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Each student is required to complete 48 credit hours, which normally involves four semesters of full-time study. The usual course load is 12 hours per semester; the Graduate School has set a maximum of 16 hours in any semester. Some students attend part-time and of course take longer to get their degrees. All requirements must be completed within a seven-year period.
REQUIRED COURSES
There are 21 credit hours of required core courses, as follows:
|
a. |
Theory
|
|
Hours |
|
|
UBPL 815 |
History and Theory of the Planning Process |
3 |
|
|
UBPL 850 |
Urban and Regional Theory |
3 |
|
b.
|
Methods
|
|
|
|
|
UBPL 705 |
Economic Analysis for Planners |
3 |
|
|
UBPL 741 |
Quantitative Methods I |
3 |
|
|
UBPL 742 |
Quantitative Methods II |
3
|
|
c. |
Practice
|
|
|
|
|
UBPL 736 |
Planning Institutions |
3 |
|
|
UBPL 763 |
Professional Practice |
3
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
21 |
A student may be exempted from certain required courses by providing evidence satisfactory to the appropriate faculty member and Program Chair that he or she has taken equivalent coursework previously or acquired equivalent knowledge through on-the-job experience. Upon exemption, the student may substitute approved electives to make up the 48 hours required for the degree. Exemptions from the following courses are not permitted because they are deemed essential for acculturation in the planning profession: UBPL 763, UBPL 815 and UBPL 850.
AREA OF CONCENTRATION
Each student specializes in one substantive area among the following four: environmental and land use planning, housing and development planning, transportation planning, or physical development planning. The student should declare this area by the second semester of his/her course of study. The minimum number of course hours for the major area depends on whether the student pursues the comprehensive examination or thesis option. Concentration area requirements for the two options are as follows:
(1) Comprehensive Exam Option - At least four courses (twelve credit hours) are taken by each student in his/her area of concentration.
(2) Thesis Option - At least three courses (nine credit hours) are taken by each student.
In each specialty area, relevant courses are classified in three groups: theory/policy, methods, and implementation. Each student must take at least one course in each of the above three groups. Faculty advisors have some latitude to designate supplementary courses that they think useful to the student's education. In addition, students may take Directed Readings courses to complete their concentration. Following are the theory/policy, methods and implementation courses in each specialty area:
|
Environmental Planning |
|
|
|
Theory and Policy |
|
|
|
UBPL 765 |
Principles of Environmental Planning |
|
3 |
|
Methods |
|
|
|
UBPL 738 |
Environmental Planning Techniques |
|
3 |
|
Implementation |
|
|
|
UBPL 773 |
Environmental Planning Implementation |
|
3 |
|
Supplementary courses |
|
|
|
UBPL 730
UBPL 735
UBPL 802
ARCH 600
POLS 624/ENVR 620
|
Introduction to Land Use Planning
Site Planning
Policy and Methods in Environmental Planning
Sustainability in Context
Environmental Politics and Policy |
|
3
3
3
3
3 |
|
Housing and Development Planning |
|
|
|
Theory and Policy |
|
|
|
UBPL 710
UBPL 715 |
Introduction to Housing Policy
Community in Neighborhood Planning & Design |
|
3
3 |
|
Methods |
|
|
|
UBPL 764 |
Real Estate Development Planning |
|
3 |
|
Implementation |
|
|
|
UBPL 714
UBPL 716
|
Local Economic Development Planning
Community and Neighborhood Revitalization |
|
3
3 |
|
Supplementary Courses |
|
|
|
UBPL 718
UBPL 760
UBPL 768
UBPL 802
|
Downtown Planning
Historic Preservation Planning
Real Estate Development Planning II
Historic Preservation Planning |
|
3
3
3
3 |
|
Land Use Planning and Urban Design |
|
|
|
Theory and Policy |
|
|
|
UBPL 730 |
Introduction to Land Use Planning |
|
3 |
|
Methods |
|
|
|
|
UBPL 735 Site Planning
UBPL 764 Real Estate Development Planning |
|
3
3 |
|
Implementation |
|
|
|
UBPL 766 |
Urban Design Implementation |
|
3 |
|
Supplementary Courses |
|
|
|
UBPL 662
UBPL 739
UBPL 760
|
Twentieth Century American Landscape
Issues in Growth Management
Historic Preservation Planning |
|
3
3
3 |
|
Transportation Planning |
|
|
|
Theory and Policy |
|
|
|
UBPL 758 |
Urban Mass Transportation |
|
3 |
|
Methods |
|
|
|
UBPL 750 |
Introduction to Transportation Planning |
|
3 |
|
Implementation |
|
|
|
UBPL 756 |
Advanced Seminar in Urban Transportation |
|
3 |
|
Supplementary Courses |
|
|
|
CE 781
CE 881 |
Traffic Engineering I
Traffic Engineering II |
|
3
3 |
ELECTIVES
Students complete the 48 hours of required coursework by taking electives. The number of electives depends on the student's individual program. A student who must take all required courses and elects the thesis option has twelve additional credit hours to take. A student who takes all required courses and elects the comprehensive exam option has fifteen additional credit hours to take. Some students are exempted from certain required courses and may take more hours of electives.
All Urban Planning courses may be used as electives, including courses in specialty areas other than the student's area of concentration. Courses in other departments may be used as electives if they relate to urban planning. In case of doubt, the decision is made by the Program Chairman.
