Master of Urban Planning Program:
A Handbook for Students

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CURRICULUM

A core of courses ensures that all students are exposed to the fundamental activities and concerns of planning.  These courses introduce you to analytical and interpretive views of human settlement from the perspectives of several disciplines.  Understanding of the legal, political, and organizational context of planning ensures that you will be able to function effectively and creatively in working toward the well being of all members of society.

Each student pursues a concentration or specialization.  This work builds on the core, so that you can develop expertise appropriate to a particular type of planning employment. Each student must also complete a capstone project to demonstrate professional competence.  Completion of an internship is strongly encouraged.

The five components of the MUP curriculum are:

• Core of basic courses covering the fundamental skills and knowledge required in the field of planning.


• Concentration or specialization, which allows students to focus on a particular field of planning.


• A Capstone Project, requiring students to demonstrate individual competence. It provides students with the opportunity to integrate their coursework into solving a planning problem or issue.


• An Internship (recommended), in which students can gain initial professional field experience.


• Electives, as needed to meet the required 64 hours, from among the rich offerings of the entire campus.

Core Courses (24 hours)

Core courses may not be counted for concentration or specialization credit.

Concentration

Concentrations are described in more detail below. A concentration must be a set of graduate level courses comprising at least 3 courses. At least two of these courses must be offered by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, not including capstone courses. Concentration courses are selected in consultation with your advisor.

Capstone

The capstone requirement and options are discussed in more detail below. The choices consist of a project (8 hours), workshop (6 hours), thesis (8 hours), or concentration paper (4 hours). The capstone is completed in the second year.

Basic Requirements

To qualify for the MUP degree, each student must complete the core courses and capstone. You must also complete a minimum of either:

• 60 hours, if a zero credit internship course (UP 590) is successfully completed. At least 40 hours must be in UP courses.


• 64 hours, if no internship course. At least 40 hours must be in UP courses.


• 32 hours, if previously admitted to the 4+1 program while a UIUC undergraduate. At least 20 hours must be in UP courses.


• 32 hours of UP courses, if in the J.D. or M.Arch joint degree program.


• 40 hours of UP courses, if approved for a joint degree other than law or architecture.

Up to 16 hours may be waived if a student has an undergraduate professional degree in urban planning and the department approves a petition for this option (see detailed explanation under “Waivers and Credit for Prior Courses”).  For such students, at least 30 graduate hours must be completed in Urban Planning courses. Students with BAUP degrees from UIUC can waive UP 408.

In all cases, at least 16 hours must be at the 500 level, and 12 of these must be in UP courses. In all cases, 32 hours is the minimum that the Graduate College requires for a degree program; this cannot be reduced by completing an internship.

CONCENTRATIONS AND SPECIALIZATIONS

PURPOSE

The primary purpose of concentrations and specializations is to help each student select “electives with a purpose.” You must take at least three courses (at least two must be UP courses) in a concentration or specialization.

The concentrations are currently undergoing revision. We intend to offer at least the following concentrations this year. More details will soon be available for each one:

Economic Development

A specialized curriculum can be built by adding additional courses in various theoretical, methodological, and substantive areas.

Community Development for Social Justice

In addition, students can also choose from among several courses in DURP and elsewhere on campus regarding neighborhoods, housing, community development, gender and race.

GIS and Planning Analysis

To obtain a more advanced expertise in GIS and related spatial technologies and analytical methods, students need to take 4 elective courses in addition to the two required GIS courses. A list of possible courses is available for students interested in this concentration.

Community Design

Students should take UP 426 (Urban Design), and at least two of the following courses:

Sustainable Design

Select at least three of the following:

In addition, a sustainable design workshop/studio will be offered most years. Students should also select from a variety of courses in ecological analysis, design, and modeling available elsewhere on campus.

International Planning

In addition, in most years the Department will offer a course on planning in some specific part of the world (Eastern Europe, Latin America, Russia, South Asia, East Asia). Students are also encouraged to take courses from one of the many international studies programs on campus.

SPECIALIZATION

You may choose to design your own area of specialization, if your area of interest does not fit within one of the concentrations.

MUP CAPSTONE OPTIONS

What Is The “Capstone”?
We believe that every MUP student should have a culminating project that provides them with the opportunity to integrate coursework with a planning problem or issue.  It also provides them with a means of demonstrating their abilities to the faculty and to prospective employers.  We offer five options for completing the MUP “capstone” requirement. These are designed to reflect the unique abilities, interests, and circumstances of each student.

