2024–2025 Bulletin Addendum Master of Science in City Planning

The Master of Science in City Planning (MSCP) at Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) integrates the necessary skills, knowledge, values, and ethics to train future evidence-informed city planners. The MSCP program prepares students for a wide variety of professional roles in city planning, emphasizing the development and implementation of strategies to create sustainable and equitable urban environments. The professional planner frequently functions as a member of a multidisciplinary team and is involved in various stages of the city planning process, including research, analysis, designing planning alternatives, engaging with communities, and implementing projects aimed at improving urban and regional environments. Additionally, planners are often tasked with forecasting future trends, monitoring ongoing developments, and formulating public investment strategies to ensure sustainable growth and equitable resource allocation.

City planners must possess skills to navigate technical, sociopolitical, and economic considerations that go into making an equitable, resilient, and sustainable city while facing the implications of climate change and public health crises. The MSCP coursework provides technical and practical foundations in areas such as land use, transportation, housing, climate change mitigation and adaption strategies, and urban informatics for city planning purposes.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe and critique historical approaches in planning practice, including their successes and failures, and apply key provisions of ethical professional planning codes to various scenarios, analyzing their strengths and limitations.
• Critically evaluate relevant planning issues considering the community, city, regional, and national scale, emphasizing social justice and the global climate crisis.
• Apply quantitative, qualitative, and spatial analysis techniques proficiently for informed decisionmaking in urban and regional planning and policy contexts.
• Demonstrate the ability to integrate planning, land-use law, urban economics principles, and public finance mechanisms into viable, sustainable urban and regional development strategies.
• Develop and critically assess urban and regional development plans that incorporate sustainability principles and climate adaptation strategies, effectively addressing challenges to ensure an equitable and resilient future for urban areas.
• Demonstrate strong communication and teamwork skills to effectively navigate the multistakeholder environment typical of urban and regional planning projects.

For current admissions information, please visit the Metropolitan College website.

Degree Requirements

A total of 12 courses (46 units) is required as follows.

Required Courses (seven courses/28 units)

• MET UA 515 History, Theory, and Planning Practice
• MET UA 549 Planning and Climate Adapted Urban Futures
• MET UA 579 Urban Economics and Public Finance
• MET UA 589 Research and Evaluation Methods
• MET UA 591 Applied Analytical Methods
• MET UA 592 Land Use and Planning Law
• MET UA 598 Foundations of GIS and Spatial Analysis

Planning Capstone (two courses/6 units)

Prior to enrolling, students must complete at least four required courses (16 units), including MET UA 515 and MET UA 589, within the program curriculum. This prerequisite ensures that students have acquired the necessary foundational knowledge and skills. Students with a GPA of 3.7 or higher may instead opt for Thesis 1 and Thesis 2 with the consent of an advisor.

• MET UA 756 Urban Planning Capstone I (3 units, fall)

• MET UA 757 Urban Planning Capstone II (3 units, spring)

Elective Courses (three courses/12 units)

Choose three of the following:

• MET UA 503 Housing and Community Development
• MET UA 508 Real Estate Development
• MET UA 510 Selected Topics in Urban Affairs
• MET UA 521 Environmental Law, Policy, and Justice
• MET UA 526 Multi-Modal Transportation Planning and Design
• MET UA 527 Feeding the City: Urban Food
• MET UA 551 Policy Responses to Urban Issues
• MET UA 604 Urban Political Decisionmaking: Citizen Participation in the Planning Process
• MET UA 613 Urban Design and Development
• MET UA 617 Actionable Sustainability
• MET UA 619 Urban Transportation Policy and Planning
• MET UA 642 Geospatial Intelligence for Urban Analysis
• MET UA 664 Planning and the Development Process
• MET UA 801 Graduate Directed Study in Urban Affairs and Planning
• MET UA 804 Supervised Fieldwork

Up to one elective graduate-level course may be taken outside the program offerings. Under special circumstances, additional outside electives may be approved upon consultation with a faculty advisor.

Master’s Thesis Option

A master’s thesis option is available for qualified students who have a GPA of 3.7 or higher. The 6-unit thesis option comprises MET UA 761 Thesis 1 and MET UA 762 Thesis 2, taken over two terms. This option can be arranged through the City Planning & Urban Affairs program. Supervision by a full-time Boston University faculty member with a terminal degree is required.

Combined Certificate Options

MSCP students may receive a graduate certificate upon the successful completion of specific electives. The City Planning & Urban Affairs program offers a Graduate Certificate in Applied Sustainability, Graduate Certificate in Applied Urban Informatics, and a Graduate Certificate in Urban Policy & Planning. Please contact cityplan@bu.edu to inquire about additional graduate certificate options associated with this degree.

Graduate certificates consist of four courses specific to the area of study, including required and elective courses. Elective courses can be selected from a pre-approved list of a wide range of multidisciplinary electives offered across Metropolitan College, the University, or the Boston Area Consortia. The courses from the graduate certificate can be credited to the master’s degree program.

Course Waivers for Related Programs

Master of Science in City Planning students may pursue a certificate program in Commercial Real Estate and Real Estate Finance at Boston University’s Center for Professional Education (CPE). MSCP students who earn a CPE certificate in Commercial Real Estate or Real Estate Finance are eligible to earn up to 8 units (2 courses) toward their degree with advisor approval.