At least 42 of the 48 total hours must be in courses offered by the School of Architecture and Urban Design (that is, with a prefix of UBPL, ARCH, or ARCE). Exceptions are granted by the Program Chairman only for compelling reasons.
COURSE WAIVERS
1. There will be no credit hour reduction for any previously taken courses used to earn a bachelor degree. Every student must complete 48 credit hours. A student may transfer a maximum of 6 graduate credit hours if the advisor decides that the courses are substantially relevant to urban planning.
2. An instructor who teaches a required planning course can waive this course requirement if a student has previously taken equivalent undergraduate or graduate courses, such as methods. This waiver will not reduce the 48 credit hour requirement for the MUP degree. Also, the student is still responsible for completing the comprehensive exam for all course subjects. UBPL 763, UBPL 815, and UBPL 850 cannot be waived.
3. If a student has transferred from another program offering an MUP degree accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB), the student receives full credit for those courses, and these credit hours are reduced from the 48-hour requirement up to 24 hours if there is an equivalent course in the program.
4. Foreign students can enroll for the minimum number of credit hours (UBPL 701: Directed Readings) per semester by working for a planning agency or consulting firm so that they can be paid for their work. The Immigration and Naturalization Service will not allow payment for work unless college credit is given. This credit will not count toward fulfilling MUP degree requirements.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION AND THESIS OPTION
Comprehensive Examination - The comprehensive examination provides a learning experience which encourages the student to synthesize the knowledge gained through coursework and tests the student's competency as a generalist/specialist planner. Students are eligible to begin taking the examination after they have completed and/or waived 24 hours in the Planning Program and have completed specific prerequisite courses. It is not necessary to attempt all questions at the same time. There are two sections to the examination:
a) Theory and methods (three questions). One question in Planning Theory and Practice (prerequisite: UBPL 815); one question in Urban and Regional Theory (prerequisite: UBPL 850); one question in Planning Methods (prerequisites: UBPL 705, UBPL 741, UBPL 742).
b) Area of concentration (two questions). Students may take this part when they have completed nine hours of courses in the specialty area.
The examination is given in two three-hour sessions on one day at least three times a year, normally during January, April, and August. The dates are announced one month in advance; all students sit for the exams at the same time. The questions are developed by the faculty teaching the respective subjects; they may be evaluated by the entire faculty. A student who fails to pass any specific element of the examination need repeat only that element. The Program sets no limit to the number of times that the examination can be taken. However, the Graduate School stipulates that all degree requirements must be fulfilled within seven years after the first semester of graduate coursework is begun.
Thesis - In lieu of the comprehensive examination, the thesis experience provides an opportunity for the student to apply individual research skills in the context of his/her area of interest. Thus the thesis is a continuation of the student's course of study rather than a separate academic effort. The format, medium, and focus of the thesis vary with the problem addressed. Six hours of academic credit is given for the thesis. A student desiring to prepare a thesis must develop, with the assistance of a faculty advisor, a thesis proposal to be submitted to the Faculty Thesis Committee no later than the first day of classes of the semester prior to the semester in which the student plans to graduate. The Committee must approve the proposal for the student to pursue the thesis option. For Spring (May) graduates, the proposal must be submitted by the start of classes of the preceding fall semester, and the Committee will decide by September 15. For Fall (December) graduates, the proposal must be submitted by the start of classes of the preceding spring semester, and the Committee will decide by February 5.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS & SCHEDULE OF COURSES
Table 1 provides a summary of degree requirements for the thesis and comprehensive examination options. Table 2 illustrates a typical program of study. A listing of all courses offered by the Urban Planning Program, with descriptions of content, may be found at the end of this prospectus.
TABLE 1
Summary of Degree Requirements by Curricula Options
|
Degree Requirements |
|
Thesis |
Exam
|
|
Required Core Courses |
|
21 |
|
21 |
|
Area of Concentration |
|
9 |
|
12 |
|
Electives |
|
12 |
|
15 |
|
Thesis |
|
6 |
|
---
|
|
Total Credit Hours Required |
|
48 |
|
48 |
TABLE 2
Typical Program of Study for Student entering in the Fall semester
|
FIRST SEMESTER (Fall)
|
|
UBPL 741 |
Quantitative Methods I |
3 |
|
UBPL 815 |
History and Theory of the Planning Process |
3 |
|
|
Electives |
6
|
|
|
TOTAL |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
SECOND SEMESTER (Spring)
|
|
UBPL 705 |
Economic Analysis for Planners |
3 |
|
UBPL 742 |
Quantitative Methods II |
3 |
|
UBPL 736 |
Planning Institutions |
3 |
|
|
Elective |
3
|
|
|
TOTAL |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
THIRD SEMESTER (Fall)
|
|
UBPL 850
UBPL 763 |
Urban and Regional Theory
Professional Practice |
3
3 |
|
|
Electives |
6
|
|
|
TOTAL |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
FOURTH SEMESTER (Spring)
|
|
|
Implementation Seminar in Area of Concentration |
3 |
|
|
Electives |
9
|
|
|
TOTAL |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRAND TOTAL |
48 |
FIRST-YEAR STUDENT ADVISING & ORIENTATION
Advising - You are required to have an advising session before you enroll in classes. If you know your concentration, contact the faculty member assigned to that concentration. If you have not decided upon a concentration, the Program Chair will be your advisor.
Orientation - First-year students will have a Program orientation on the first Monday morning after Fall classes have begun.
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