The Choices
UP 598.  Master’s Project (8 hours)
This includes the following two possibilities:

Independent client-oriented project.  This would be split into 4 hours in each semester of the second year.  Typically, a student, perhaps with faculty assistance, would take the initiative to arrange a project for a client.  In order to enroll in the Fall, the student would need to present a detailed proposal and work plan, which must be approved, in writing, by both the faculty advisor and the client.  It is possible that a project undertaken as part of an internship could be designed to satisfy this requirement.  One faculty and one client would constitute the committee.  If you can arrange an appropriate project, this option can be the most satisfying to complete, and can also result in a product that would be attractive to prospective employers.

Group client-oriented project.  This is the same as the Independent client-oriented project, but involves a small group of generally two to four students.  Typically such projects come about as a result of a request from the client to the Department, and usually involve payment for expenses and a portion of the labor.

UP 595. Advanced Planning Workshop (6 hours)
Each year we will offer at least one UP 595 workshop for second-year students.  These client-oriented workshops will be designed for five to ten students, with each student required to demonstrate an individual contribution to the whole.  Faculty will act to initiate client contact, coordinate activities, and review intermediate products.  Students will be responsible for organizing all tasks, including data collection, client and community meetings, work plan design, and intermediate and final products.

UP 599. Thesis (8 hours)
This would be split into 4 hours in each semester of the second year. A student would take the initiative to define and prepare an original piece of research related to a planning topic of their choosing. In order to enroll in the Fall, the student would need to present a detailed proposal, work plan, and initial bibliography of five to ten references. Two faculty members would constitute the committee. The chair must be a UP faculty member. The thesis would meet all the University’s thesis requirements.  This option is best suited to a student intending to pursue a research-oriented career.

UP 596.  Concentration Paper (4 hours)
Research and preparation of an integrative paper on an important current topic in the student’s area of concentration. In order to enroll, the student would need to submit a problem statement, work plan, and preliminary identification of approximately five references. The final product, approximately 30 to 40 pages in length, must be of a high quality before final credit can be given. This would normally be done in the final semester. One faculty member would supervise. This option is best-suited to a student preferring to take additional courses in the second year.

Procedures

When to Decide.  You should start to think about your capstone preference in April of your first year. At that time we will provide an informational meeting. This will include advice for how to initiate a UP 598 Masters Project, for those who are considering this option. We will also ask you to state your tentative choice of capstone option at that time.

In the Fall of your second year, we will ask you to state your intent for capstone option and topic.

How to Enroll

UP 595.  Simply enroll, as you would for any course.  We will cap enrollment of students, in order to maintain the experience of a small workshop.

UP 596.  Before you can enroll, you must prepare a problem statement, work plan, and preliminary identification of approximately five references. You must then submit a form identifying the topic, signed by your faculty advisor for the paper, academic advisor,  and the MUP Coordinator.

UP 598.  Before you can enroll, you must submit a form identifying the topic and client, signed by your project advisor, academic advisor, and the MUP Coordinator.

UP 599. Before you can enroll, you must prepare a detailed proposal, work plan, and initial bibliography of five to ten references.  You must then submit a form identifying the topic and committee (thesis advisor and one other faculty) and verifying that you have completed the proposal.  This form must be signed by your thesis advisor, academic advisor, and the MUP Coordinator.

Note:  Capstone work receives a maximum of 8 hours credit. It cannot be augmented by additional independent study hours involving the same topic.

INTERNSHIPS

We encourage each student to take a planning internship.  The purpose is to ensure that you have an opportunity to apply in a nonacademic environment some of the knowledge gained from the classroom. You will also gain insights from exposure to the social, political, and institutional settings in which planning operates. You receive internship credit by means of UP 590, a zero-credit course.

The internship course must be preceded and succeeded by at least one semester of course work in planning while in residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Objective
The basic objective of an internship is to provide practical experience under competent and committed professional guidance The internship allows students not only the opportunity to learn more about the profession of planning but also to learn more about themselves as professionals.

The Internship (UP 590)

1. An MUP internship must consist of at least 160 hours of appropriate planning-related work (minimum of 50%-time employment for 8 weeks) at an off-campus agency.


