Urban & Regional Planning > Academic Programs > Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Students enter the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program from a variety of fields, usually the social sciences, architecture, engineering, public health, social work, and, increasingly, the natural sciences, but also from such diverse fields as philosophy, human development, and history. Students coming into the program are required to have an adequate background in descriptive and inferential statistics or to acquire this background prior to enrollment in PLAN 601 and 605.

Native speakers of English are required to take the GRE General Test. Others will be expected to have achieved adequate preparation in English as evaluated by the TOEFL. Each applicant should provide two letters of reference, preferably from individuals acquainted with the applicant academically or professionally. In addition, applicants must complete a self-assessment form and an express information form (available from the department). An interview with a member of the faculty, if feasible, is highly recommended. The deadline for application for admission is March 1 for the fall semester and September 1 for the spring semester.

Standards for a graduate with a MURP degree include the following:

Knowledge of the structure and the growth and transformation processes of human settlements;
Knowledge of planning theory, history, and ethics, including an understanding of the social and political nature of planning;
Knowledge of general methods and models appropriate to urban and regional planning, including methods appropriate to a chosen area of concentration;
Knowledge of planning information systems and computer applications in planning;
Ability to structure and evaluate alternative plans and strategies for resolving or mitigating planning problems;
Ability to communicate, especially in written and oral form; and
Ability to plan with, rather than for, clients.

MURP graduates hold a variety of planning and related positions in public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private firms. In Hawai‘i these include the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; the Department of Health; the Land Use Commission; the Legislative auditor; the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; the House Majority Research Office; the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority; the Housing Finance and Development Corporation; the Department of Public Safety; the Department of Land and Natural Resources; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Honolulu City and County Departments of General Planning; Land Utilization, Housing and Community Development, and Parks and Recreation; the Office of the Managing Director; the Office of Council Services; the Planning Departments of the counties of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, and Maui; the Neighborhood Justice Center; banks and trust companies; consulting firms; development corporations; real estate firms; university research and extension organizations; and community colleges.

On the continental United States, graduates are city and county planners, program analysts in federal agencies (e.g., Office of Coastal Resource Management and Office of Management and Budget), and planning consultants. Other graduates include a planner for a nonprofit housing corporation, a lawyer-planner, and a law professor. Overseas positions include planners with regional planning, housing redevelopment and environmental agencies, the United Nations, and private development and consulting firms, as well as faculty in university programs. Several MURP graduates are pursuing doctoral degrees in planning, geography, political science, and economics, while others are seeking law degrees.

Requirements

The MURP degree is a two-year professional program that requires a minimum of 42 credit hours. It is designed to equip students to fill professional planning and policy analysis roles in public agencies, private firms, and community groups, particularly in Hawai‘i, Asia, and the Pacific Basin. All students complete the core sequence (planning theory, planning methods, spatial planning theory, economic analysis for urban and regional planning, and planning models, a 6-credit-hour practicum, and three of the following courses: PLAN 610, 620, 630, and 640). The remainder of the academic program, including a second methodology course, is individually designed with concentration in a specialized area of the student’s own choosing (with the consent of his or her adviser), provided adequate academic resources are available in the department and at the University. Grades of B or better are required in PLAN 600, 601, 602, 603, and 605, and an average of B or better must be earned in all courses counted toward the MURP degree. MURP students receiving a grade lower than a B will be allowed one additional opportunity to achieve a B or better in each core course.

Both Plan A (thesis) and Plan B (non-thesis) programs are available. All students are required to pass a final, which includes a successful defense of the thesis on the selected area of concentration, and to meet the program standards for graduation.