SCHOOL OF PLANNING

CURRICULUM/COURSES

Master of Urban + Environmental Planning

Curriculum

Prerequisites

Statistics (no graduate credit)

Core Courses 

Integrative Experience Options (see below for explanation of alternatives)

Courses in Areas of Specialization

(click on specialization for specific curriculum)

(see Alternative Completion timelines below for a fulltime two-year or  parttime four-year degree completion options)

Integrative Experience Options

Option 1: Capstone Studio/Workshop (PUP 580)

The capstone studio/workshop is offered to the second year MUEP student who has completed all or most of the required courses for the MUEP degree. This particular studio/workshop brings in real-world planning applications to provide students with an integrative academic and professional experience. A professional report is one of the final products. The instructor will stress individual accountability for all MUEP students taking the capstone studio/workshop course.

Option 2 Professional Project (PUP 593)

The professional project requires the application of advanced planning techniques and methodology to a specific, real-world planning issue. For MUEP students selecting the professional project, it is the student’s responsibility to identify and work with a particular client in mind. Upon selecting a project topic, the student must create a professional project advisory committee of at least three members—two regular faculty members from SoP and at least one planning practitioner, preferably from the potential client’s planning office.

The student works closely with her/his advisory committee to complete the professional project. The student’s advisory committee reviews the project, assesses form content and quality. The final product must be presented to faculty and students, and should be in the form of a technical or professional report. The professional report may follow the specific thesis format requirements of the ASU Division of Graduate Studies.

Option 3 Thesis (PUP 599)

A thesis is prepared with faculty support and involves a substantial body of original research. The student is responsible for securing approval of her/his chosen thesis chairperson and two supporting members for their committee. In addition to the chair, at least one other committee member must be a regular faculty member in SoP. If a committee member is not a regular ASU faculty member, then a petition to the Graduate College will be needed to approve this member. It is common for faculty associates and planning practitioners to serve on thesis and committees. Such involvement is encouraged. However, a petition consisting of a letter of justification and a resume must be filed. The student will work closely with his/her thesis committee to complete the thesis.

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Suggested Course Sequence for a Two-Year or a Four-Year Completion of the MUEP

MUEP students generally complete the degree in two years, implementing the sequence of courses suggested to the left. Professional planners who wish to obtain their master’s degree while working fulltime have the option of using the three or four year plan, as illustrated below. Admission to the first year of the master’s progam is in the fall semester.

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Community and Urban Development Specialization

This specialization prepares planners to work in many urban contexts, particularly within rapidly changing cities such as the Phoenix Metropolitan area. The focus is primarily on US cities although the course offerings relate to cities beyond the US. The focus is also on planning for growing multicultural and diverse populations, taking into account current issues, including: rapid urban growth, environmental justice within an urban context, planning within marginalized and ethnic communities, and environmental planning. Students become familiar with broader political and social forces influencing cities. The range of courses that include areas such as zoning and development control law enable students to incorporate an understanding of cultural, socioeconomic and political environments into plans and policies, and identify ways to work towards social equity and efficiency.

There is a special emphasis on housing (sustainable, nonprofit housing as well as mainstream), urban revitalization with an emphasis on the Phoenix Metropolitan area, urban design, local economic development, the built environment and health, and historic preservation. There is also an emerging focus on Native American planning. As students plan their individual program of study, they should consider relevant courses listed in other specializations within the MUEP program as well as external offerings at ASU.

In addition, students have access to affiliated units on campus specializing in various aspects of urban and community development, specifically, the departments of History, Geography, and Human Origins and Social Change (formerly Anthropology). Resources may include the Global Studies Program, the Global Institute of Sustainability, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, the School of Community Resources and Development, the Del E. Webb School of Construction, the Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, and ASU’s Real Estate Center.

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Environmental Planning Specialization

This specialization prepares students to become effective practitioners of an integrated approach to addressing environmental issues affecting cities and regions in the US and other countries. Studies in this area focus on recognizing the conflicts that usually characterize the interaction between growth and environmental protection, and in acquiring the knowledge to employ planning approaches and tools to balance competing societal and environmental needs.