2. The work must be planning, or clearly related to planning; that is, it must involve action directed toward the physical, economic, environmental, or social betterment of a community. The agency must be involved in such action, and the internship must be performed under the supervision of a professional in the field.


3. Internship credit will not be given for work that is primarily clerical in nature (typing, coloring maps, answering the telephone, mindless data entry), nor for manual labor (e.g., landscaping), nor for university research (including CERL). Typically, an internship consists of support tasks similar to those of an entry-level professional position. These might include field data collection, map preparation, data analysis, preparation of case memos, participation in public meetings, and preparation of reports to support planning activities. To receive internship credit, you must be actively participating in substantive planning work.


4. Internship credit will normally not be given for work in real estate, law, banking, engineering, architecture, or landscape architecture offices, unless the work of the office has a clear planning component that distinguishes it from the norm. Internship credit will normally be given for work for relevant public agencies, consultants in planning or economic development, community nonprofits, and private developers.


5. UP 590 internship credit is given only to students enrolled in the MUP degree program or one of our approved joint programs. Prior approval of internships by the degree coordinator is required and completion of the three forms and weekly log must precede the award of credit.

Most internships are during the summer break. Some students, however, are able to obtain internships of suitable quality and duration during their second academic year. You must register and pay tuition and fees (which are minimal for zero-credit courses) during the term or summer session is which the internship is performed, in order for the course to appear on the official transcript. Internships may be on a paid or volunteer basis, depending on your arrangements with the agency.

Forms

You need to submit four forms in order to complete your internship:

1. Agency Offer of Internship. This one-page form is filled out by the professional who will act as your internship supervisor. This is to assure the necessary commitment of time by the supervisor, and to confirm that the tasks will be appropriate for an internship. It is your responsibility to send this form to the internship supervisor once you have accepted the internship offer.
   
   Once you have received the Offer, you should submit it to the MUP Coordinator for approval.  This will allow you to enroll in UP 590.


2. Weekly Log.  You need to maintain this during the internship.  For each week you should summarize your activities, in a brief paragraph or list.


3. Student’s Evaluation. This report must be completed at the end of the internship. It will provide one basis for assigning a grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.


4. Supervisor’s Report. Your internship supervisor must return this form to the Department at the end of the internship.  It is your responsibility to ensure that s/he has the form and submits it in a timely manner. This will provide the second basis for assigning the internship grade. This provides the supervisor with the chance to evaluate your skills and to reflect upon your contribution to the agency.

You should submit documents 2, 3, and 4 in one package to the MUP Coordinator, in order to receive UP 590 credit.

Internship Credit for Prior Experience

Occasionally, MUP students have had substantial professional planning experience prior to enrolling.  In such cases, an additional internship would provide little added benefit to the student’s education.  The Department may provide internship credit for prior experience, but the burden is on the student to present the case and submit appropriate supporting materials.  The application should include the following:

1. Evidence of work for a minimum of one year, full-time.


2. Description of agency and job responsibilities, sufficient to address Internship criteria 2, 3, and 4 outlined above.


3. Identification of supervisor(s) and description of supervision and guidance provided by a professional in the field.


4. Supporting letter from supervisor, attesting to professional planning nature of work, quality of performance, and improvement achieved during course of employment.


5. Samples of work products.

All applications for prior internship credit should be submitted to the MUP Coordinator. 

International students: Before you seek off-campus employment, you are required to see an Advisor at International Student and Scholar Services to confirm you can be authorized to work and to process work authorization. You cannot work off campus until you have completed two semesters of course work. Accepting off-campus employment without proper authorization can result in the revocation of your visa and deportation.

WAIVERS AND CREDIT FOR PRIOR COURSES

Waivers for Core Courses

Students may receive waivers for core courses if they have had equivalent previous courses. A waiver excuses students from a particular core course, but it must be replaced by another course in order to meet graduation requirements for credit hours.

Applications for core course waivers should be submitted directly to the instructor of the appropriate core course. The application should include a syllabus and sample assignments from the prior course or courses, and your transcripts should provide evidence of course completion. The course must have been offered by a comparably accredited institution, and you must have received a grade of “B” or better. In some cases, the instructor might require you to pass an exam in order to obtain a waiver. You must then obtain approval from the MUP Coordinator.

