Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Doctoral Degree Requirements

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

Ph.D. in Regional Planning

The degree requires satisfactory completion of 20 approved courses, including five that are required, and a dissertation. The course program is developed by the student, a faculty adviser, and the Director of the Ph.D. Program. Students holding a Master's degree in planning or a related field can receive credit for up to 12 graduate courses, as determined by the Program Director.

A Comprehensive Examination is required after completing most or all of the course requirements. It usually consists of a written and oral examination on planning history and theory, the student's substantive area, and research methods. The oral examination may be a defense of the student's dissertation proposal.

Dual Degree Option in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

A growing number of students have recognized the overlap between policy and design and have seen the importance of a strong link between the process and product of land development. The dual degree option combines the design and analysis of urban and rural landscapes with a concern for the social, political, regulatory, and economic factors that shape those landscapes. This option, which usually requires one year less study than taking the degrees one after the other, confers two separate degrees upon completion. The versatility which results from the blending of these two related fields can be a valuable asset for the student. Many public agencies and private consulting firms have preferred employing those students who have the dual skills this option offers.

Students who choose the dual degree option are expected to complete 78 credit hours and must file for both degrees at the same time. The courses taken must include the required courses of both programs.

Combined Degree in Law (J.D.) and Planning (M.R.P.)

Students may simultaneously complete a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England College School of Law in Springfield and a Master's of Regional Planning degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in four academic years rather than the five years it would take if the programs were pursued separately.

Students must spend their entire first year in either the Regional Planning program or the School of Law. The second year is normally spent full-time in the program not chosen the first year. Thereafter, the student will finish the degree requirements by spending entire semesters at either institution to complete remaining credits. Students are required to complete the core courses and mandatory academic requirements at each institution. In meeting these requirements, the combined program requires that each institution grant credit for one semester's work (12 credits) at the other institution. For the Regional Planning 48-credit program, 36 credits will be taken in the planning program, with law courses constituting the remaining 12 cross-credits for the M.R.P. degree. At the School of Law, the student must earn 88 credits to obtain a J.D. degree, with 12 of those credits earned from the Regional Planning program.

Those interested in this program must apply and gain admission to each school separately, a process which is facilitated through cooperation in the admissions process by both the Regional Planning program and the School of Law.