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2024-2026 Graduate Catalog
City & Regional Planning (MCRP), Program Information
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 Return to: Graduate Programs
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Program Faculty
Program Director
Daniel Campo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
CBEIS 315
Tel: (443) 885-3514; Fax: (443) 885-8233
E-Mail: daniel.campo@morgan.edu
Program Faculty
Daniel Campo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Tonya Nashay Sanders Thach, Ph.D., AICP
Associate Professor
Siddhartha Sen, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Dean
Hyeon-Shic Shin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Gregory Newmark, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Program Description
The program prepares students for careers in city and regional planning and urban development. According to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), planning is a systematic, creative way to impact the future of neighborhoods, cities, rural and metropolitan areas, and at larger scales, the country and world. City planners (also frequently called urban planners or community planners) use their professional skills to serve communities facing social, economic, environmental, and cultural challenges by helping residents to develop ways to preserve and enhance their quality-of-life; find methods to protect the natural and built environment; identify policies to promote equity and equality; structure programs to improve services to disadvantaged communities; and determine methods to deal effectively with growth and development of all kinds. The Program’s mission is to educate diverse and underrepresented student populations in the profession and related fields; conduct advanced research in city planning and related disciplines, and develop leaders in the field. Building on the HBCU tradition of providing professional education for African Americans students at an HBCU and the university’s urban mission, faculty and students will also work to improve and empower the urban communities in the Baltimore region, across Maryland, and in the nation and world. Finally, the program serves as a laboratory for the development and application of city planning ideals, concepts, strategies and methods; and a forum for vital discourses and diverse perspectives around cities and contemporary urban development practices.
Program Objectives
The Program’s vision is to be a leading city planning program in Maryland and across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It aims to educate and nurture the next generation of innovative planning professionals and urban leaders, and facilitate the advancement of African Americans and individuals from nontraditional or underrepresented populations in the field. The program also aims to produce advanced research that empowers and transforms disinvested communities and regions; and serve as a partner for progressive change in government, nonprofit organizations and communities throughout metropolitan Baltimore and beyond.
Accreditation
The Program is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). PAB is jointly sponsored by ACSP (the organization of planning professors), the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Accredited programs must meet strict standards developed collaboratively by both practicing planners and planning academicians. The curriculum at all accredited schools provides a core set of theories, methods, and techniques which properly prepare students for city planning careers. Accredited programs are required to make certain performance-related data available to the public. To review this information, please see the following: https://www.morgan.edu/graduate-built-environment-studies/city-and-regional-planning/additional-information
General Requirements
Candidates for the City and Regional Planning master’s degree must complete a minimum of forty eight (48) academic credit hours, including thirty (30) credits in ten (10) required courses, and present and submit a well written professional capstone project or master’s thesis.
A graduate student cannot graduate with grades of C in more than 20% of the academic credit earned as defined by the program’s curriculum guide. The School of Graduate Studies requires that the student must retake a sufficient number of these courses to remedy the overall percentage. This retake must occur even if the Grade Point Average (GPA) remains above 3.0 with the excess percentage of C credits still included in the GPA calculation. Demonstration of the required competency in core courses may require that grades of C in core courses must be retaken.
Admission
To be eligible for admission to the Master’s of City and Regional Planning Program, an applicant must:
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Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
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Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better to be considered for regular admission. Students who possess a cumulative undergraduate G.P.A. of between a 2.5 and 2.9 may be considered for conditional admission. The Program may also consider students with substantial professional experience or unique life circumstance but possessing an undergraduate GPA of 2.0 to 2.4 for conditional admission. Post-bachelor’s undergraduate credits will not be used to enhance GPA requirements for admission to graduate study.
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Submit an application for admission to the School of Graduate Studies. All required documents must be submitted as directed by the School of Graduate Studies prior to program review and admission decision.
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Use the application system to solicit two letters of recommendation as part of the application. These letters must be from officials or faculty members of institutions previously attended, or by those who are acquainted with the applicant’s ability for graduate study or from employment supervisors where applicable.
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Submit a narrative statement regarding the candidate’s personal academic and professional goals and the rationale for selecting Morgan State University’s City and Regional Planning Program.
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Three + Two (3+2) B.S.A.E.D.–M.C.R.P. Program of Study: Students must be conditionally admitted to the program at the end of their second undergraduate year to be considered for admission to the 3+2 BSAED/MCRP program. Students must submit a writing sample to the City and Regional Planning Program by April 15. The writing sample should consist of a compelling, 10-page paper written for a course in the major.
Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant. The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program. The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer of admission should be made based on that review.
Candidacy
Students achieve candidacy by successfully passing their professional capstone project or thesis defense. Prior to achieving Candidacy, the student must enroll in CREP 794: Professional Project in City and Regional Planning or CREP 799: Thesis Defense.
Once a student achieves candidacy, enrollment in any course is prohibited. Students seeking additional skills, knowledge, or a certificate must seek approval through the program up to the School of Graduate Studies. The request must be accompanied with a revised Plan of Study.
Master’s Project/Master’s Thesis Completion
Students must complete a Master’s Project or a Master’s Thesis for degree completion. The Master of City and Regional Planning degree program culminates with a core capstone course sequence where the student researches and prepares work that is specialized and student-driven. A student may choose to articulate their research in one of two ways:
The Master’s Project
This Master’s Project (aka Capstone Project or Professional Project) aims to give students the competencies to conduct an applied planning project, write an individual professional report, and make a professional presentation under careful supervision. Each student executes a detailed study of a planning project typical of professional practice. The Master’s Project must follow the format specified by the program.
The Master’s Thesis
The Master’s Thesis aims to challenge the student to apply selected planning concepts and methods to an important substantive area and conducts academic planning research under faculty supervision. The Master’s Thesis must follow the thesis format specified by the School of Graduate Studies.
Both the Master’s Project and Master’s Thesis require the formation of a committee that guides and evaluates the student’s work. Students choose a core faculty member from the Program as the committee chair (a faculty member from a different School of Architecture and Planning program may be selected with the Program Director’s approval). A thesis requires choosing two other committee members while the project requires one other committee member. The committee members can be from the program or the university at large with the approval of the Program Director. If the student requires a committee member with specific expertise absent from school and university faculty, the student may consider faculty at another university or an experienced planning (or related field) professional, subject to the Program Director’s approval. The selection of chair and members of the committee should be made while a student is enrolled in CREP 792.
As part of the continuous operation of the school, the final document of both Master’s Projects and Master’s Theses become part of a permanent record that is accessible to present and future students, faculty, administrators, scholars, and accrediting bodies. There is a formal closed defense required for both the Master’s Project and Master’s Thesis.
Program Course Requirements
MCRP City & Regional Planning 48 Credits
Elective Courses 18 credits
The remaining 18 credits may be taken among the electives offered in the Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning or other School of Architecture and Planning graduate programs. Students may take up to six (6) elective credits in Certificate in Sustainable Urban Communities (CSUC) courses. Students desiring to take further CSUC elective credits, may do so only with the explicit approval of the Program Director. With approval of the Program Director, students may also take electives in appropriate urban-focused graduate courses across the University. Students also have the option to take a maximum of three urban-focused electives (nine credits) at surrounding universities in the metropolitan Baltimore area. Students must obtain formal permission from the Program Director, the Chair of the Department of Graduate Built Environment Studies and the deans of the School of Architecture and Planning and the School of Graduate Studies before enrolling in courses at other institutions. To obtain credit for such courses, students must also adhere to the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies Catalog (see “Transfer Credit”).
Professional Project or Thesis Defense 3 credits
Notes
* For students opting for a Thesis: Upon achieving Master’s Candidacy, the student will continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for CREP 797 (Thesis Guidance) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum is near completion, and the student is completing the research and writing of the thesis. The course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load). After the Intent to Defend the Master’s Thesis form has been accepted by the School of Graduate Studies, this course registration will be changed to CREP 799 (Thesis Defense) for the given semester and count for 3 credit hours of curricular coursework (CREP 799 will also count for 9 credit hours of load). Other courses cannot be substituted for CREP 797 (Thesis Guidance). The only eligible grade for CREP 797 (Thesis Guidance) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for CREP 799 (Thesis Defense) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail).
** For students opting for a Professional Project: Students enrolled in CREP 794 (Professional Project in City and Regional Planning) who do not complete and submit their Master’s Project to the satisfaction of their committee and the Program Director, will continuously register for CREP 793 (Master’s Pre-Candidacy) in subsequent semesters until the Master’s Project is accepted by the Project Committee and the Program Director. CREP 793 registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load). The only eligible grade for CREP 793 (Master’s Pre-Candidacy) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for CREP 794 (Professional Project) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail).
Suggested Curriculum Sequence
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