Credit for Prior Courses

We cannot give credit for courses used for a prior degree.  We may consider giving credit, however, for relevant courses that were in excess of prior degree requirements (e.g., if you took 130 hours, but only needed 120 to graduate), and for courses taken in graduate programs for which no degree was received.  To qualify, the courses must be at a graduate level, or equivalent to our 400-level courses.  And they must be of relevant content for the MUP degree. Generally we will not transfer credit for more than 16 hours taken at another institution. We may approve transfer credit for up to 32 hours, if they represent planning courses from another PAB-accredited graduate planning program.

Applications for course credit should be submitted to your academic advisor, and then approved by the MUP Coordinator. It is the responsibility of the applicant to present a complete and persuasive application. At a minimum the application should include a syllabus and sample assignments from the course, and your transcripts should provide evidence of course completion, as well as evidence that the course was not used for a prior degree. The course must have been offered by a comparably accredited institution, and you must have received a grade of “B” or better.

Once the Department approves the credit, you need to attach it to a Graduate College petition and obtain approval from the Graduate College if credit is to be awarded toward your degree.

Students with Accredited BAUP Degree

Students with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited urban planning program may petition to waive up to a maximum of 16 hours of the MUP requirements, thereby only needing 48 hours to graduate (or 44 hours plus internship). Qualifying courses are those that could be used as electives in our MUP program. They must be graduate-level courses, equivalent to our 400-level electives, and you must have received a grade of “B” or better.

Students with BAUP degrees from our Department can waive UP 408 (because they have completed it or its equivalent), and could waive up to an additional 12 hours if they completed at least 12 hours of appropriate 400-level UP electives.

Applications for course credit should be submitted to your academic advisor, and then approved by the MUP Coordinator. It is the responsibility of the applicant to present a complete and persuasive application. Graduates of our BAUP program need only provide evidence of completion of the relevant courses. Graduates of programs from other universities should submit a syllabus and sample assignments from each course, and transcripts should provide evidence of successful course completion.

Once the Department approves the credit, you need to attach it to a Graduate College petition and obtain approval from the Graduate College in order to award credit toward your degree.

JOINT DEGREE PROGRAMS

The joint degree programs provide for completing two degrees in a compressed time frame. For the M.Arch and JD joint degree programs, we require completion of 32 hours of urban planning. This requirement is met by the 24 hours of core courses and up to 8 hours of capstone (this is a minimum, and cannot be reduced by UP 590 internship credit or other waivers). Students can choose to take urban planning electives to the extent that it is feasible, given the requirements of the other program.

Students can apply initially to the joint degree program, or can apply while enrolled in the first year of either program.

Master of Urban Planning and Master of Architecture

Reciprocity of credit hours allows students to complete these two degrees, normally requiring two years each, in a total of three years. Up to 20 of the hours required by Urban Planning can count toward the Master of Architecture, and up to 20 of the hours required by the Architecture degree can count toward the Master of Urban Planning. To receive both degrees, students must complete a total of at least 86 hours, including at least 32 hours of UP courses and 42 hours of Architecture courses. These courses must include the core and capstone courses for each program.

Normally a student would take one year emphasizing the Architecture core courses (Arch 501, 502, 571, 572), one year emphasizing the Urban Planning core (UP 501, 503, 504, 505, 506, 408), and the third year emphasizing the capstones (Arch 573-574, and a UP capstone option). In all years, students would take electives from either program as appropriate.

The capstone requirement can be met separately for each program, or jointly by means of a single project. If the latter is chosen, the student must assemble a committee with representatives of each program, who jointly agree that the project would meet the requirements of each program. Registration for the capstone would be under the course rubric of one of the programs, and the other program would agree to recognize this as meeting their capstone requirement.

To satisfy requirements of the Graduate College, joint degree students must be enrolled for at least two semesters in each of the two programs. In any semester, students must be officially enrolled in one degree program or the other. Switching enrollment from one program to the other requires a petition to the Graduate College.

Students currently enrolled in the Master of Architecture program can apply to the joint degree program by requesting Architecture to send their file (or a copy) to the MUP Coordinator, and submitting at least one new letter of recommendation and a statement of purpose. No application fee is necessary. If your application is approved, you can transfer to Urban Planning simply by means of a petition to the Graduate College.

Students can apply initially to both programs simultaneously, with one application fee. The application and supporting materials should be sent to either program, and should clearly specify that the application is for the joint degree. At the same time, applicants should send a letter to the other department, officially informing them that the joint degree application has been submitted.

