MUP Curriculum

The Master of Urban Planning degree is based on an integrated curriculum that recognizes theory and practice as the basic elements needed to prepare professionals to engage in the urban planning field. The curriculum strives to provide students with quality education at three levels:

• knowledge about the discipline: its dominant paradigms and its historic and theoretical context
• skills and the ability to carry out plan-making from site analysis to structure plan
• values intrinsic to equity, justice and environmental concerns

To complement the broad-based curriculum, the program offers two concentrations: design of the built environment and transportation planning. Students can choose one of these areas by taking a sequence of concentration courses.

Detailed information on degree requirements is available in the AUS Graduate Catalog.

The MUP program is primarily designed to support working professionals to gain graduate-level training in urban planning. Therefore, the program can be taken on a part-time basis with no more than two courses per semester to accommodate the needs of working professionals. Students must complete 48 credit hours (including a thesis or a final project) and an internship. Taken on a part-time basis, the program can be completed in three years. Taken on a full-time basis, the program can be completed in two years.

Transfer Credit

A student who has completed comparable course work at the graduate level with a minimum grade of 3.0 (B) during the last three years prior to admission to the program may receive credit for those courses transferred to the AUS degree. Upon the recommendation of the Admission Committee, a student may normally receive up to six credits for graduate level work completed at another university. The course work should not have been used previously to earn another degree. Applicants must request that transfer credits be reviewed at the time of application.