Master of Urban and Regional Planning
The urban planning program prepares students for professional careers as urban planners in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Graduates work for city, county, and regional planning agencies or the federal government; planning consultants; community development and other nonprofit organizations; and private firms dealing with urban growth and revitalization in large and small communities. Some may go on to earn PhDs and become researchers or professors.
Planning at Ball State combines physical and policy approaches. Through hands-on studio classes, students are taught to improve the design quality of constructed environments while protecting and managing our natural and built environments. Students learn the process of community and economic development as applied to small towns and rural areas as well as urban neighborhoods. Whether as private developers or public officials, graduates are expected to have a commitment to improving community life for citizens of all incomes and a broad competence to make both new and old communities better places in which to live.
The Masters of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). It prepares students for direct entry into and subsequent growth in professional planning or academic careers.
There are several ways to enter the MURP program:
If you are a student who has completed an undergraduate degree in a field other than urban planning and a GPA of 2.75 or above, you may enroll in the two-year track program.
If you already hold an urban planning bachelor degree from a PAB accredited program, you may enroll in the one-year track.
If you are a current undergraduate student at Ball State with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or above, in major other than urban planning, you may enroll in the accelerated track. As part of your undergraduate studies begin taking the following graduate classes (Plan 606 Intro to Planning, Plan 605 Design and Graphic Techniques, Plan 614 Quantitative Methods and Plan 630, Comprehensive Studio). This track will enable students complete the program in significantly less time, and at a lower cost than a traditional urban planning graduate degree.
Track 1: 48 hours
Required courses, 39 credits
Design and Presentation Techniques
PLAN 605 Design and Presentation Techniques must be taken for 3 credit hours.
Remaining electives, 9 credits
Approved electives for the MURP degree include any classes in the 500 or 600 levels in planning, sustainability, landscape architecture, architecture, or urban design programs or any classes with the CAP (College of Architecture and Planning) prefix. Other electives may be chosen in consultation with the graduate director. Students who want to graduate with a specialization are encouraged to consider earning Ball State certificates in Real Estate Development, GIS, or Sustainability.
Total Credit Hours: 48
Track 2: 36 hours
Required courses, 24 credits
Remaining electives, 12 credits
Approved electives for the MURP degree include any classes in the 500 or 600 levels in planning, sustainability, landscape architecture, architecture, or urban design programs or any classes with the CAP (College of Architecture and Planning) prefix. Other electives may be chosen in consultation with the graduate director. Students who want to graduate with a specialization are encouraged to consider earning Ball State certificates in Real Estate Development, GIS, or Sustainability.
Track 2 students must carefully plan their electives in concert with the graduate director as most classes are offered once during each calendar year. At least one of the electives chosen must be at the 600 level.
Total Credit Hours: 36
Students on the Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) should take PLAN 605 and PLAN 606 during the fall semester of their junior or senior year and PLAN 614 and PLAN 630 during the spring of their junior or senior year. Note that PLAN 630 is a studio class with extended hours.