Master of Urban Planning and Juris Doctor

Students in this joint degree program can complete both degrees in seven or eight semesters instead of the usual ten. Normally a student would begin by taking one year of required courses in one program, followed by the year of required courses in the other program.

Students must take at least 32 hours of UP courses (instead of the normal 64 hours), including all core course and capstone requirements. Students admitted to the Law School at the beginning can get credit for up to 16 hours of non-Law courses, which means that they need take only 74 hours of Law courses instead of the usual 90. Therefore, students admitted to the Law School at the beginning can complete both degrees in 3 ½ years. MUP students who subsequently are admitted to the Law School can complete the program in 4 years.

Students must be registered at least 5 semesters in the Law School, and at least 2 semesters in Urban Planning (you need to petition for approval each time you switch). Generally, students may hold a teaching or research assistantship in Urban Planning only in semesters in which they are enrolled in Urban Planning.

If you are already in the Law School, you can apply to the joint degree program by requesting Law to send your file (or a copy) to the MUP Coordinator for evaluation. You should also submit one letter of recommendation and a statement of purpose. To be officially admitted into the program, you must pay an application fee. If your application is approved, you can transfer to Urban Planning simply by means of a petition to the Graduate College.

Other Joint Degrees

Candidates may propose joint programs combining the MUP with other UIUC master’s degrees, according to the following guidelines

1. They must either be enrolled or offered admission to the other degree program;


2. They must submit a proposal to the MUP program coordinator describing the interdisciplinary value of the proposed joint program and show how the second degree serves as a specialization in the planning curriculum;


3. They must provide evidence of a commitment to their proposal from their academic advisor and coordinator from each program;


4. The proposal must be approved by the Graduate College via petition;


5. At least 40 hours must be in Urban Planning, including all core, capstone, and concentration requirements;


6. The two programs must total a minimum of (a) 80 hours, or (b) the sum of 40 Urban Planning hours plus the required number of hours for the second degree, whichever is greater (in the latter case, the other program may at its discretion count up to 8 hours of Urban Planning courses as electives in meeting its degree requirements as long as students are required to take no fewer than 40 hours in that program);
   

   (As an example, if the other program requires only 32 hours (2 semesters), then the joint degree would require 80 hours (5 semesters).  If, however, the other program requires more than 40 hours, then the joint degree requirements could exceed 80 hours. For example, a joint degree with another 64-hour (4-semester) program would require 104 hours (6.5 semesters).  If the other program counts 8 hours of Urban Planning courses as electives in meeting its degree requirements, however, then the total would be reduced to 96 hours (6 semesters). )

7. Students may satisfy the MUP capstone requirement by completing a capstone thesis or project registered in the other program, provided that faculty from both programs participate (this may require additional coursework in order to meet the requirement of 40 hours in Urban Planning); and


8. Students must be in residence in Urban Planning for at least two semesters.

Joint degree proposals must clearly justify the rationale for the joint degree and present an academic plan for achieving it. We require an explicit statement of support from the student’s advisor and master’s degree coordinator of the other program, as well as from their MUP advisor and MUP degree coordinator. Both programs must be committed to the student’s participation in the joint degree. When approving requests for joint degrees, we will verify that the proposal describes an overlapping of Urban Planning with the other field. Listed below are the most appropriate programs for joint degrees; proposals for joint degrees with other programs will require significant justification.

Business (real estate development or urban redevelopment)

Civil engineering (urban infrastructure planning and management)

Leisure studies (parks and recreation planning)

Natural resources (resource management & environmental policy)

Economics (regional economic planning and analysis)

Landscape architecture (environmental planning, master-planned communities)

African studies (urban planning and regional development in Africa)

Latin American studies (urban planning and regional development in Latin America).

The two degrees must be taken concurrently or consecutively. A student cannot complete one master’s degree, work for a few years, and then come back to get a joint degree with Urban Planning. The joint aspect of this is important: students should study in their other program close enough in time to the MUP so that they are able to reflect on the significance of that discipline within the context of urban planning. Both degrees are awarded simultaneously upon completion of all requirements.

The student must be enrolled in only one of the programs each semester. This establishes the tuition rate, and it also assigns responsibility for waivers, if applicable. When we provide assistantships and waivers for joint degree students we only do so in semesters in which they are enrolled in the MUP program.

