This is an archived copy of the 2014-16 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Community and Regional Planning

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning
Doctor of Philosophy

For More Information

Campus address: Sutton Hall (SUT) 2.130, phone (512) 471-1922, fax (512) 471-0716; campus mail code: B7500

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program in Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, 310 Inner Campus Drive B7500, Austin TX 78712-1009

E-mail: soa_grad@austin.utexas.edu

URL: http://soa.utexas.edu/crp

Facilities for Graduate Work

The community and regional planning program is housed within the School of Architecture, which is consistently ranked as one of the top ten schools of architecture in the nation. The program draws upon the resources available in the School of Architecture and across the University campus to offer a program of study combining current research and practice with intense student involvement in real-world projects.

Facilities for the study of community and regional planning are centrally located on campus in three adjacent and historically significant buildings: Battle Hall (1911), Sutton Hall (1918, renovated in 1982), and Goldsmith Hall (1933, expanded and renovated in 1988). The Architecture and Planning Library provides excellent resources for study and research in community and regional planning. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the program also makes use of a wide range of resources available through the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, the Environmental Science Institute, the School of Social Work, the Center for Transportation Research, the Population Research Center, the Center for Research in Water Resources, the Bureau of Economic Geology, and other allied programs within the School of Architecture, including the Lady Bird Johnson WIldflower Center. The program’s computer laboratory provides more than seventy computer workstations, computer simulation and graphics workstations, geographic information system (GIS) workstations, and high-quality graphic production facilities and printers.

The program has a strong tradition of learning through service to the community, the region, the state, and the nation. A number of community planning projects and studies are produced through the program’s Center for Sustainable Development; the center facilitates the study and practice of sustainable design, planning, and development in Texas, the nation, and the world through complementary programs of research, education, and community outreach. Learning-through-service is also accomplished through the internship program administered by the Career Services Office. The program draws on the resources of state, regional, and local planning agencies to provide research and community service opportunities.

A full description of the current facilities is available at the community and regional planning Web site at http://soa.utexas.edu/crp .

Areas of Study

In conjunction with completion of the core portion of the curriculum, students may choose to specialize in a field within urban planning. An official specialization requires completion of a minimum of four elective courses plus a thesis or professional report within the chosen field. Areas of specialization include planning for social and economic sustainability, environmental planning for sustainable communities, land use, transportation and infrastructure planning, land development and urban design, historic preservation, and other areas covered in dual degree programs listed in Degree Requirements . Selection of an official field of specialization is not a requirement of the degree program. Students may instead choose to tailor the choice of elective courses to their specific interests.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2013.

Dean J Almy
Barbara Brown Wilson
Sarah Eileen Dooling
Michael Holleran
Terry D Kahn
Ming-Chun Lee
Talia M McCray
Steven A Moore
Elizabeth Mueller
Michael Oden
Robert G Paterson
Allan W Shearer
Bjorn I Sletto
Frederick R Steiner
Patricia A Wilson
Robert F Young
Ming Zhang

Admission Requirements

There are no specific course prerequisites for admission to the master’s degree program. However, facility in basic computer skills (using spreadsheets and word processing) is assumed. Some entering students find introductory courses in statistics and microeconomics to be helpful, although such courses are not formal prerequisites.

To be admitted to the doctoral program, an applicant must have a master’s degree in community and regional planning or a related field.

To be admitted to any of the dual degree programs, the applicant must be admitted to each of the individual participating programs.

For more information about admission to the master’s or doctoral degree program or to any of the dual degree programs, consult the graduate adviser in care of the program or the community and regional planning Web site at http://soa.utexas.edu/crp

Upon admission to the program, the student must pay a nonrefundable enrollment deposit to indicate that he or she accepts the offer of admission. The deposit is applied to the payment of tuition when the student enrolls. The deposit is also required of students admitted to the dual degree programs.