Concurrent MCP + MLA

The Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) jointly offer a program of study with an emphasis in urban design and environmental planning. The program is intended for exceptionally qualified students who have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in city and regional planning, landscape architecture, architecture, or a related field. Successful completion leads to the degrees of Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) and Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.). Depending on the student’s undergraduate degree, the program can be completed in three or four years.

The concurrent program combines a common framework of theory and method while permitting specialization in one of two areas: environmental planning or urban design. The common core includes history and theory of the development of urban areas; basic characteristics of land, water, and climate and how they relate to development and conservation; social and environmental spatial concepts; environmental measurement, including physical, social, and psychological measures; economic values associated with land conservation and development; and infrastructure. In addition to the common core, students must also complete an option core, an area of specialization, and a thesis or professional project.

The environmental planning option emphasizes training in the planning process, development economics, political institutions and law, and regulatory policy and administration. It aims to educate students to apply this training to decisions about the appropriate use of land and natural resources. Environmental planning candidates should have a basic knowledge of ecological principles relevant to planning and design, as well as competence in graphic communication skills. An undergraduate degree in the natural sciences, landscape architecture, or planning is typically required for admission to the concurrent program in environmental planning.

The urban design option focuses on the design and planning of the physical environment in ways that best respond to people’s needs, values, and aspirations. Course work consists of design, theory, history, survey and measurement, and implementation. Urban design candidates should have competence in basic design, landscape materials, and graphic communication skills. Typically an undergraduate degree in environmental design, architecture, or landscape architecture is required for admission to the concurrent program in urban design.

See Master of City Planning—Concurrent Degrees for information on how to apply to the concurrent degree programs.