How to apply for a Joint Degree with Urban Planning if you are in another degree program:

• Submit a statement and proposed study plan for both degrees, a current transcript, copy of your file (original application, test scores, transcript), along with a statement of support from the other degree program coordinator.


• We will review the material, request revisions to the study plan as necessary, and make the admission decision.


• After both programs have approved the proposal, you should initiate the graduate college petition from the other program. DURP will then add its recommendation and letter of support, and forward it to the Graduate College for final approval.

How to apply for a Joint Degree with another degree program if you are in Urban Planning:

• Follow the application requirements of the other program, and request DURP to send the other department a copy of your file.


• Once admitted to the other program, submit to both programs a statement and proposed study plan for the two degrees.


• Both programs will review the study plan, request revisions as necessary, approve the plan, and prepare letters of support.


• After both programs have approved the proposal, you should initiate the graduate college petition from DURP.  The other program will then add its recommendation and letter of support, and forward it to the Graduate College for final approval.

ADVISING

Students can receive academic and career advice from faculty in a variety of ways. In general, students should feel free to seek advice from the faculty member most appropriate to their specific needs. In addition, several specific means of faculty advice include:

Academic Advisor. All students will initially be assigned an academic advisor.  You should seek them out for advice on course selection, internships, capstone projects, and future employment. You should feel free to change advisors, if you find another faculty member to be more appropriate for your interests. If you want to change advisors, simply obtain the permission of the new advisor and inform the MUP Coordinator.

Project Advisor.  For particular projects, you will have a thesis, project, paper, or independent study supervisor.  For any independent project, you need to find a faculty member who is qualified and available to oversee your work.

Assistantship Supervisor.  Students with financial aid will also have a faculty assistantship supervisor.  This may or may not be the same as your academic advisor or project supervisor.

MUP Coordinator. The Coordinator approves all internships, and makes final approvals for all independent study and capstone applications.  The MUP coordinator also monitors capstone selections and enrollment.

4+1 PROGRAM

This program, which allows for accelerated completion of the MUP in only one year is available to selected undergraduates in our BAUP program.  Each year, a limited number of outstanding juniors in the BAUP program are identified by the BAUP Coordinator and invited to participate.  Normally a GPA of at least 3.5 is required.

Acceptance into the 4+1 program allows a student to enroll in any of the MUP core courses in their senior year: UP 501, UP 503, UP 504, UP 505, UP 506, and UP 408. Typically, a student will take a senior workshop (6 hours), as required by the BAUP program, plus five of the six MUP core courses, for a total of 26 hours.  The MUP core courses meet the BAUP requirements for UP electives and planning electives.

The 4+1 program is designed so that it obligates neither the student, nor the Department, to continuation in the MUP program. At the end of the senior year, the student is qualified to graduate with the BAUP degree, having met all the requirements of that program.  Should the student wish to continue on to the MUP program, s/he must follow the normal MUP admission process and submit an application prior to February 15 of their senior year.

Once admitted to the MUP program, a 4+1 student must take 32 hours of graduate courses, 20 of which must be UP courses. These include the capstone requirement and concentration courses.  Up to two core courses may be included as part of these 32 hours; if more core courses are needed, then correspondingly more than 32 hours will be required for the MUP degree.  The 32 hours of graduate courses is a minimum requirement for the MUP degree; it cannot be reduced by UP 590 internship or course waivers.

ASSISTANTSHIPS

In recent years, the Department has provided 75% or more of qualified MUP candidates with financial aid in the form of fellowships, teaching or research assistantships, or tuition and fee waivers.  Aid decisions are based on availability of funds, academic qualifications of student, and specific skills required to meet departmental needs.

Typical Appointments

Most MUP assistantships are for a 25% appointment, which requires 10 hours of work per week.  Each semester’s work period covers 18 weeks (August 16 to January 5, and January 6 to May 16), for a total of 180 hours of work.  Such appointments currently pay approximately $2,900 per semester, plus waiver of tuition and fees.  In addition, the Department provides a total of $12,000 of fellowship funds per year, normally to outstanding incoming students.  The Department also competes for Graduate College fellowships to attract persons from underrepresented groups.

Enrollment in a minimum of 12 hours of graduate credit per semester and a minimum of 3.0 GPA is normally required for Departmental assistantships.  We do not normally provide MUP assistantships for more than four semesters.

