MCMP Specializations
The purpose of the MCMP specializations is to help students select a set of electives that ensure a depth of expertise in one or more planning subfields. Specializations are guides, not requirements. We encourage students to specialize but students may select elective courses more broadly and become a “generalist.” We offer many opportunities for students to further develop their expertise through the university research centers, special initiatives, and community engagement.
Students satisfying all the requirements of a specialization will receive a certificate attesting to that completion within three months of graduation. Before graduating, students submit a specialization completion form for departmental records. Students may then include that specialization on their resume; however, the specialization will not appear on official university transcripts.
Specializations
- Ecological Planning
- Economic and Real Estate Development
- Housing & Community Development
- Small & Resort Town Planning
- Smart Growth: Land Use, Transportation & Accessibility
- Urban Design
Other ways to specialize: If students want to take the specialization further, they may enroll in one of our dual degree programs in Law, Public Administration, Public Policy, Real Estate Development or elect to pursue a graduate certificate. Students might consider Demography, Emergency Management, Geographic Information Science (GIS), Leadership, Justice & Community Practice, Public Health, and Sustainability. Dual degrees and graduate certificates appear on official university transcripts.
Ecological Planning
This specialization emphasizes the knowledge, practice, and processes involved in weaving together social, built, and natural systems to create functional, beautiful human habitats and thriving, resilient communities. Ecological planning takes an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing the roles of the built environment professions, natural sciences, and social sciences in understanding and working within human communities as complex social-ecological systems. Students learn how to draw upon diverse areas of expertise to plan and design with nature.
Career Paths
Employment opportunities for students with this expertise are in local and regional planning agencies, private consulting (green developers and sustainable design consultants), parks, greenway and preserve organizations (federal, state, local government, and nonprofit), and ecology and environmental organizations.
Requirements
Complete a total of 4 courses (12 credits). Substitutions must be approved prior to taking the course.
Electives
CMP 6060 Healthy Urban Planning
CMP 6140 Planning for Disasters & Environmental Change
CMP 6380 Green Communities
CMP 6390 Sustainability Planning
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop *
CMP 6615 Advanced Urban Ecology
CMP 6660 Green Infrastructure
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6960 Negotiating Conflict (1)
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Approved electives in other departments
CVEEN 7440 Urban Watershed Management
CVEEN 7660 Water Reuse for Sustainability
EHY 6103 Ecology of Residency
EHUM 6850 Issues in the Environmental Humanities Seminar
FCS 6630 Healthy Communities
GEO 6650 Hydrology
GEO 6920 Hydrology and Professional Development;
POLS 6322 Environmental & Sustainability Policy
PRT 6410 Land and Resource Recreation Planning
PRT 6420 Ecology & Management of Wildland Recreation Settings
PRT 6680 Parks & Community Relations
PRT 6875 Sustainable Tourism & Protected Area Management
SUST 6000 Global Change & Society
SUST 6800 Global Change & Sustainability Seminar (1)
Smart Growth: Land Use, Transportation & Accessibility
This specialization focuses on how planning practices can preserve public goods such as air, water, and land; secure positive land-use interactions and avoid adverse ones; effectively enhance economic/fiscal benefits; create desirable and resilient places; apportion benefits and burdens equitably, and remove barriers experienced by many environmental justice populations. Accessibility looks at how transportation or transportation substitutes like information technologies enrich people’s lives by giving them opportunities for employment, education, health care, etc. Market preferences today are much more diversified, with marked shifts towards communities interwoven with pedestrian-oriented features and easily accessible to jobs, services, and amenities. Students learn how these trends impact professional planning practice and develop the skills to craft effective Smart Growth policy responses.
Career Paths
Land use and transportation are the traditional responsibilities of municipal and regional government agencies (planning, transportation, regional planning, and public transportation departments). Other employment opportunities for students in this specialization are in state agencies and private architecture, planning and engineering consulting firms.
Requirements
Complete a total of 4 courses (12 credits). Substitutions must be approved prior to taking the course.
Electives
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop – Big Data in Transportation
CMP 6060 Healthy Urban Planning
CMP 6270 Land Use and Transportation
CMP 6390 Sustainability Planning
CMP 6410 Site Planning
CMP 6453 Intermediate GIS Applications
CMP 6455 Spatial Data Analytics
CMP 6465 Real Estate in Public Private Partnerships
CMP 6700 Planning for Biking and Walking
CMP 6710 Introduction to Transportation Planning
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6960 Transportation Analysis Methods
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Approved electives in other departments
CVEEN 7545 Traffic Operation Analysis
CVEEN 6560 Transportation Planning
CVEEN 7590 Public Transportation Systems
Urban Design
This specialization is for students interested in shaping the places we live, both how they will look and how they will function. Urban design involves a complex inter-relationship between municipalities, real estate developers, property owners, planners, architects, the construction industry, public administrators, and the public. Students learn to engage in this process effectively to produce vital and vibrant places. A Graduate Certificate in Urban Design is also available.
Career Paths
Physical planning is a traditional responsibility of municipal and regional government agencies. Those with urban design skills have more employment opportunities in private firms (architecture, urban design planning and landscape architecture).