Work in this specialization provides the understanding needed to guide urban growth in a manner that preserves and restores the ecological integrity while improving the quality of life for city dwellers, facilitating a dynamic economy, promoting the efficient use of land, and respecting fiscal and legal principles. Environmental planners address a wide array of overlapping issues such as metropolitan sprawl and intergovernmental growth management; the relationships between land use and transportation systems; the relationships between economic development and environmental protection; water resource management and preservation; hazard and risk analysis, and environmental justice. Using the sustainable development paradigm as a platform, students are guided through a variety of courses, workshops, internships, and applied research opportunities that contribute to the development of skills required by the field. Students taking this specialization put together a course schedule combining core courses offered by the School of Planning.

Learning Area/Outcomes and  Associated Courses

Foundational Knowledge/Knowledge of theories and significant developments involving the interface between the environment and human communities.

Water Planning and Policy/Knowledge of water law, policy, and planning, with emphasis on the challenges faced by desert cities.

Ecosystem Management Planning/Understanding of principles of ecosystem management, with emphasis on the planning process.

Sustainable Urban Design and Planning/Knowledge of the concepts, approaches, and critical issues that define the field of sustainable urban design and planning.

A common thread in the study of environmental planning issues are the topics of sustainable urban design, sustainable water and energy management, and sustainable transboundary planning. All students participating in the program also benefit from the broad collaboration network that School of Planning faculty maintain with faculty and researchers in other ASU academic units such as the Global Institute of Sustainability, Department of Geography, School of Global Studies, and Ira E. Fulton School of Engineering, as well as with other universities in the U.S., Mexico, and abroad.

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International Planning Specialization

Students’ work in this specialization focuses on how to incorporate an understanding of distinct cultural, socioeconomic, and political environments into plans and policies and ways to achieve social equity and efficiency through planning. Study in this area focuses on comparative planning issues and practices in developing countries (particularly in Asia and Latin America), and on their implications for regional development, urban growth, environmental protection, and social and economic justice. Students also learn to recognize the global forces shaping the development patterns of these countries, and their interface with immigration, multiculturalism, and internationalization of cities of industrialized nations, particularly in the U.S. Southwest.

The educational objective of this specialization is to prepare planners to work in the diverse and changing urban fabric of developing nations and in U.S. cities, with their growing multinational and multicultural populations. We offer an educational experience that combines the foundational knowledge needed for critical and innovative thinking with the practical knowledge that people associate with the planning profession. Using the globalization paradigm as a platform, students are guided through a variety of courses such as international planning and development; public international law; transboundary planning and management; international organizations; and housing and gender in third world cities. In addition, the specialization provides students with workshops, optional internships, and applied research opportunities that contribute to the development of skills and know-how required for designing and implementing plans and policies for developing nations and US cities impacted by global change. Students in this specialization would consider relevant courses offered by the School of Planning, the College of Design, and other ASU units.

Learning Areas/Outcomes

Foundational Knowledge U.S.-Mexico/Understanding of major theoretical approaches and debates in international comparative planning.

Border Planning/ Comprehension of factors affecting the U.S.-Mexico border and their implications for binational planning.

Contemporary International Planning/Understanding of current issues in international planning including urbanization, migration, and national security.

Sustainable International Development/ Understanding of significance of international institutions & transnational regimes for environmental planning.

Due to the strategic location of ASU within the Phoenix metropolitan area and the U.S.-Mexico binational region, students participating in this specialization will benefit from direct immersion in one of the most multicultural, fastest-growing, and international regions of the world. In the international field, planners work in design, management, and evaluation of international plans in American cities and regions subject to intense global influence.

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Transportation Planning Specialization

Transportation has emerged as one of the highest priority issues for policymakers, employers, and residents of the Phoenix area. The transportation specialization reflects pressing issues in the Phoenix area and the strengths of the current faculty. These issues include:

• Transportation and the Environment—relating to environmental sensitivity, environmental justice, NEPA requirements, air and water quality, and shipment of hazardous waste
• Nonmotorized transportation in a safe, livable environment—involving pedestrian and bicycle transportation, responsive urban design, walking and public health and pedestrian and bicycle safety
• Transportation, Economic Development and Border Issues—involving land use transportation interface, potential for economic development, transit oriented development, and issues with shipment and travel over the US-Mexico border

The Transportation concentration builds upon the interdisciplinary Intermodal Transportation Systems certificate program and incorporates the transportation-related courses offered by five disciplines: Aeronautic Management and Technology, Geography, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Planning and Public Affairs. MUEP students are encouraged to take courses associated with the interdisciplinary graduate Transportation Certificate. The certificate exposes students to a range of transportation alternatives and the interrelationships among transportation, economic development, land use, energy, and the environment. A combination of the courses below complete the Transportation Certificate Program.

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