Master of Urban Planning and Master of Arts in Geography
Dual Degree for Master of Arts in Geography and Master of Urban Planning
Urban planning is a professional field that addresses the health, welfare, and sustainability of our cities, towns, and regions. Planners are problem-solvers. They deal with both short- and long-range planning projects at scales from small to large. Planners seek to enhance overall quality of life by addressing aspects of communities such as housing, land use, transportation, and responsible development that preserves the natural environment. The Master of Urban Planning is an accredited, professional degree that prepares students to excel in planning practice. It is the normal academic qualification for planning and planning-related positions. Graduates are prepared for careers in the public sector (local, state, national, international governments and agencies), private sector (consulting firms, development companies), and not-for profits (housing authorities, nonprofits) helping make communities better places.
The Master of Arts in Geography program develops a concentration in preparation for a career or further study. The student takes courses in several areas of the discipline. Our faculty are integral to graduate studies and have expertise in Human and Cultural Studies with a particular emphasis on Place, Economic Geography, Health and Diaspora, Environmental Policy, Borders and Border Conflicts, and more. Learn more about our faculty on our website.
Admission to Graduate Studies
Admission Requirements
- All applicants must meet the requirements outlined in the Admission to Graduate Study policy.
- Bachelor’s degree: A copy of official transcripts showing proof of a bachelor's degree (and any post-bachelor’s coursework or degrees) from a regionally accredited institution, or a foreign university with equivalent bachelor's degree requirements is required.
- English proficiency: Proof of English proficiency for non-native or non-native-like English speakers is required. There are two bands of English proficiency, including Admission and Full proficiency. For applicants to online programs, Full proficiency is required.
Graduate Admission
Dual Degree application for Master of Arts in Geography and Master of Urban Planning
Admission details, including required application materials for the M.A. in Geography and Master of Urban Planning, can be found on their respective web pages. Entering students should submit separate applications to each program.
Applicants without prior training in Geography are welcome but are required to improve their basic knowledge of the broad divisions of geography: systematic, methodological, and regional. Courses taken to remedy deficiencies may not count toward graduate degrees.
The following items must be received to complete the application file for the Geography MA application:
- A completed Graduate Application Form found on the Graduate Admission website.
- A current resume/CV.
- A Statement of Interest and Goals. This is included in the on-line application form. The Graduate Studies Committee places considerable importance on the thoughtfulness of your remarks – in particular, we are interested in learning about (1) your specific interests within geography or atmospheric science and why they are important and interesting to you, (2) what you envision as your educational and career objectives and how a degree from KU helps to meet those objectives, and (3) which of our faculty members you think would be an appropriate graduate advisor and mentor.
- A scanned copy of an official transcript can be uploaded at the time of application. Official, degree conferred transcripts will be required prior to the second semester of study. NOTE: Documents uploaded with your application are not considered official. KU does not consider transcripts that come from applicants or that have been in the applicant's possession as official.
- Three confidential letters of recommendation sent by referees who are familiar with your academic and/or professional activities and who can address your likelihood of success in graduate school. If possible, we prefer letters from professors, but applicants returning to school after a lengthy absence may substitute letters from supervisors. Note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to request and to confirm that the required letters have been sent by the deadline. When using the on-line reference form to list references, you must include valid e-mail addresses. Once you have completed and submitted your application, your references will be contacted directly via email with directions for submitting their letters of recommendation.
**Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not required for the application. Applicants may choose to submit GRE scores if they feel it will help inform the department of their academic abilities. However, choosing not to submit scores will not affect your chances of admission.**
M.U.P. Degree Requirements
While completing the following degree requirements, graduate students are expected to understand and follow Office Graduate Studies policies relevant to their student status and academic standing.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MUP Required Core Courses | ||
| UBPL 705 | Urban Economic Theory and Analysis | 3 |
| UBPL 736 | Planning Law and Institutions | 3 |
| UBPL 741 | Foundations of Compassionate Critical Thinking | 3 |
| UBPL 742 | Applied Data and Spatial Analysis | 3 |
| UBPL 763 | Politics and Planning | 3 |
| UBPL 777 | Equity, Justice, and American Cities | 3 |
| UBPL 780 | Climate Change and Hazards Planning | 3 |
| UBPL 785 | History and Theory of Planning | 3 |
| MUP Electives | 12 | |
| Select 4 classes from the following. | ||
| Directed Readings | ||
| Sustainability and the Future of Transportation | ||
| Housing Policy and Planning | ||
| Community and Neighborhood Revitalization | ||
| Sustainable Land Use Policy and Planning | ||
| Environmental Planning Techniques | ||
| City and County Planning | ||
| Site Planning and Design | ||
| GIS Applications for Design and Planning | ||
| Transportation Policy and Planning | ||
| Data Driving Transportation | ||
| Transportation for Livable Cities | ||
| Real Estate Development | ||
| Creative Placemaking | ||
| Special Topics in Urban Planning: ______ | ||
| Foundations of the Nonprofit Sector | ||
| Collaboration in Public Administration | ||
| Creating Good Public Policy | ||
| Urban Policy and Administration | ||
| Nonprofit Management and Policy | ||
| Human Resource Management | ||
| Managing Public Money | ||
| Data Informed Decision-Making | ||
| Advanced Public Budgeting and Finance | ||
| Topics in Public Administration: _____ | ||
| Context, Ethics and Legal Environment of Public Administration | ||
| Managing Public Organizations | ||
| Infrastructure Management | ||
| Policy Analysis | ||
| Innovation and Organizational Change | ||
| Performance Management and Governance | ||
| Performance Audit | ||
| Data Analytics | ||
| Emergency Management in the United States: Theory and Practice | ||
| Program Evaluation | ||
| Reflections on Practice | ||
| Leading to Create a Culture for High Performance | ||
| Research Seminar in Public Administration and Democracy | ||
| Research Seminar in Public Management | ||
| Seminar in the Intellectual History of Public Administration | ||
| Research Methods in Public Administration | ||
| Advanced Quantitative Methods for Public Administration | ||
| Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation | ||
| Qualitative Methods in Public Administration | ||
| Topics in Public Administration: _____ | ||
| Constitutional Foundations of Public Administration | ||
| Law, Courts, and Public Policy | ||
| Directed Reading on Public Administration | ||
Other courses may be approved as MUP electives by the Urban Planning Director. | ||
| Geography M.A. Non-credit Requirements | ||
| Attend the Department's New Graduate Student Orientation (non-credit) | ||
| Responsible Scholarship (non-credit 8-hour session at start of Spring semester) | ||
| Geography M.A. Required Courses | ||
| GEOG 805 | Perspectives in Geography | 2 |
| GEOG 980 | Seminar in Geography: _____ (Colloquium must be taken for 1 credit hour each during the first two semesters of residence.) | 2 |
| GEOG 899 | Master's Thesis | 6 |
| Techniques/Research Methods Course (One of the following) | ||
| GEOG 512 | Advanced Cartography and Geovisualization | 3-4 |
| or GEOG 526 | Remote Sensing of Environment I | |
| or GEOG 528 | Spatial Databases | |
| or GEOG 558 | Spatial Data Analysis | |
| or GEOG 716 | Advanced Geostatistics | |
| or GEOG 875 | Qualitative Research Methods | |
| Geography M.A. Electives | 9 | |
| Elective Graduate Level coursework chosen in consultation with an advisor. At least 6 credit hours of which must be in the home department. A maximum of 6 credits of 500 and 600 level courses may be included in the program. If a 500 or 600 level course is taken to fulfill the required Techniques/Research Methods course, those credits will not count toward this maximum. | ||
| GIS Application Programming | ||
| Migration, Diasporas and Development | ||
| Development of Geographic Thought | ||
| Remote Sensing of Environment II | ||
| Spatial Databases | ||
| Topics in Physical Geography: _____ | ||
| Location Modeling | ||
| Topics in Urban/Economic Geography: _____ | ||
| Environmental Geopolitics | ||
| Total Hours | 58-59 | |
Master of Urban Planning Electives:
Elective coursework can take various forms, but the Urban Planning Program recommends completing 9 credit hours in a substantive topic area - housing and development, transportation, sustainable land use, or multidisciplinary planning - and then one additional elective. Any SPAA class can be taken as an elective. UBPL 767 and UBPL 730 are strongly suggested as electives because they are applied skills classes covering all of the topic areas. Students are encouraged to consult the Urban Planning Director when choosing elective courses for the best options to meet their research and career goals. Graduate level classes taken outside of Urban Planning require the Urban Planning Director's approval.
