UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning, nearing its 75th anniversary, is one of the larger Planning schools in North America and we’re a leader in education and research. We believe Planning is concerned with the well-being of communities, whether rural, metropolitan, or worldwide. We teach planners to undertake work in partnerships with communities and populations affected by the big decisions. This includes regard for Indigenous equity and dignity, and Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Our partnership with Musqueam Indian Band is unlike any Planning School in the world.
What you might expect/course format
While each course varies based on the subject and instructor, our VSP Packages feature:
- Interactive in person lectures
- Hands-on labs, fun and practical demonstrations
- Team-based assignments
- Fun social activities
- Tours of industrial facilities (some programs)
- Experience with industry standard software
July 2025 Course Packages
For more information
For VSP SCARP-specific questions, email Karen Gill/Dolores Martin at info.scarp@ubc.ca.
Student testimonials
“On the plane back home, I couldn’t help remembering the wonderful moments that I came across in the campus of UBC. I attended the summer program in the School of Community and Regional Planning. From kind and knowledgeable professors to diverse and cooperative students, from time-honour anthropology museum to elegant botanical gardens, from the GIS project in my laptop to the new perspective of Big Data in my mind, I told myself that it was a month worth more than a month time.”
– Kan Haoyu, VSP SCARP Student
“As an interdisciplinary program, community and regional planning offer me the chance to get to know people from different kinds of majors, including geography, politics, computer science and finance. We shared and discussed different perspectives with various knowledge backgrounds during our group project and after-class team activities. I think it is an invaluable opportunity to gain knowledge in other fields and cooperate with people from diverse knowledge background.”
– Yanjian, VSP SCARP Student