Overview of the Curriculum

The requirements for the master of urban and regional planning degree fall into three categories:

1. core courses required of all students (27 semester hours)
2. concentration courses (15 semester hours)
3. planning related elective courses (9 semester hours)

Completion of at least 51 semester hours is required for graduation, less transfers and other waivers approved during the first semester of study. Students are encouraged to focus primarily on core courses during their first year of study, except Studio II, which would normally be taken in the second year. Studio II serves as a capstone experience. It is offered every semester.

Beyond the core, the graduate planning program offers three 15-semester-hour concentrations around which students normally organize course selections: economic and community development planning, land use and environmental planning and urban place making. These have been carefully constructed to cover the broad terrain of the profession. Students may also, with an advisor’s approval, craft their own unique concentrations. The remaining 9 semester hours of the 51-semester-hour MURP requirement are generally used either to deepen expertise within the concentration field or to enable lateral coverage of allied or distinct fields. Those in the MURP-MPA, MURP-MBA, MURP-JD, MURP-MLA and MURP-MArch dual degree programs will find that the core of each serves as the elective base of the other, leaving few free electives. In no instances may remedial study needed to secure course or program prerequisites apply to the basic degree requirement.

The concentration is meant to insure synergy among courses elected and to lay the foundation for a satisfying and productive career and extended learning on the job. Students should bear in mind that planning is a diverse and evolving profession and that personal interests and career options often change after graduation. Moreover, the mix of courses elected normally allows some breadth in the subsequent definition of one’s expertise as new graduates attempt to match their qualifications with employer requirements. Highly focused studies sometimes elevate the marketability of expertise in certain niches in the market for entry level planners, but may limit access to others. Excessive breadth may limit claims of specialized expertise; however, many positions do indeed require competent generalists. 

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have achieved a basic level of computer literacy prior to enrollment, and should be familiar with PC or Apple operating systems. Acquiring some prior familiarity with digital visualization techniques is recommended for students who do not have a background in graphic communication. A higher level of proficiency is desirable for those seeking to emphasize the design elements of professional practice, most in evidence in our urban place-making concentration. Some assistance in attaining these skills may be provided in advance of the fall semester. Applicants are annually welcomed from virtually every field of prior study.

Advanced Standing

• Entering students who earned the college’s bachelor of environmental design (BEnvd) degree offered on the CU Boulder campus, within five years prior to enrollment, and who have maintained a GPA of at least 3.0, will be admitted to the MURP with advanced standing.  Those who graduated still earlier may receive advanced standing at the discretion of the department chair, in consultation with the program faculty.
• These students can earn the MURP degree after completing a minimum of 42 semester hours, which will include the core courses (less any waived due to prior study), an approved concentration and additional electives required to meet the overall credit requirement of 42.
• Students holding the college’s BEnvd degree who also have completed, in this study, the undergraduate planning option with a GPA of at least 3.0 (and with a grade of at least 3.0 in ENVD 4320, Planning Studio III) will, in addition, receive a waiver with credit for URPL 6630, Planning Studio I. These students will earn the MURP degree upon completion of a minimum of 36 semester hours, including 21 semester hours of core courses and an additional 15 semester hours in an approved concentration.

Program Requirements

The master of urban and regional planning is the college’s accredited degree for students intending to pursue careers in planning and in related fields across a wide spectrum of employment niches both within and outside government.

• With no advanced standing, candidates for the MURP degree must complete a minimum of 51 semester hours of graduate work, including all core courses (27 semester hours), a concentration (15 semester hours minimum) and additional electives (9 semester hours).Concentrations currently include: land use and environmental planning, economic and community development planning and urban place making. Students may also devise their own individual concentrations with an advisor’s approval.
• Entering students who have engaged in the study or practice of planning elsewhere may petition the faculty prior or during their initial semester to determine whether any credit will be awarded or degree requirements relaxed as a result of these prior activities. A maximum of 9 semester hours of course work can be applied for advanced standing when such work was pursued at other institutions and meets prescribed level, content and quality thresholds.  Graduates of the college’s own BEnvd program are eligible for up to 15 semester hours of advanced standing. 

Advising  

Students should, early in their course of study, secure a program advisor. When that advisor also happens to serve as the concentration coordinator for the specific official concentration that the student wishes to pursue, then the faculty member should continue in both capacities. If the student wishes to pursue an official or self-devised concentration that is outside the program advisor’s prime field of expertise, the student may either consult with the concentration coordinator while retaining the original program advisor, or switch all advising duties to the concentration coordinator. It will be important for the concentration coordinator to know of and approve course work in the context of the concentration itself. Monitoring student involvement in each concentration will also help the faculty to gauge demand, adjust offerings and facilitate activities outside the classroom such as visiting speakers and field trips, and to provide related services such as data bases, software libraries and job placement information. Maintaining an active roster of interested students will also help to sustain contacts among students and with graduates in order to build career networks and engage area professionals. 

Internships  

Internships are encouraged though they are generally not accepted in meeting concentration requirements. Exceptions must be approved in writing by the concentration coordinator prior to commencement of the internship. No more than three credits of internship work may be applied to the 51-semester-hour degree requirement. Any student wishing to undertake an internship must comply with the procedures established in the internship materials available in the program office. 

Independent Study, Thesis and Special Topic Courses 

To engage in an independent study course, the student must provide the instructor with an outline of the topic, and a time schedule for its completion. The instructor may require additional supporting materials before agreeing to work with the student. Independent study courses (URPL 6840) and thesis work (URPL 6950 and URPL 6951) may meet concentration requirements, depending on the topic, upon the program advisor’s approval. Special topics courses (URPL 6686) will be acceptable in at least one of the categories in the three official concentrations. A completed thesis may substitute for Studio II. Students considering thesis work must secure a thesis advisor drawn from our regular faculty, assemble a committee, secure approval of the thesis proposal before work commences, comply with the official campus form guidelines, make a final presentation, win the approval of the committee and file a bound copy in the Auraria Library. 

MURP Program Planning Form (PPF) 

Each student should have a copy of the Program Planning Form and use it to keep an up-to-date record of his/her program plan and progress. In addition, a copy of this form should be submitted to the program office and retained in the student’s file. If you have any questions about how to use the form, contact your program advisor.  No student will be certified for graduation by the department chair until a fully updated Program Planning Form is placed in the student’s official file.