Mar 29, 2024  
2013-2014 Graduate Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Master of Regional and Community Planning (M.R.C.P.)


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Program Description

The Kansas State University Graduate School and the Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning  offers a 147 credit hour non-Baccalaureate Master of Regional and Community Planning degree and a 55 credit hour post-Baccalaureate program leading to the degree Master of Regional and Community Planning. The non-Baccalaureate program can be completed within ten semesters of course work and a recommended summer internship between the eighth and ninth semester. The post-Baccalaureate program can be completed within four semesters of course work, with a recommended internship between the second and third semester. International students are required to obtain a 1 credit hour internship during this period to obtain their MRCP degree. The post-Baccalaureate MRCP program is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board of the American Planning Association and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.

The primary mission of the MRCP program is to educate young professional planners to become directors or managers of community development / city planning departments, economic development agencies, housing or related departments and agencies in cities, small communities, counties and regions. Some graduates may use the same educational background to become directors of planning or related activities in private consulting firms and research organizations, while others may enter the field of real estate development and a host of related disciplines.

The major objective of the program is to integrate the concept of comprehensive community development planning in an environmental context with considerations for social, economic, cultural and political issues in the community while recognizing the importance of financial management, private enterprise-government relations, and citizen participation in community decision making. Core courses reflect the impact of these key concerns on traditional planning activities, while exploring related ethical issues in depth.

With a firm educational foundation in basic planning and analytical techniques, management, human relations, and ethics, today’s MRCP graduate will have the skills and judgment to become tomorrow’s successful practicing planner.

Non-Baccalaureate Master of Regional and Community Planning


First semester (15 credit hours)


  • ENVD 203 - Survey of the Design Professions (1)
  • MATH 100 - College Algebra (3)
  • COMM 105 - Public Speaking 1A (2)
  • Humanities/Design Elective* (3)
  • Social Science/History Elective* (3)
  • Social Science/Sociology Elective* (3)

Second semester (16 credit hours)


  • ENGL 100 - Expository Writing 1 (3)
  • Humanities/Design Electives* (6)
  • Natural Science Elective with Lab* (4)
  • General Elective* (3)

Third semester (16 credit hours)


  • PLAN 315 - Introduction to City Planning (3)
  • PLAN 316 - Planning Principles Seminar (2)
  • LAR 420 - Natural Systems & Site Analysis (4)
  • Social Science/Economics Elective* (3)
  • General Elective (3)

Fourth semester (18 credit hours)


  • PLAN 415 - World Cities (3)
  • LAR 322 - Environmental Issues & Ethics (3)
  • ENGL 200 - Expository Writing II (3)
  • Statistcs Elective* (3)
  • Social Science/Geography Elective* (3)
  • General Elective* (3)

Fifth semester (17 credit hours)


  • Natural Science Elective* (3)
  • Social Science/Political Science Elective (3)

Sixth semester (15 credit hours)


  • PLAN 010 Planning Field Trip (0)
  • Professional Electives* (6)

Seventh semester (13 credit hours)


  • Professional Elective (3)
  • PLAN 444 - Career Planning Seminar (1)

Eighth semester (14-16 credit hours)


  • Professional Electives (9)

Ninth semester (12-15 credit hours)


  • Professional Elective (3)

Tenth semester (9-11 credit hours)


  • Professional Elective (3)

Total Credits Required for the Non-Baccalaureate MRCP Degree (147 hours)


 *A minimum of nine (9) general elective credits must be taken. General electives may be taken in pursuit of a minor. They may be taken any time prior to or during the Regional and Community Planning program and may include KSU approved AP, IB, CLEP and transfer credit. Students may not count more than three (3) total hours of recreation credits toward graduation.

**Professional Electives in the sixth semester must include 6 undergraduate credit hours of PLAN courses.

***Eighth semester: Two distinct study opportunities are offered during this semester, each requiring 14 credit hours. The study abroad and internship options have course requirements that substitute for the 9 professional elective credit requirements.

All students will complete either a Master’s Report or a Master’s Thesis.
+If a student elects the thesis option, PLAN 897 Proposal Writing will be taken during the eighth semester for 2 credit hours. This course is completed by advance arrangement. PLAN 897 students work independently to develop their thesis proposal with their major professor’s supervision. PLAN 899 Research in Planning will be taken in the ninth semester in place of PLAN 897 and in the tenth semester in place of PLAN 705, PLAN 898 and the professional elective.

The K-State 8 General Education areas are covered by courses required in the Regional and Community Planning curriculum. Information about the K-State 8 is available at http://www.k-state.edu/kstate8 and in the university catalog.

Total credit hours required for Graduate School program of study = 35.

Post-Baccalaureate Master of Regional and Community Planning


First semester (14 credit hours)


  • PLAN 315 - Introduction to City Planning (3)
  • PLAN 316 - Planning Principles Seminar (2)
  • Professional Elective

Second semester (15-17 credit hours)


  •  Professional Electives* (6)
  •  PLAN 010 - Planning Field Trip (0)

Third semester (15 credit hours)


  • Professional Elective (3)

Fourth semester (9-11 credit hours)


  • Professional Elective (3)

Total credits required for the post-baccalaureate MRCP degree (55 hours)


All students will complete either a Master’s Report or a Master’s Thesis.