Our policy is to provide 25% assistantships to as many MUP students as possible.  This allows us to provide a basic level of support, with tuition/fee waivers, to as many of our students as possible.  We do not provide 50% assistantships to first-year students.  We have found that this detracts from students’ ability to complete all the core courses in the first year, and hence their ability to successfully complete the degree in two years. 

The MUP program is designed as a full-time, resident program with the assumption that students take a full course load and may be working up to 10 hours per week.  Work/course loads higher than this typically result in inadequate academic performance, failure to meet assistantship obligations, and/or failure to complete the degree in two years. Occasionally we provide 50% assistantships to second-year students.  These are students who have particular skills needed to complete specific Departmental tasks, and they also must have shown good academic progress during their first year.

The Department provides a place to work for research and teaching assistants, as appropriate to the task, and depending on resource constraints. 

Teaching Assistant Orientation

All teaching assistants must complete the University’s TA orientation.  For domestic students, this involves a 2-day session the week before classes begin in the Fall (normally the Wednesday and Thursday prior to the start of classes).  International students must attend a 4-day session the week before classes (normally Monday-Thursday of that week).  Before international students can be admitted to the TA training, however, they must successfully complete the Speak test. 

The Department requires all students with assistantships to take the TA training in the Fall, because this enhances student employability and our flexibility in making assistantship assignments.  TA training is also held in January, prior to the Spring semester.

How Assistantships are Allocated

We sincerely wish that we could provide financial support to all our students.  But we are limited by the resources at hand.  These consist of annual state funds provided by the University (normally for TA-ships), and variable funding from grants and contracts awarded to individual faculty. 

We have found that the most fair and efficient way to allocate assistantships is to manage the Department’s resources collectively.  Appointments are coordinated by the Department Head and Associate Head, based on consultation with faculty, available funding resources, consideration of the needs of the students, and the needs of the Department.

The decisions are guided by several criteria.  First, we must provide assistantships to all first-year students to whom we promised aid at the time of admission.  Second, we try to provide assistantships to all second-year students who received aid in their first year. To receive continuing aid, a student also must have made satisfactory academic progress toward the two-year degree and must have performed acceptably in previous assistantships.  Third, if additional aid is available, we try to provide aid to deserving students (either first- or second-year) who have relevant skills.  Wherever possible, we prefer students to continue their assistantship from previous semesters.  At the same time, we must ensure that all faculty needs for teaching and research assistance are adequately met.  Individual faculty have the final decision regarding approval of the assistants assigned to their funded projects.  The result is a system in which everyone, faculty and students alike, ends up with an acceptable position, though not always his/her first choice.

Because of the nature of this allocation process, we usually cannot finalize the assignments until a few weeks before the start of the semester.  We wish it could be completed sooner, but often one change in the system (a new grant, one student changing plans for the semester) can result in a cascade of reassignments.  We ask for your patience each semester as we try to find the best assistantships for everyone.

POLICIES ON CONFERENCE TRAVEL FUNDING

All students are encouraged to attend the annual American Planning Association national conference, which occurs in March or April.  The Student Planning Organization subsidizes student travel and coordinates volunteer opportunities.  SPO also facilitates attendance at quarterly Illinois APA meetings and the Illinois APA annual conference each June.

For all other conference travel, the best general source of funding is the Graduate College. Each semester, they provide grants of up to $500 each for up to three DURP students who will present papers at conferences. Detailed information is at http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/policies/travelgrant/.  Each semester, the Department submits the top three applicants to the Graduate College, which then makes the final decision. If the application is accepted, the Department provides a match of up to $200.

If conference travel is related to a research assistantship, the best source of travel funding is the research grant. It is also possible to use a research grant to supplement the $500 from the Graduate College.

If funds are available, the Department may entertain requests for other conference travel, but never for more than $200 each, and never for more than three students per year.

Statistical Understanding Required for Entering DURP Students

All entering students for MUP and Ph.D. in Regional Planning should have knowledge on the following topics of statistics to be able to take courses toward the MUP and/or Ph.D. degree.

