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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Urban Studies & Planning

Master of Urban Planning (M.U.P.)

Wayne State's Master of Urban Planning is a professionally oriented degree that focuses on the preparation of planners who will be employed primarily by local governments, planning consultants and community-based organizations. The degree is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.

Students have the opportunity to specialize in Housing and Community Development, Urban Economic Development or Managing Metropolitan Growth. Through course projects and internships, students are able to gain structured practical experience. Student projects conducted as "capstone" courses have been recognized for excellence by the Michigan Society of Planning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for an urban planner in 2020 was $74,410. This number draws on data for both beginning and longer-term planners.

At a glance 🎯

  • Completion: Two years or less
  • Schedule: Flexible for working students
  • Credits: 48
  • Experiential learning and unmatched internship connections
  • Planning Accreditation Board info
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Urban planning requirements and curriculum

Students in the Master of Urban Planning (M.U.P.) program must complete a minimum of 48 credits in the required and elective courses and must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. This includes 27 credits of required classes, six to 10 credits of specialization classes and 11 to 15 credits of elective classes. Included in the 27 credits of required classes is a four-credit group capstone class, which students take toward the end of their studies. This group capstone class is usually held in the spring-summer semester.

As part of their elective classes, students can take an internship for one to three credits. They can also write a planning essay or a professional planning report for three credits. Students are not encouraged to write an essay or a professional planning report, because this usually extends the time to obtain the degree. Completion of the urban planning degree requires students to satisfy the graduate program requirements and overall Master of Urban Planning requirements.

Concentrations

  • Housing and Community Development

    The specialization in housing and community development provides students with an understanding of theory and practice in urban development, particularly physical development in neighborhoods. It requires students to address both housing and its community context (as opposed to focusing more narrowly on either housing or neighborhoods alone).

    While the principles and skills included have broad applicability, course content emphasizes metropolitan areas and pays particular attention to conditions, policies and strategies central to the challenge of strengthening disadvantaged urban core communities. Students completing this specialization may find employment in public planning and community development agencies, community-based organizations or with private developers.

    The Detroit metropolitan area provides an outstanding laboratory for the study of these issues and processes. Economic and demographic restructuring has led to conditions that are prototypical of older central cities and mature suburbs. At the same time, portions of the region continue to experience growth and development with the attendant problems of planning and management. This broad range of existing conditions provides students with the opportunity to gain experience in all facets of the housing and community development process.

    Requirements

    The specialization has a two-tier set of requirements; students must complete one course from tier one and two courses from tier two.

    Tier one

    Students are required to take UP 6680:

    • UP 6680: Neighborhood Decline and Revitalization: This course is the foundation course for the specialization. It provides a conceptual framework that should enable students to understand how market forces and public policy work and interact to influence housing markets and submarkets and to shape conditions in neighborhoods.

    Tier two

    Students must take two of the following three courses:

    • UP 6310: Real Estate Development
    • UP 6340: Community Development
    • UP 6350: Housing Policy and Programs

    Other courses that meet the needs and interests of individual students may be chosen in place of the pre-approved tier two courses if they are part of an approved plan of work.

    See courses offered by semester

    Course sequencing

    Students are strongly advised to begin their specialization coursework with UP 6680; this course is best taken after completion of UP 5110: Urban Planning Process and UP 6510: Urban and Regional Systems.

  • Managing Metropolitan Growth

    The specialization in growth management provides students with some of the tools necessary to deal with the land use challenges facing rapidly growing and changing areas. Students with this specialization are often to be employed in regional development agencies (government and private); state, local and county government and with private developers. Growth management students should have an interest in metropolitan planning issues and intergovernmental relations.

    In addition to the core courses required of all planning students, specialists in this area are required to become adept in general land use planning and at least one of the following areas: transportation policy and planning or environmental policy and planning.

    Land use and growth management have become increasingly prominent issues across the nation and, especially, in Michigan. The spread of urban development creates opportunities but also presents significant challenges for planners: to assure the quality of the built environment, safeguard the quality of the natural environment and provide equitable access to both new and existing resources and opportunities. These issues are just as critical in mature urban core areas as they are at the urban fringe, although the strategies for addressing them may differ. Since both the built environment and the natural environment are systems, how these issues are addressed in one part of the region has implications throughout the metropolitan area.

    Department faculty are engaged in a variety of research projects that address growth management issues, including analyses of the attitudes of Michigan residents toward urban spread and land management policies, developers' responses to growth management regulations, alternative sites for a new Detroit River crossing and how low-income Detroit residents who do not own cars meet their transportation needs.