+If a student elects the thesis option, PLAN 897 Proposal Writing will be taken during the second semester for 2 credit hours. This course is completed by advance arrangement. PLAN 897 students work independently to develop their thesis proposal with their major professor’s supervision. PLAN 899 Research in Planning will be taken in the third semester in place of PLAN 897 and in the fourth semester in place of PLAN 705, PLAN 898 and the professional elective.

*Professional Electives in the second semester must include 6 undergraduate credit hours of PLAN courses.

Total credit hours required for Graduate School program of study = 35

 

Admission Requirements


Non-Baccalaureate MRCP program:

Students applying for the Non-Baccalaureate MRCP program during their second semester of study, must have a minimum of a 2.500 cumulative GPA. Students in this program will apply for Graduate School admission during their sixth semester, and must meet graduate school admission standards. Students who have not completed an undergraduate statistics course prior to the completion of their sixth semester will be required to enroll in either STAT 325 Introduction to Statistics or STAT 702 Statistics for the Social Sciences during their seventh semester.

Post-Baccalaureate MRCP program:

Entering students are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Applicants with undergraduate degrees in administration, agriculture, architecture, business, construction science, economics, ecology, education, engineering, geology, geography, government, human ecology, landscape architecture, pre-law, planning, political science and sociology, and who meet the requirements of the Graduate School for admission, are fully acceptable for graduate study in planning. Applicants with other academic backgrounds may be accepted upon recommendation of the program faculty and subject to such conditions as the faculty may impose. Prerequisites for admission include satisfactory completion of an elementary statistics course or equivalent (or inclusion of a graduate level statistics course in the program of study), and evidence of an understanding of the American political system and government.

Admission to Graduate School may be in one of three categories: full standing, provisional or probational. Recommendations regarding an applicant’s qualifications and admission are made to the Graduate School by the faculty of the graduate program in regional and community planning. Final decisions regarding admission are made by the dean of the Graduate School. Admission in full standing requires a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (“B” average) in the last two years of undergraduate work in an institution whose requirements for the bachelor’s degree are equivalent to those of Kansas State University. Applicants with GPA’s between 2.65 - 2.99 will be considered for probational admission provided there is evidence that the applicant has the ability to do satisfactory graduate work. Provisional admission may be granted to applicants who have subject deficiencies in undergraduate preparation or if there is uncertainty in evaluating the transcripts. Normally, deficiencies will be made up by enrolling in courses for undergraduate credit. A statistics deficiency may be completed by enrolling in Stat 702 (Statistics for Social Science, or equivalent) for graduate credit and be counted toward the required 48 credit hour minimum for the MRCP degree.

International applicants are required to take the TOEFL exam and submit results to the department for evaluation. TOEFL scores of 600 (250 via on-line evaluation) are required for entry into the graduate program in regional and community planning and a score above 620 (260 via on-line evaluation) is required for consideration of financial aid. The GRE is recommended, however is not required for admission to the program.

Financial Assistance for Graduate Study


A limited number of 0.4 time teaching and research assistantships are typically available to incoming and continuing students in the program on a competitive basis. Students entering the post- baccalaureate MRCP program and students in the non-baccalaureate MRCP program who have completed 120 credit hours of the program are eligible for consideration of receipt of these teaching and research assistantships. In addition, HUD funding is generally sought and received for minority and economically disadvantaged American students as a financial aid package designed to increase minority involvement in the planning profession in the United States. All international students who are awarded financial aid in the form of a Graduate Teaching Assistant must pass the Test of Spoken English (TSE), administered by the KSU English Language Program at Kansas State University prior to the start of the Fall and Spring semesters.

For further information on financial aid, interested students should contact the Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning, as well as the Office of Student Financial Aid, located in Fairchild Hall. Some scholarships are available to qualified applicants.

Internships and Responsibilities


Graduate students in the MRCP program should consider assignment to a planning staff for a period of at least eight weeks (full time equivalent), and supervision by a professional planner with periodic reports of activities to the planning faculty. It is recommended that students enroll in no more than one credit hour for this experience regardless of the duration of the internship should they wish credit for this work shown on their Program of Study. Doing so will increase the Program of Study requirements for the MRCP degree to 49 credit hours. International students are required to enroll in one credit hour of internship credit, increasing their Program of Study requirements to 49 credit hours for the MRCP degree.

Career Opportunities


Graduates who possess the masters degree in regional and community planning are typically employed by cities, regions, or state planning agencies, in the various community planning and/or development departments. Since “planning” is a management degree, the opportunities for planning positions or planning related positions are limitless, both in the public/private realm and in geographical area of coverage and interests. Opportunities abound in the areas of city planning, regional planning, neighborhood planning, transportation planning, community economic development agencies, city management, health planning, social planning, housing departments, area agencies on aging, resource planning and a preservation of ecosystems and the environment, urban design and historic preservation agencies, geographic information system analysts, demographic analysts, research and market analysis agencies, policy analysts, private consulting organizations (architects, engineers, and land planners), land development, developers and real estate appraisers, non-profit information dispersion agencies, land use law firms, etc. Planning as a profession deals with not only current problems in the provision of our quality of life, to the future problems and growth management to insure that the future contains a “better” quality of life for future generations. Through “planning” is the promise and hope of a better tomorrow. To not only participate in the process, but to make things happen for future generations, the planning profession is poised to lead the way. Planning is a “change element” in evaluating alternative outcomes and in directing the course of future actions to insure the controlled progress of humanity, both in the social, political, economic and physical aspects of life. The masters degree in regional and community planning is but one of the keys to understanding the past and managing the future on Planet Earth.

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