1. Understanding Data
1. Gathering data and sampling
2. How to ask questions and conduct surveys
3. Types of data and measurement (qualitative, cardinal, ordinal)
4. Measures of dispersion (variance, covariance, standard, deviation, quartile deviation)

2. Turning Data into Information
1. Relationship between quantitative variables
2. Relationship between categorical variables
3. Probability and random variables
4. Significance tests
5. Regression analysis

3. Turning Information into Knowledge
1. Understanding the role of statistics in making decisions
2. Forecasting with a regression model
3. Presenting statistical analyses in reports

Those who have not taken any prior statistics courses or have not acquired knowledge on topics listed above should either take courses similar to UIUC’s UP 116, SOC 185 or ECON 172 or self study during the summer before enrolling at DURP using such text books:

1. Utts, Jessica M. and Robert F. Heckard, 2003, Mind on Statistics, Duxbury, Pacific Grove, CA.
2. Sirkin, R. Mark. 1999. Statistics for the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition. Sage Publications.
3. Statistics for Social Data Analysis (3rd ed.) By George W. Bhornstedt and David Knoke, F.E. Peacock Publishing, 1988.

Please contact Mary Edwards, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, if you have questions or concerns regarding the above information.  She can be reached at:  mmedward@uiuc.edu.

Economics Understanding Required for Entering DURP Students

Several of the courses in the MUP core curriculum (and electives in such areas as transportation, housing, land use, real estate finance, urban financial management, and economic development) assume a working knowledge of microeconomic principles at the intermediate level.  The Department requires students entering the MUP and PhD programs to have taken and passed an intermediate microeconomic principles course prior to matriculation or to successfully complete such a course in the first semester of the program. 

Students should be familiar with the following topics:

• The economy as a system;
• Production decisions (production functions, returns to scale, factor substitution);
• Supply and costs (opportunity costs, fixed and variable costs);
• Elements of choice (tastes and preferences, static and inter-temporal choice);
• Demand by households and individuals (utility functions and elasticities of demand);
• Market processes (aggregate supply and demand, adjustment dynamics, and market intervention);
• Markets for factors of demand (land, labor, and capital markets);
• Evaluating economic performance (efficiency, equity);
• Market failures;
• Imperfect competition (barriers to entry, monopoly production, regulation and deregulation, monopsony, oligopoly);
• Externalities (private solutions and public interventions);
• Public goods (features of and optimal public goods production);
• The public sector (major functions, expenditures, and revenues);
• Public pricing (publicly priced goods, role of prices, evaluation criteria, pricing options);
• Public investment decisions (discounting, costs, and benefits).

Students should also have a basic understanding of such macroeconomic phenomena as inflation, unemployment, and business cycles.

The Department does not offer a course that covers this material.  Options available to entering students who have not taken such a course include taking a course at a college, university or community college of their choice the summer before they enter the program, enrolling in a course at UIUC in their first semester (ECON 302 is recommended), taking an online course offered at UIUC or elsewhere, or engaging in self-study.  Note that self-study is only recommended for students who have had some formal training of economics but perhaps not complete coverage of the topics above.

Even students who have done well in an intermediate microeconomic principles course in the past may no longer be comfortably conversant with the material.  To reacquaint themselves with the material such students should consult one or more of the following texts:  Apgar and Brown’s Microeconomics and Public Policy; Steinman, Apgar, and Brown’s Microeconomics for Public Decisions, or Levy’s Essential Microeconomics for Public Policy Analysis.  Such texts are used pervasively in public economics, public administration, and planning programs in the U.S.  A more traditional intermediate microeconomics text with good coverage of public policy issues and methods is Walter Nicholson’s Intermediate Microeconomics and its Application.

Please contact Edward Feser, Associate Professor, if you have questions about the microeconomics requirement (feser@uiuc.edu).

IMPORTANT FORMS

Following is a list of important forms (and required signatures) that you may need sometime during your enrollment in the MUP program.

Mandatory
MUP program worksheet (download PDF of form)

Capstone
UP 596 Enrollment permission (academic advisor, project supervisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)
UP 598 Enrollment permission (academic advisor, project supervisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)
UP 599 Enrollment permission (academic advisor, thesis supervisor, MUP coordinator)   (download PDF of form)

Independent Study
UP 597 Enrollment permission (academic advisor, research supervisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)

Credit for Prior Courses
Core course waiver (instructor, academic advisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)
Previous graduate course credit (academic advisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)
Previous graduate-level BAUP course credit (academic advisor, MUP coordinator) (download PDF of form)

Internship (forms not included here)
Agency offer of internship (internship supervisor, MUP coordinator)
Student evaluation of internship (MUP coordinator)
Supervisor’s report of internship (MUP coordinator)