Certificate Overview

The ALUP Program supports the learning needs of practicing professionals involved in municipal planning, development, and bylaw enforcement. Planning encompasses various disciplines, including, but not limited to: geography, landscape architecture, environmental science, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

ALUP’s applied curriculum provides solid theoretical grounding while allowing students to apply theory to practice. Courses encourage using theories and models as a means to address complex problems and situations, as well as to employ critical thinking, a cooperative spirit, and innovative design to municipal planning activities.

Courses are delivered in two formats (face-to-face and online, depending on the course) and are taught by academics and professionals who are experts in their fields and familiar with the needs of municipal government administrators.

Qualifying for admission

To qualify for the program, an applicant must possess relevant experience in municipal government and a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent. Applicants who do not meet these requirements may be admitted on a conditional basis. Students who have taken a degree program may be eligible for transfer or exempt credit.

Why a U of A Certificate?

• Recognized by the Alberta Development Officers Association (ADOA)—you will have the necessary framework to become trained in the development and planning field

  • The purpose of the ADOA is to come together as a body to communicate relevant development issues, to discuss and consider current and new legislation, and to provide education and training.
  • ADOA members have access to educational opportunities and bursaries.

• Credits towards Alberta Professional Planners Institute’s (APPI) Continuous Professional Learning

Core competencies of our graduates

• Connecting planning theory, concepts, functions, tools, and processes to the planner’s role
• Being familiar with major planning issues addressed in the Alberta Land Use Framework (2008)
• Understanding planning-law and relevant governmental acts, especially the Municipal Government Act of Alberta
• Enforcing municipal land-use bylaws
• Drafting and preparing various municipal land use planning documents
• Describing various land-use planning authorities and the hierarchies governing their behavior
• Explaining the significance of the physical landscape for the field of planning and its various agents
• Working collaboratively and responsibly with municipalities and stakeholders to ensure the environmental review of all landscapes considered for development of any kind
• Critically reviewing development documents, records, and proposals
• Drafting proposals and overcoming the obstacles of environmental, economic, and social planning issues
• Communicating information effectively and objectively to the public sector, the private sector, and other stakeholders
• Engaging and working with other planners to enhance the scope and dynamism of plans, designs, and initiatives
• Negotiating a balance between the various parties affected by land-use planning initiatives
• Understanding the theory and practice of sustainable development at the municipal level
• Appreciating the environmental, economic, cultural, and social dimensions of sustainability
• Defining ‘community capital’ and understanding how its various spheres affect the physical and human environment