Proposal Defense
The proposal defense should happen when the faculty advisor and the student agree that they have made enough progress and are ready to present their proposal to the entire committee. The proposal defense involves a presentation and a line of questioning from all committee members. The committee must be in compliance with the Maser's Oral Exam Committee Composition policy. The chair of the committee must come from the Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science. At least one committee member must come from the Department of Urban Planning.
Two grades are possible for the proposal defense: “satisfactory” and “unsatisfactory”. If the student receives a grade of unsatisfactory, the defense may be repeated once on the recommendation of the advisory committee. If the student receives an unsatisfactory grade a second time, they will be recommended for dismissal from the program. A minimum of 90 days must pass before the defense may be redone.
Thesis Oral Defense
The student must complete an oral defense of their thesis. The committee will be made up of at least 3 members and will be in compliance with the Master’s Student Oral Exam Committee Composition policy. The chair of the committee must come from the Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science. At least one committee member must come from the Department of Urban Planning.
A majority of the committee members must approve the defense. The possible outcomes for the defense are "honors", "satisfactory", or "unsatisfactory". Students that fail the defense on their first attempt may repeat the defense at the recommendation of the degree program one more time. A minimum of 90 days must pass before the defense may be redone.
While completing degree requirements, graduate students are expected to understand and follow Office Graduate Studies policies relevant to their student status and academic standing.
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of both general research themes and trends within geography and also specific themes and trends within their subfield of geography. Students are able to articulate the definitions of, connections between, and differences among fundamental concepts, models, and theories in geography.
- Apply research methodologies appropriate to their subfield of geography (e.g., geographic information science tools, qualitative methods, foreign language fluency, or others).
- Demonstrate sub-disciplinary depth of training and comprehension and advanced competency in the design and implementation of original research that reflects theories and methods within their subfield.
- Communicate effectively orally, graphically, and in writing for diverse audiences.
- Understand the evolution and current practice of planning in communities, cities, regions, and nations; how planning has advanced and hindered the attainment of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; past and present conceptions of the future, including the relationship between planning and the future. (Planning History)
- Understand the expectations about planning outcomes in different local and national contexts; conceptual models about what planning is and how it works; the role of planning in responding to the global climate crisis. (Planning Theory)
- Understand the behaviors and structures available to bring about sound planning outcomes; mechanisms and practices for ensuring equitable and inclusive decision-making; legal and institutional contexts within which planning occurs in the U.S. and/or internationally. (Planning Law & Institutions)
- Understand the political, economic, social, and environmental explanations of and insights on historical, present, and future development; relationships between the built and natural environments and individual and community health and well-being; planning responses to mitigate climate change, reduce risks, and recover from climate-exacerbated impacts; interactions – flows of people, materials, ideas, and cultures – across world regions. (Urban & Regional Development)
- Understand the planning process and community and stakeholder engagement; plan creation and implementation; methods of design and intervention to understand and influence the future. (Planning Process & Engagement)
- Develop research and critical analysis skills for preparing and conducting research; quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, analysis, and forecasting; methods of geo-spatial analysis, mapping and data visualization; data analytics and urban technology. (Analytical Skills & Tools)
- Work in teams and with professionals in allied fields; professional leadership in the planning context; written, oral, and graphic communication. (Professional, Communication, & Leadership Skills)