Program Overview

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Introduction to the Master of City and Regional Studies Program

The Master of City and Regional Studies (M.C.R.S.) is a 30-credit degree offered in specialized circumstances. Applicants must hold an advanced degree and have planning practice experience.

Program of Study

Requirements and admission standards are otherwise comparable to the M.C.R.P. two-year degree. The 30 credits required for this degree include core required courses in theory and urban economy and two semesters of methods, including Planning Methods (34:970:516). Studio courses are not required. Course of concentration can be determined with faculty advising. All M.C.R.S. candidates are required to pass an extensive comprehensive examination.

International Students

International students may take coursework from other Rutgers units to complement the program of study. In addition, international students take on a series of professional research and internship experiences throughout their program of study with planning and public policy, private, non-profit, and government sector organizations. All professional work experiences must be approved by the advisor/program director following school processes and with the Rutgers Global Center for proper CPT paperwork. OPT opportunities are also available if approved by the Rutgers Global Center.

Academic Standing

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.

Degree Programs

• Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)
• Master of City and Regional Studies (MCRS)
• Doctoral Program
• 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

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

Student & Academic Services

• 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