Master of Science in Planning (M.S.P.)

 The Master of Science in Planning (MSP) degree is the normal route for entry into professional positions in urban and regional planning and related fields. 

The MSP Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville prides itself on training students to serve the State of Tennessee, as well as to be competitive in the national planning job market. Recent graduates work for local and state governments, several different departments of the federal government, non-profit organizations, and private consulting firms. Several have gone on to work on their doctorates. 

The MSP degree is offered through UT’s Department of Political Science, which also offers masters degrees in political science, public administration and a joint MPA/JD degree. The MSP Program benefits from synergies with these other programs to offer students a very strong education in planning with an emphasis on sustainability, planning policy making, public administration, and political science. Through our concentrations, students are able to build a strong educational profile that draws from the rich and varied learning opportunities that only a major university can provide.  Studio courses are available through the School of Art and Architecture.

• DESCRIPTION OF THE PROFESSION
• CONTEXT AND HISTORY OF PLANNING AT UT

Curriculum 

The MSP is a non-thesis program requiring 43 credit hours.  Specific requirements include the following:

Core Curriculum (35 hours)

• Political Science 514 Research and Methodology in Public Administration (3)
• Political Science 531 Planning Theory (3)
• Political Science 560 Public Financial Administration (3)
• Political Science 581 Fundamentals of Planning (3)
• Political Science 582 Land Use and Comprehensive Planning (3)
• Political Science 583 Economic Development and Analysis (3)
• Political Science 584 Environmental Planning (3)
• Political Science 585 Planning Methods (3)
  
• Architecture 589 Urban Site Planning Workshop (4)
• Political Science 590 Practicum (6)
• Political Science 596 Workshop in Computer Applications (1)
  

Electives 

• Political Science 544 Planning and Information Technology (3)
• Political Science 545 Planning Research Methods (3)
• Political Science 547 Planning Information Systems (3)
• Political Science 555 Transportation Planning (3) 
• Political Science 586 Planning and Property Development (3)
• Political Science 587 Legal Aspects of Planning (3)
• Political Science 588 Sustainable Communities (3)
• Political Science 593 Independent Study (1-15)
• Political Science 597 Special Topics in Planning
• Political Science 598 Problems in Planning

Suggested Course Sequence for MSP Students 

	FALL	SPRING
First Year	PS 581 – Fundamentals of Planning (3) PS 582 – Land Use/Comprehensive Planning (3) PS 583 – Economic Development and Analysis (3) PS 584 – Environmental Planning (3)	PS 514 – Research and Methodology in Public Administration (3) PS 531 – Planning Theory (3) PS 560 – Public Financial Administration (3) PS 596 – Workshop in Computer Applications (1)
Second Year	ARCH 589 – Urban Site Planning Workshop (4) PS 590 – Practicum (internship) (3) Concentration classes (3-6) Electives (3-6)	PS 585 – Planning Methods (3) PS 590 – Practicum (internship) (3) Concentration classes (3-6) Electives (3-6) Comprehensive exam

Core Course Descriptions

PS 514 – Research and Methodology in Public Administration: Basic assumptions and techniques of research in public administration; measurement, analysis, and reporting of data.

PS 531 – Planning theory: Exploration of the theories of urban and regional development dynamics and the role of planning and planners within that context.

PS 560 – Public financial administration: Principles and techniques of public finance at state and local levels; budget preparation, execution, and audit, risk management, capital planning, major tax structures, economic forecasting, cash management and debt administration.

PS 581 – Fundamentals of planning: History of planning, structure and development of urban areas, operations of contemporary planning, trends and issues.

PS 582 – Land use and comprehensive planning: Concept and framework for land use planning; development of comprehensive plans; population, economic and employment forecasting.

PS 583 – Economic development and analysis: Basic methods of policy analysis and planning. Planning for economic change in cities and regions. Economic development and planning process.

PS 584 – Environmental planning: Role of planners and planning in maintenance of balance between natural and built environments.

PS 585 – Planning methods: Preparation of comprehensive plans for urban areas and regions. Development of baseline data and forecasts, formulation of alternative plans and strategies, and development of plan implementation programs.

Arch 589 – Urban Site Planning Workshop: Exploration of ideas, vocabulary, conventions, and technical skills essential to a critical understanding of how design and planning operate within the various scales of urban and ecological context, including both underlying terrain elements and human site interventions

PS 596 – Workshop in computer applications: Training in software applications to support research and decision making tasks in public service. Successful completion certifies proficiency of students in use of software applications for personal computer.

Concentration (9 hours)

Each student must choose a concentration from the following: economic development/real estate, environmental planning, land use, political science, public administration, transportation planning, and urban design. Concentration courses are drawn from a prescribed set in the subject area from the Department’s curriculum and from other departments in the University, such as the Department of Geography, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and School of Arts and Architecture. Students may also design their own concentration in consultation with the coordinator of the MSP degree program.

