Program Overview

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Introduction to the Master of City and Regional Planning Program

The Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree is a professional degree that prepares students for practice in planning as well as policy and program development. The program is 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.

Program Requirements

• 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.
• 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.

Degree Programs

• Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)
• Master of City and Regional Studies (MCRS)
• Joint and Dual Degrees
• Certificate Programs
• KDI Scholars Program

Faculty

Program Faculty

• Mi Shih, Ph.D., Program
• Hooshang Amirahmadi, Ph.D.
• Clinton J. Andrews, Ph.D.
• Juan Ayala, MArch
• Bernadette V. Baird-Zars, Ph.D.
• James DeFilippis, Ph.D.
• Barbara Faga, Ph.D.
• Carmelo Ignaccolo, Ph.D.
• Radha Jagannathan, Ph.D.
• David Listokin, Ph.D.
• Kathe Newman, Ph.D.
• Robert B. Noland, Ph.D.
• Will Payne, Ph.D.
• Ronald Quincy, Ph.D.
• Kelcie Ralph, Ph.D.
• Andrea Restrepo-Mieth, Ph.D.
• Hal Salzman, Ph.D.
• Eric Seymour, Ph.D.
• Michael Smart, Ph.D.
• Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah, Ph.D.
• Wenwen Zhang, Ph.D.

Emeritus Faculty

• Richard K. Brail, PhD
• Robert W. Burchell, Ph.D.
• Michael R. Greenberg, Ph.D.
• Henry A. Coleman, Ph.D.
• Briavel Holcomb, Ph.D.
• Robert W. Lake , Ph.D.
• Tony Nelessen, M.S.Arch.
• Frank J. Popper, Ph.D.
• John Pucher, Ph.D.
• Meredeth Turshen, D. Phil
• Salah El-Shakhs, PhD
• Lyna Wiggins, Ph.D.

Affiliated Faculty

• Robert Kopp, Ph.D.
• Jane E. Miller, Ph.D.
• Karen O’Neill
• Cymie Payne
• Julia Sass Rubin, Ph.D., MBA
• Jim Samuel, Ph.D., MBA

Part-Time Lecturers & Instructors

• Leah Apgar
• Robert Ashmun
• Charles Brown
• William Cesanek
• Tom Dallessio
• Stephanie DiPetrillo
• Heather Fenyk
• Christiana Foglio
• Robert Freudenberg
• Daniel Greenhouse
• Jack Heide
• Jeanne Herb
• Nadia Mian
• Matthew Palm
• MaryAnn Sorensen Allacci
• Gregory Stankiewicz
• Christopher Stienon
• Anne Strauss-Wieder
• Matthew Woodmansee
• Leigh Ann Von Hagen

Student & Academic Services

Staff

• Steve Weston, Assistant Dean of Academic Administration
• Courtney Culler, Associate Director for Graduate Student Services
• Greg Marrero, Senior Counselor, Graduate Student Services
• Andrea Garrido, Assistant Director for Career Management for Planning, Policy, and Informatics Masters Students
• Cheryl Egan, Assistant Director for Career Management for Health Administration Masters Students

By the Numbers

• Graduate U.S. Urban Planning Program ranking
• Percentage of students employed or pursuing higher education six months post-graduation
• Average salary of graduates

Areas of Concentration

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.

• Community Development and Housing
• Design and Development / Redevelopment
• Environmental Planning
• International Development
• Transportation Policy and Planning
• Urban Informatics

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.

• Transportation Studies
• Geospatial Information Science
• Historic Preservation
• Human Dimensions of Environmental Change
• Real Estate Development and Redevelopment
• Climate Change Risk and Resilience
• Energy
• Urban Planning
• Public Policy
• Public and Urban Informatics

Conclusion

The Master of City and Regional Planning program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary program that prepares students for careers in planning, policy, and development. With a range of concentrations and certificate programs, students can tailor their education to their individual interests and career goals. The program's faculty and staff are dedicated to providing students with the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to succeed in their chosen field.