation of transportation professional cannot simply be one in a team of specialists. A range of knowledge is needed to be able to see and solve problems without disciplinary boundaries.

Students in this concentration become competent in:

• developing transportation policies
• understanding the interaction between transportation and land use
• analyzing travel behavior
• learning how transportation plans are produced
• knowing what regulations govern transportation planning
• investigating transportation laws and regulations
• understanding financing systems
• discovering impacts of transportation facilities or modes on environmental quality

An online certificate in transportation planning can be earned in addition to the master's degree. University courses suggested for transportation planning are listed below.

Planning courses

• Transportation Research Methods & Analysis
• Transportation Policy and Planning
• Special Topics in Transportation Planning
• Transportation, Urban Form and Sustainability
• Transportation Economics

Civil Engineering courses

• Traffic Engineering
• Transportation Infrastructure Construction and Management
• Design of Transportation Systems
• Individual Investigations: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Public Health course

• Global Road Safety