The College of Landscape Architecture at Northeast Forestry University has the authority to confer first-level master’s degrees in urban and rural planning, approved by the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee in 2011. This first-level master’s degree authorization point was developed based on the second-level master’s degree authorization point in urban planning and design approved in 2003. The urban and rural planning discipline is committed to cultivating outstanding urban and rural planning professionals for the whole country and has trained more than 300 graduate students to date.

The construction of the urban and rural planning discipline adapts to the needs of economic and social development in Northeast China, with the main features being the study of issues concerning development in cold forest areas, reclamation areas, and resource-based urban and rural areas. In particular, it places special emphasis on interdisciplinary exploration and practice. So far, this discipline has already formed four research directions with distinct regional characteristics and outstanding advantages: Urban and Rural Planning Technology, Urban and Rural Planning and Design, Regional Development and Planning, and Landscape and Ecological Environment Planning and Design.

The urban and rural planning teaching team has 38 teachers, including four full professors and 18 associate professors. In recent years, the team’s teachers have undertaken several key research projects funded by national, provincial, and ministerial science foundations, and also completed many consulting projects from government and industry, serving regional development. These projects have indeed promoted the development of urban and rural planning discipline. That is, with the support of these projects, the scientific research and teaching capabilities of teachers in urban and rural planning have made significant progress. Specifically, in the past three years, the discipline has hosted two research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, six funded by provincial and ministerial research foundations, seven provincial and ministerial teaching reform projects, and published over 100 papers in high-impact journals. The two research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China are titled “Research on optimization of building cluster morphology in cold regions based on microclimate improvement and energy-saving planning” and “Research on the cold island mechanism of seasonal variation of the horizontal and vertical structure of urban forests in cold regions.”

In line with the educational philosophy and positioning of Northeast Forestry University, the urban and rural planning discipline fully leverages the advantages of the dual-qualified teaching team to actively provide territorial spatial planning technical services to regions in need. In addition, rooted in Heilongjiang Province, this discipline combines industry, academia, and research by actively participating in industry-academic collaboration and building industry-education integration workstations. Over the years, members of this discipline have been privileged to join in many crucial urban planning and design projects, providing significant decision-making support to local governments and promoting the coordinated development of regional human settlement environments. So far, it has undertaken more than 60 critical technical service projects with a total funding of more than 15 million yuan.

In recent years, the employment rate of graduate students in urban and rural planning has reached 100%. The cultivation quality of undergraduate and graduate students in urban and rural planning has been widely acknowledged by society, especially in Heilongjiang Province, and has won a good social reputation. Many outstanding graduates have become an integral part of the talent pool in Heilongjiang Province's urban and rural planning industry, serving a key function in the revitalization of Heilongjiang.