Each student works closely with a faculty advisor to design a two-year curriculum plan. At the beginning of the first year, students outline their proposed curriculum plans.
Students may make modifications at the end of each term, according to their changing interests. Students are encouraged to define clear academic and professional objectives.
Please download the advising worksheet, which outlines the requirements listed below. As the planning program has historically been a "day" program, many of its classes are offered during the day, especially the required core courses. Students who work full-time must have a flexible relationship with their employer so that they can take some classes during the day.
Students with multiple professional interests may wish to pursue joint degree programs with other New York City universities. A joint M.U.P. / J.D. degree is available through a cooperative program with Brooklyn Law School. For more information, see below. Other joint degree programs may be pursued with the approval of the department.
Program Director: Dr. Lynn McCormick
REQUIREMENTS
The degree requires 60 credits of graduate study. 45 credits must be taken within the department. With the approval of the department, 15 credits mat be elected from other graduate programs.
Students are expected to be computer-literate when entering the program. Computer skills assessment is conducted during the orientation period. Students who are not considered computer-literate will be directed to the appropriate resources.
Credit Requirements:Core Curriculum (21 credits)
Area of Concentration (12 credits)
Planning Studio (6 credits)
Internship (3 credits)
Unrestricted Electives (18 credits)
CORE CURRICULUM
The core curriculum has four sections. Students must take all required courses in each section. Students may take up to 9 credits of core courses per semester.
Theories and Process of Urban Planning (9 credits)
URBP 787.04: Introduction to Planning
URBP 705: Introduction to the Planning Process
URBP 701: History of Planned Urban Development
Urban Structures (6 credits)
URBP 719: Introduction to Land Use Planning
URBG 702: Structure of the Urban Community
Planning Methods and Information Management (6 credits)
URBP 710: Urban Data Analysis (qualified students may apply for a waiver)
URBP 712: Planning Methods of Analysis and Forecasting
The program offers the following areas of concentration: housing and real estate, economic development, land use and design, transportation and environment. Each concentration is designed to give students a working knowledge of specific focuses within the field of planning. To fulfill the concentration requirement, students select four courses from the desired area of concentration.
Students with special interests may create their own concentrations. In developing their programs, students may include coursework from the department, Hunter College, CUNY, or any other approved institution. In the past, some individual concentrations have been international planning and development, budgeting and management, and advanced data analysis.
Housing and Real Estate
URBG 727: Introduction to Housing
URBG 728: Housing and Urban Development Seminar
URBG 730: Law of Housing and Urban Development
URBP 731: Neighborhood Planning Workshop
URBG 742: Economics of Real Estate Development
Economic Development
URBG 740: Planning for Urban Economic Development
URBG 741: Employment Planning and Polices
URBP 746: Planning and Public Finance
URBG 751: Educational Planning and Polices
Land Use and Design
URBP 721: Law of Land Use Regulation II
URBP 722: Land Use Planning Workshop
URBP 723: Introduction to Urban Design
URBP 724: Urban Design Workshop
URBP 725: Infrastructure and Site Planning
URBP 726: Site Planning Workshop
URBP 732: Introduction to Transportation Planning
URBP 733: Transportation Planning Methods and Models
URBP 734: Environmental Planning
URBP 735: Law of Environmental Planning
Students are required to participate in a 6-credit planning studio to put the theories and processes they have studied into practice. In studio courses, students work with faculty advsiors to complete plans for "real-world" partners. The benefit to this, of course, is that students gain practical experience while the community or municipal groups get a professional quality product at greatly reduced costs.
Usually, students take this course in their second year of study or after completion of at least 30 credits of course work. Hunter has competed in the JP Morgan Chase Bank Community Development Competition for more than the last ten years, which requires two semesters to complete (URBP 737 and 722). Recently however, faculty have also secured studio projects that are completed in one semester. For example, recent students completed analysis of the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project for the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods.
Please visit our studio page for more information.
The program encourages students to undertake internships or individual research. Each student must complete at least one 3-credit internship. As interns, students may work for city, suburban or regional planning agencies, neighborhood development groups, banks, municipal housing or budgeting units, planning journals, or other groups approved by the department. For many students, field experiences have led to full-time employment in after graduation.
The department has several internal work opportunities generated by the faculty. Faculty members routinely include funds to support graduate research assistants in their research grants proposals. In the past, these assistantships have included conducting interviews for a study of citizen participation, editorial assistance for an analysis of New York City demographic and economic trends, data collection for an affordable housing project, and field observations reviewing the social impact of specific public investments.
Urban Planning - MUP/JD:
Brooklyn Law School and Hunter College's Graduate Program in the Department of Urban Planning (Urban Affairs and Planning) jointly sponsor a program leading to the degrees of Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Urban Planning (MUP).
Urban planners often turn to the legal profession for implementation of their work, and lawyers seek planners' advice in identifying present and future land use choices and regarding other development issues for public and private clients. Individuals with credentials in both areas are increasingly sought as advisers for urban policy makers and clients with urban land problems. This program is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills and background necessary to practice both professions.
Students must be apply and be accepted to both programs separately. Hunter College admits students for either the fall or spring semester. Students typically spend their first year at BLS, followed by one year at Hunter College, and then the remaining time integrating studies by registering concurrently in both schools. Advisors at both institutions, however, will work directly with individual students to devise the most appropriate plan of study.
Students can pursue an MUP/JD on a full or part-time basis. In the MUP/JD joint program, a student may receive up to 10 of the 86 credits required for the JD degree by successfully completing approved course work in the MUP program. Similarly, a student may receive up to 15 of the 60 credits for the MUP degree by successfully completing approved law school courses. Students enrolled in the law school's full-time program may complete the requirements for both degrees in four to five years, depending on the number of summer courses. If pursued on a part-time basis, the program generally takes five to six years to complete depending on the number of summer courses. With approval, the MUP degree may be awarded in advance of the JD degree; otherwise, degrees are awarded concurrently upon completion of all degree requirements.
For additional information on the MUP joint degree program, please contact:
Prof. Lynn McCormick
Director, Graduate Program in Urban Planning Dept.
of Urban Affairs & Planning
Hunter College/CUNY
695 Park Avenue
Rm. 1614HW
New York, NY 10021
lmccormi@hunter.cuny.edu
(212) 772-5733
