The professions of planning and public administration are intertwined in numerous ways. Many positions in government can best be filled by persons who possess the knowledge and skills of both administrators and planners. Conversely, administrators, especially in rapidly growing governments, may be hampered if they cannot exercise the skills to frame plans.
Very few persons achieve professional competence in both fields. Those who do possess substantial career flexibility and attractiveness to prospective employers. The joint degree program is one of only a handful in the nation. It permits the mastery of core knowledge and skills in both areas in three years or less, instead of the four or more years that would be otherwise required. It does so by eliminating duplicative coursework in analytical methods and general electives.
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New applicants should complete separate applications for admission to each department and submit these to the Office of Graduate Admissions. To be accepted, each of the departments must separately admit the applicant to its respective program. Those currently enrolled in either degree program, and who have not completed 24 hours of study, may apply to the second department. Admission to that department shall constitute admission to the joint degree program. A unique major code (327777) exists for the Planning /Public Administration joint degree program and should be used on application forms.
The degrees of Master of Public Administration and Master of Science in Planning are earned through the completion of a minimum of sixty-six (66) semester hours across the following areas:
Basic Research Methods (6 hours)
PAD 5700 Research Design
PAD 5701 Quantitative Analysis
or
URP 5201 Methods of Planning Analysis I: Research
URP 5202 Methods of Planning Analysis II: Statistics
Planning Core (12 hours)
URP 5101 Planning Theory and Practice
URP 5125 Plan Implementation
URP 5847 Growth and Development of Cities
URP 5261 Forecasting
URP 5930 Professional Topics
Administration Core (9 hours)
PAD 5050 Profession of Public Administration
PAD 5106 Public Organizations
PAD 5227 Managing Public Financial Resources
Decision Methods (3 hours)
URP 5222 Analysis for Planning Decisions
or
PAD 5035 Policy Development and Administration
Internship
The student will complete a single internship meeting the internship
requirements of both degrees. Registration may be either PAD 5946
Public Service Internship (3 hours) or by fulfilling Urban and Regional
Planning’s internship requirement, unless the student has
sufficient work experience to be exempted.
Professional Paper
The student will prepare a single paper which satisfies the requirements
of both the planning master's research paper and the administration
report. The committee which supervises the development of this paper
shall consist of at least one faculty member from each of the two
departments. Normally students who earned internship credit as PAD
5946 will register for the capstone as URP 5910 Directed Independent
Study (3 hours); those who have earned internship credit in Urban
and Regional Planning will register for the capstone as PAD 6908
Action Report (3 hours).