Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate degree program in Urban and Regional Planning is governed by the regulation of the Division of Graduate Studies and Urban and Regional Planning. The following criteria must be met:

1. Admission by the Division of Graduate Studies;
2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
3. Consistent with Graduate School Guidelines, Conditional status may be assigned to students who possess a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 – 2.99 at the undergraduate level (on 4.0 scale);
4. Satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination or equivalent test;
5. Demonstrated promise for successful academic achievement in professional graduate work;
6. For international students, indication of adequate financial support and satisfactory performance on TOEFL demonstrating oral and written proficiency;
7. Official statement of intent; and
8. Three letters of recommendation.

Degree Requirements

Urban and Regional Planning offers courses on a semester basis. Forty-nine credit hours are required for a master's degree. A basic core and three areas of concentration (Community Development and Housing, Environment and Land Use, and Urban Design) are offered. A thesis or major report option may be elected. An internship in a planning or planning related agency is required of all students with no prior planning or planning related experience.

Course Requirements

¹

Required course.

²

Faculty Advisor’s approval required.

Concentration Courses

(15 hours minimum from one of the three concentration areas)

Community Development and Housing Concentration 

Community development is an encompassing term, which includes all the facets of human effort to improve the quality of life in the environment. The term typically anticipates initiatives by members of the community to make these improvements with the assistance of advocates and government. The dynamics of the social, economic, and political spheres are included. A major element of community development is housing and its associated human settlement issues. The roles of the public and private sectors in determining the location, design, construction, and management of housing are central to the city planning function.

¹

Required Concentration Course.

²

Required Concentration Studio Course.

Environment and Land Use Concentration

This concentration focuses on an analysis of measures that conserve, preserve, and equitably distribute the ecological and social elements of the natural and built environment. The role of natural systems in efforts to achieve a sustainable environment is included in the study of environmental planning. In the investigation of environmental systems, planning seeks to identify and document the economic, political, and social outcomes of policies and programs that engage protective and preservative environmental measures.

¹

Required Concentration Course.

²

Required Concentration Studio Course.

Urban Design Concentration

Urban design, broadly understood, is place making. In urban design, we consider the many aspects of development and come to understand multiple analytic paths through which we can engage urban issues and contexts. We approach urban design as a sociopolitical phenomenon, embracing urban design as a web of relationships between private, public, and nonprofit interests that influence the relational and spatial configurations of our cities. The primary emphasis of the urban design curriculum is to support the development of citizens, planners, and scholars who are able to identify and analyze both urban issues and contexts, who are prepared to use context sensitive design principles and social science frameworks, and who are committed to leading creative approaches for improving the quality of life of those who live and work in urban areas.

¹

Required Concentration Course.

²

Required Concentration Studio Course.

Curriculum Plans

Community Development and Housing Concentrations: Non-Thesis Option-Full Time Plan

Urban Design Concentration, Non-Thesis Option-Full Time Plan

Environment and Land Use Concentration, Non-Thesis Option-Full Time Plan