BA or BS / Master of City and Regional Planning (3-1-1) Program Dual-Degree Program

The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, in cooperation with the undergraduate colleges at Rutgers University, has created a special program that enables students to earn a Bachelor of Arts or Science and a Master of City and Regional Planning in five years rather than the normal six. This program gives exemplary students the opportunity to complete their liberal arts education and prepare themselves for a career in urban planning and development.

During the first three years of their undergraduate education, students will complete most of their major and general studies requirements. They may apply for admission to the joint program by February 1st of their junior year.

During their senior year, admitted students will take up to six (6) graduate courses in the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, which are taught in the school's state-of-the-art facility on Livingston Avenue. At the end of their fourth year, students should have completed all undergraduate requirements to receive their bachelor's degree.

In the summer after graduating from their Rutgers undergraduate college, students will participate in a professional internship experience for credit at a public agency, non-profit organization, or private firm working on planning issues. In addition, they take on a summer course offering. Students receive six graduate credits both the internship and the course.

During their fifth year, students complete their graduate studies and receive the MCRP degree.

Advantages of the Five Year Program
The program is structured so that students can complete both the undergraduate major and professional graduate degree courses to earn both a bachelor's degree and an MCRP in five years. During their senior year, students receive the benefit of undergraduate tuition rates while taking graduate courses, thus reducing the costs of the two degrees. Graduates of the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program work in important and varied positions in the fields of planning, development, economics and sociology, including for city and town planning departments, in federal and state executive agencies, for non-profit and advocacy organizations and in many private consultant, engineering and architecture firms.  All sectors of the workforce are represented by planners.

Admission
Step One:  Discuss the program with your college academic dean.

Step Two:  Notify the urban planning program of your intent to apply by contacting Clinton Andrews, Director of the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program at 848-932-2808, or email cja1@rci.rutgers.edu.

Step Three:  Earn a 3.0 grade point average or better.

Step Four:  Take the Graduate Record Exam during your junior year.

Step Five:  Apply to the program by February 1st of your junior year. An application needs to contain transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, GRE scores, resume and a letter from your academic advisor at your undergraduate college authorizing your application.  Apply online at http://www.gradstudy.rutgers.edu.  Your statement of purpose should indicate you are applying to the 3-1-1 BA/BS MCRP Program.

Please know that admission is subjective and requires review by several faculty members.  Until this review takes place, an admissions decision should not be concluded nor assumed.

Sample Program of Study for the (3-1-1) BA or BS / MCRP Program

* Note: Undergraduate courses DO NOT count as electives toward the MCRP degree credit total. They are just shown above to demonstrate the mixed year of coursework.

Concentrations
Students will select electives from the graduate course concentrations in the Urban Planning Program. Please consult the school’s graduate course catalog for more information.  The concentrations are:

• Environmental and Physical Planning.  Work in these areas investigates the nature, extent, and value of land use and development planning and of controls over land, including what controls mean for population growth or distribution, for the environmental quality of a region, for protecting ecological systems, for developing community structure, and for public and private development decisions. 
  
  
• Housing and Real Estate.  A broad understanding of housing and development planning, housing economics and markets, land and building analysis, development, and marketing processes, particularly in the United States, is gained through a sequence of courses in development planning and practice; real estate research, finance, and investment; and housing impact analysis.
  
  
• Regional Development and Developing Nations.  National and regional contexts delineate study in this concentration, whether comparing issues and approaches in developed and less-developed countries or analyzing the development and evolution of regional or urban settlement systems in developed and developing countries. 
  
  
• Transportation Policy and Planning.  The transportation policy and planning concentration provides a broad overview of the field as well as practical applications of planning methods in these areas.  Characteristics of current highway and mass transit systems are examined in detail in the context of historical and recent trends.
  
  
• Urban and Community Development.  This concentration examines the physical, political, economic, and administrative elements of development, as well as the methods of assisting development impacts.  Development is analyzed within both urban and suburban contexts.  The primary emphasis is on the United States, although some information on Europe and developing countries is included.

More Information
Should you have any questions, require additional information or want to discuss the program in more detail, contact Lynn Astorga, student and academic services specialist at (848) 932-2727 or lastorga@rci.rutgers.edu.