The Master of City and Regional Planning (M.C.R.P.) degree is generally recognized as the professional degree in the field. The M.C.R.P. program prepares students for practice in planning as well as policy and program development through a curriculum designed to develop an understanding of the linkages between the social, economic, and political factors of urban society and the physical and environmental framework of regions and communities.
The program requires two years of full-time coursework, with a total of 48 credits earned during that time. Reflecting the school’s philosophy of providing an interdisciplinary approach for each student, a minimum of 24 elective credits is included in the 48-credit total.
Students must maintain an overall grade-point average of 3.0 in order to graduate. If a student’s grade-point average is below a 3.0 at the end of a semester, the student will have one semester to improve the average to 3.0 or greater. During the semester, the student will be on probation. Additionally, a student cannot graduate with more than three courses (9 credits) with grades of C+ or below.
Program of Study
- 34:970:501 History and Theory of Planning (3)
- 34:970:509 Urban Economy and Spatial Patterns (3)
- 34:970:510, 11 Graduate Planning Studios (6)
- 34:970:515 Basic Quantitative Methods (3)
- 34:970:516 Planning Methods (3)
- Additional methods course (3)*
- 34:970:517 Survey of Planning Law Principles (3)
- Elective Courses (24)
- Total Credits for the M.C.R.P. (48)
*Chosen from an extensive list of qualitative and quantitative courses approved by the program director.
Professional Report Requirement
Students must satisfy the professional report requirement by receiving a grade of A- or better on a memo prepared in Planning Methods (34:970:516). The report will be structured as a short (about 10 pages) memorandum written in a professional style on a planning topic approved by the course instructor.
Course Waiver and Transferring Credit
Students may be excused from a required course if they demonstrate equivalent mastery of the subject matter. Application for waiver should be made to the faculty member in charge of the required course on the Waiver of Course Requirement Form available from the Office of Student and Academic Services. Applicants for a waiver of studio courses should contact the program director. When waivers are granted, the student must substitute other courses to fulfill the 48-credit requirement for the M.C.R.P. degree or the 30-credit requirement for the M.C.R.S. degree. All electives are selected with the approval of a faculty adviser. A maximum of 12 graduate credits earned outside the department may be applied toward the M.C.R.P., subject to approval by the graduate faculty.
Undergraduate Courses for Credit
Undergraduate courses may be taken for graduate credit while a student is matriculated in the M.C.R.P. or M.C.R.S. program. They generally are taken when no comparable graduate courses are available within the Rutgers University system. In general, no more than six hours of undergraduate course credits taken while the student is in the graduate program may be applied to the graduate degree. Undergraduate courses to be taken for graduate credit must be reviewed and approved by the student’s faculty adviser before the course is taken. Also, when registering, the student must insert a G prefix before the course number in order to receive graduate credit. Students who have taken an undergraduate course without the G prefix will find that the transcript indicates the course does not count toward their graduate degree.
Concentrations
The program offers six areas of concentration that allow students to specialize in one or more fields of planning, in addition to taking the required core courses. These concentrations are intended to help students develop a program of study that will help them fulfill their individual career goals.
Certificate Programs
Certificates are groupings of five or so courses offered by key, multiple departments that if taken, indicate that the student has developed cross-disciplinary expertise in a particular subject area. The Bloustein School offers 10 graduate certificate programs in transportation, climate change, energy, public policy, real estate, historic preservation, and more.
Alumni
Positions held by recent graduates of the UPPD program