Master of City and Regional Planning

This program, which has been accredited by the PAB since 1988, prepares students for careers as professional planners with public, private and nonprofit organizations to address the challenges of rapidly changing cities and regions.

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) program at the University of Texas at Arlington prepares students to become professional urban and regional planners equipped to address the challenges of rapidly changing cities and regions. Located in the heart of the dynamic Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the program offers students hands-on learning opportunities, interdisciplinary knowledge, studios, and engagement with real-world planning issues. The MCRP curriculum integrates core planning knowledge with specialized electives in areas such as transportation, land use, Geographic Information Systems, community development, and environmental planning.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

The Planning Accreditation Board requires this information to be posted for the Master of City and Regional Planning degree program at UTA. The information includes details about tuition and fees, student achievement, retention and graduation rate, certification, employment, and more.

2025 MCRP Information

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to equip students with knowledge about planning functions and policies to become active professional planners and community leaders for the real world.

MCRP Strategic Plan 2024-2031

WHY CHOOSE US?

2 Year Graduate Degree Program with Certificates
The Only Accredited Planning Program by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) in North Texas
Excellent Internship and Job Placement
Located in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, 4th largest Metropolitan Region in the Country
Mentorship Programs with Prominent Professionals

PROGRAM BENEFITS

The University of Texas at Arlington's Master of City and Regional Planning Program was founded in 1975 and has been continuously accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board since 1988. Accredited programs must meet strict professional and academic standards developed by the PAB and its sponsoring organizations, the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, and the American Planning Association.

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

All MCRP students can apply to one of the following three certificate programs:

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The degree requires completion of 48 hours of study: 33 hours of core courses, either 6 hours of Thesis or 3 hours of Professional Report and 9-12 hours of elective courses.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

See the UTA GRADUATE CATALOG for admission requirements. The admission requirements published in the current Catalog are undergoing revision. At present, applicants are not required to submit GRE test results to be considered for admission to our program.

UTA Graduate Catalog Information Request Form

Contact Info

Current Students Contact:
CAPPAadmissions@uta.edu

Admissions Process

REQUIRED AND ELECTIVE COURSES

Required Courses

Course Code	Course Name	Hours
PLAN 5303	Planning History, Theory, and Ethics	3
PLAN 5304	Plan Implementation, Zoning, and Regulations	3
PLAN 5308	Metropolitan Sustainability and Plan Making	3
PLAN 5310	Planning, Urban Development and Structure	3
PLAN 5316	Land Use Planning and the Law	3
PLAN 5318	Techniques of Planning Analysis I	3
PLAN 5330	Techniques of Planning Analysis II	3
PLAN 5332	Project Studio	3
PLAN 5363	Leadership and Communication Skills in the Planning Process	3
PLAN 5333	Graphics and Multimedia Communication in Planning	3
PLAN 5380	Research Questions in Planning	3

And select one of the following options:

1) Professional Report

Course Code	Course Name	Hours
PLAN 5397	Professional Report	3

2) Thesis

Course Code	Course Name	Hours
PLAN 5698	Planning Thesis	6

Electives

Select 3 elective courses (for the thesis option) or 4 elective courses (for the professional report option) of the following with prior approval by the graduate advisor or program director:

Course Code	Course Name
PLAN 5305	Land Use, Management and Development
PLAN 5306	Urban Revitalization
PLAN 5309	Transportation/Land Use Modeling and Policy Analysis
PLAN 5313	Urban Growth Policy
PLAN 5315	Transportation Policies, Programs and History
PLAN 5317	Intermediate Data Analysis
PLAN 5324	Community Development
PLAN 5325	Physical Planning and Urban Design
PLAN 5327	Green Cities and Transportation
PLAN 5331	GIS Workshop
PLAN 5340	GIS and Suitability Analysis
PLAN 5341	Environmental Regulations: Laws and Planning
PLAN 5346	Qualitative Methods
PLAN 5350	Environmental Planning
PLAN 5352	Environmental Assessment Policy and Practice
PLAN 5356	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
PLAN 5357	Intermediate Geographic Information Systems
PLAN 5361	Planning Internship
PLAN 5370	Sustainable Community

Total Hours: 9

MCRP DEGREE PLAN

The MCRP program admits new students in fall and spring semesters. The degree plans for those who start the MCRP program in fall and spring semesters respectively are presented below. For more information, please consult our graduate advisor, Shatavia Thomas.

MCRP Degree Plan starting Fall semesters MCRP Degree Plan starting Spring semesters

APPLYING FOR OPTIONAL INTERNSHIP CREDIT

Internships must be approved by the program. A student must submit an Internship Agreement Form describing the duties and hours with a signature from the sponsor before registration for internship credit. At the end of the internship, a student must complete and submit an Internship Report on their experiences and the sponsor must complete and submit an Internship Performance Evaluation verifying the internship requirements have been met. Both these forms must be submitted to the MCRP Director by the end of the semester in order to receive credit and a grade.

Internship Agreement Form Internship Evaluation Form

MCRP Advisory Council

Meet the advisory council of the Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) Program!

Council Members

- Overview
- International Program Innsbruck