(The courses available under each of the concentrations are listed below. A description of each of the courses can be found by accessing the Graduate Catalog)

Economic Development/Real Estate

• Architecture 463 – Architectural development
• Economics 435 – Industrial organization analysis
• Finance 581 – Real estate investment and finance

Environmental Planning

• Civil engineering 490 – Water resources management (engineering background req)
• Economics 362/577 – Economics of resources and environmental policy
• Environmental engineering 522 – Floodplain and urban flood management
• Environmental engineering 556 – Hazardous waste management
• Environmental engineering 570 – Air quality management/pollution control
• Forestry, wildlife & fisheries 570 - Natural resource sustainability: Social, political and institutional dimensions
• Forestry 422 – Forest and wildland resource policy
• Geography 433 – The land-surface system
• Geography 435 – Biogeography (ecology or botany background req)
• Geography 436 – Water resources
• Political Science 549 – Environmental policy
• Political Science 597 - Futures analysis
• Sociology 465 – Social values and the environment
• Sociology 562 – Sociology of environmental policy

Land Use

• Finance 581 – Real estate investment and finance
• Geography 411 – Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Geography 433 – The land-surface system
• Geography 441 – Urban geography of the U.S.
• Geography 443 – Rural geography of the U.S.
• Geography 449 - Geography of Transportation
• Political Science 597 - Futures analysis
• Forestry, wildlife & fisheries 570 - Natural resource sustainability: Social, political and institutional dimensions 

Political Science

• Political Science 461 Policy making in democracies
• Political Science 537 Political parties and interest groups
• Political Science 539 State and local government and politics
• Political Science 548 Public policy process
• Political Science 556 Policy analysis

Public Administration

• Economics 671 – Public finance: Optimal government size and expenditure analysis (calculus and statistics required)
• Political Science 550 – Public administration
• Political Science 558 – The politics of administration
• Political Science 562 – Public management
• Political Science 566 – Ethics, values, and morality in public administration

Transportation Planning

• Civil engineering 558 – Planning and transportation
• Civil engineering 595 (will change to 559) – Intermodal transportation, safety and security
• Geography 449 – Geography of transportation
• Civil engineering 551 – Traffic engineering – characteristics (only if CE 558 or 595 are not available)

Urban Design in addition to the Arch 425/525 core studio requirement

• Architecture 403 – Introduction to preservation
• Architecture 410 – History and theory of urban form
• Architecture 420 – History of American architecture
• Architecture 507 – Architecture, culture and modernity
• Architecture 515 – Seminar in issues in urban design

Internship (6 hours)

Internships are arranged in consultation with the coordinator of the MSP degree program. Students can expect to work with these types of organizations: the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, Knox Heritage, Tennessee Local Planning Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, private sector firms, and other non-profit organizations.

Comprehensive Exam

Each student must pass a final comprehensive exam. Successful completion of a comprehensive exam is required before graduation.  The exam will normally be taken after completion of the core requirements in the second year.  Based on the material generally used by the American Institute of Certified planners (AICP), this requirement provides an additional capstone experience as well as preparation for meeting AICP professional certification requirements.

Minor in Environmental Policy

The Department participates in a University-wide program designed to give graduate students an opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary specialization in environmental policy.

Financial Aid

The MSP Program does not currently offer graduate assistantships. Students needing financial support are urged to contact appropriate student loan agencies. The MSP Program does, however, make every attempt to find students paid internship opportunities. In the past several years, MSP students have landed paid internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is a Department of Energy facility approximately 35 minutes from campus. Several students have also worked on projects for UT's Energy, Environment, and Resources Center, which has since been incorporated into the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE). There are also possibilities for students to find employment on externally funded research projects managed by MSP faculty.

Application Requirements

Applicants for admission to the program must have a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Normally, an overall grade point average of 3.0 and an average of 3.2 in the last two years of undergraduate courses are required. In addition, a composite score of 1100 on the verbal and quantitative parts of the GRE is desired.
Students must demonstrate proficiency in the use of software applications for the personal computer, as well as in statistics.  Taking an undergraduate statistics course can satisfy the latter.  Achieving a satisfactory grade in Political Science 596, Workshop in Computer Applications, can fulfill the software applications requirement. Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individual basis. 

IMPORTANT: YOU MUST BE ACCEPTED BY THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AS WELL AS THE DEPARTMENT TO ENROLL.

Planning Faculty

Bruce E. Tonn
Professor
Program Coordinator
1018 McClung Tower
Phone: 865-974-7041
Email: btonn@utk.edu

Edward J. Jepson, Jr.
Assistant Professor
1016 McClung Tower
Phone: 865-974-7042
Email: ejepson@utk.edu

Affiliated Faculty

David H. Folz
Professor
1011 McClung Tower
Phone: 986-974-0802
Email: dfolz@utk.edu

Tracy Moir-McClean
Associate Professor
470 Art & Architecture Building
Phone: 865-974-8172
Email: moirmccl@utk.edu