    Requirements

    Students in this concentration must take two courses from tier one and one course from tier two.

    Tier one

    Students are required to take UP 6260 and either UP 6470 or UP 6520 (three credits each):

    • UP 6260: Land Use Policy and Planning: Introduces students to the basic methods of land use planning, including zoning, master plans, site planning and basic environmental assessment. A major emphasis in the course will be methods of citizen involvement in land use planning and the legislative requirements in various jurisdictions.
    • UP 6470: Environmental Policy and Planning: Introduces students to methods and techniques in environmental impact and evaluation, methods of dealing with site contamination, the concept of brownfields, interregional issues in environmental management and state and national legislation.
    • UP 6520: Transportation Policy and Planning: Introduces students to the role of transportation in land use planning. Students will understand basic models in transportation, the ethics of transportation choices, the effect of transportation systems on regional development, funding mechanisms for transportation and government structure of transportation agencies.

    Tier two

    Tier two includes those courses from which students pick their third course. It includes whichever of the tier courses were not chosen to fulfill the tier one requirement (i.e., students who want to can elect to do all three of the tier one courses), plus the following:

    • UP 6310: Real Estate Development
    • UP 6700: Geographic Information Systems

    Students may substitute other courses for the pre-approved electives if they are included in an approved plan of work. These other courses may come from another department or college.

    See courses offered by semester

    Course sequencing

    Students are strongly advised to begin their coursework in the concentration with UP 6260. This course is best taken after UP 5110: Urban Planning Process.

  • Urban Economic Development

    The specialization in economic development provides students with an understanding of theory and practice as they pertain to the functioning of urban economies and to public and nonprofit sector efforts to influence them.

    While the theoretical and policy frameworks developed in the specialization are broad, tools and practice emphasize approaches that aim to stimulate development in core urban communities that have experienced disinvestment and to improve the economic opportunities available to disadvantaged populations. Students completing this specialization may find employment in public planning and economic development agencies, community development organizations or private consulting companies.

    Urban economic development has been one of the fastest-growing subfields in planning in recent years. Planners have played key roles in the emergence of urban economic development, in particular bringing knowledge of land and property markets to bear on other urban economic issues. This concentration is important in all urban settings but is especially significant in larger metropolitan areas with an aging central city displaying the attendant economic, social and physical problems. Cities such as Detroit now view economic development efforts as essential. Moreover, the corporate and nonprofit sectors place increasing importance on urban (local) economic development as they see that it is in their best interests to support and stimulate local market activity.

    Faculty who teach in this area of concentration are engaged in a variety of research on economic development topics, including the use of tax abatements by Michigan municipalities to stimulate economic growth, comparative analysis of well-regarded and troubled mid-sized small towns, availability of venture capital for minority entrepreneurs and strategies for promoting improved urban retailing, especially supermarkets.

    Students selecting this concentration would also be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Economic Development (based on credits gained across a variety of programs). For more information, contact the graduate director.

    Requirements

    This concentration has a two-tier set of requirements; students take two courses in tier one and one in tier two.

    Tier one

    Tier one includes two required courses:

    • UP 6550: Regional, State and Urban Economic Development: Policy and Administration: This course provides the conceptual framework for the specialization; it introduces students to the major types of revitalization strategies and how they can be evaluated.
    • UP 6570: Local Economic Development: Implementation and Finance: This exposes students in-depth to major economic development strategies and tools with an emphasis on financing. UP 6550 or permission of instructor is a prerequisite.

    Tier two

    Tier two includes those courses from which students pick their third course. Pre-approved courses include:

    • UP 6680: Neighborhood Decline and Revitalization (three credits)
    • UP 6310: Real Estate Development (three credits)
    • UP 6340: Community Development (three credits)
    • UP 5820: Urban and Regional Economics (ECO 5800, which has ECO 2010: Microeconomics or consent of instructor as a prerequisite) (three credits)

    Students may substitute alternative electives that match specialized interests as long as they are included in an approved plan of work; examples might include a proposed new course with a labor emphasis or a course in finance at the Mike Ilitch School of Business.

    See courses offered by semester

    Course sequencing

    Students are strongly advised to begin their specialization coursework with UP 6550. It is best taken after UP 6510: Urban and Regional Systems.

Career insights

This tool provides a broad overview of how major selection can lead to careers and is provided without any implied promise of employment. Some careers will require further education, skills, or competencies. Actual salaries may vary significantly between similar employers and could change by graduation, as could employment opportunities and job titles.

Outcomes and achievement

Learn more information about the student achievement outcomes for the Master of Urban Planning program.