Requirements
Complete one of the following:
– Option 1: no studio (12 credits)
– Option 2: 1 studio + 2 additional courses (11-12 credits)
– Option 3: 2 studios (10-12 credits)
Electives
CMP 6150 City in Literature
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop – Urban Design
CMP 6400 Urban Design Visualization
CMP 6405 Urban Design Methods
CMP 6415 Urban Design Fundamentals
CMP 6440 Urban Design Principles
CMP 6445 Urban Design Studio (5-6)
CMP 6446 Advanced Urban Design Studio (5-6)
CMP 6453 Intermediate GIS Applications
CMP 6700 Planning for Biking and Walking
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Economic & Real Estate Development
This specialization equips students with advanced skills in economic analysis with an emphasis on the public sector. Students learn what drives economic growth and change and how to formulate strategies that benefit the larger community. Due to the robust real estate climate in Utah, planners need to be able to work with developers to create public-private partnerships. A Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development is also available for those interested in the private sector.
Career Paths
Employment opportunities in municipal, regional and state government (economic development, redevelopment, small business assistance); nonprofit sector (chamber of commerce, community & economic development organizations, land banks), private consultants as well as academic institutions (research parks, university extension offices).
Requirements
Complete a total of 4 courses (12 credits). Substitutions must be approved prior to taking the course.
Electives
CMP 6460 Real Estate Market Analysis
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop – Housing Affordability Lab
CMP 6410 Site Development
CMP 6465 Real Estate in Public Private Partnerships
CMP 6630 Real Estate Development Due Diligence
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Approved electives in other departments
ECON 6300 Public Finance
ECON 6470 Industrialization and Economic Development
FINAN 6040 Excel for the Finance Professional
FINAN 6760 Real Estate Finance
PADMN 6335 Governance and the Economy
PADMN 6380 Public Budgeting & Finance
Small & Resort Town Planning
This specialization works in conjunction with the other specializations, focusing on the unique planning issues faced by small towns and rural places near natural amenities (such as national parks) and resorts. Those interested in this specialization focus on the challenges of managing and planning with limited resources and capacity. Some issues include community and economic development, community engagement, historic preservation, land conservation, transportation, and interfacing with large and small farming enterprises.
Career Paths
Students who complete this specialization will be uniquely well-prepared for planning, community development, and related positions in rural communities, particularly destination areas. Employment opportunities may include working with federal land management agencies, consultancies in rural and destination communities, tourism/outdoor recreation industry, and non-governmental organizations.
Requirements
Complete a total of 4 courses (12 credits). Substitutions must be approved prior to taking the course.
Electives
CMP 6270 Land Use and Transportation
CMP 6415 Urban Design Fundamentals
CMP 6465 Real Estate in Public Private Partnerships
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop – Small & Resort Town Planning
CMP 6660 Green Infrastructure
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6960 Negotiating Conflict (1)
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Approved electives in other departments
ARCH 6236 Cultures & Architecture of the Southwest
ARCH 6500 Historic Preservation
FCS 6730 Community Development & Environmental Change
LAW 7200 Natural Resources
PADMN 6390 Administration in Local Government
PRT 6875 Sustainable Tourism & Protected Area Management
PRT 6410 Land and Resource Recreation Planning
Housing & Community Development
This specialization focuses on building thriving communities and neighborhoods by enhancing social, economic, and environmental conditions through capacity building, collaborative planning, community organizing, asset-based development, and advocacy. Faculty and students work in underserved urban and rural areas with a particular focus on Salt Lake City’s diverse westside and the rapidly growing gateway and natural amenity areas in the western United States. In these contexts, we explore the relationships between the local and global, theory and practice, experiential and technical knowledge, equity and equality. Students learn how to effect change by building bridges and finding common ground in complex systems. For those wanting to develop expertise in community engagement, a Graduate Certificate in Community Engaged Practices is available.
Career Paths
Employment opportunities in municipal and regional government (planning, community development, housing, neighborhood improvement, redevelopment, community outreach); nonprofit sector (community development agencies, community organizing, labor unions), foundations and philanthropic organizations, private consultants as well as academic institutions (community engagement programs, university extension offices).
Requirements
Complete a total of 4 courses (12 credits). Substitutions must be approved before taking the course.
Electives
CMP 6030 Leadership & Community Engagement
CMP 6035 Black Urbanism
CMP 6050 Community Engagement for Equity and Belonging
CMP 6960 Healthy Urban Planning
CMP 6070 Housing Policy & Planning
CMP 6140 Planning for Disasters & Environmental Change )
CMP 6280 Graduate Workshop – Housing Affordability Lab (taught through Business School)
CMP 6260 Graduate Workshop – Housing & Community Development
CMP 6465 Real Estate in Public Private Partnerships
CMP 6954 Professional Internship (1-4)*
CMP 6960 Negotiating Conflict (1)
CMP 6971 Professional Project II *
* will need a justification to be counted towards the specialization
Approved electives in other departments
ANTH 6245 Human Migration & Social Change
ECS 6822 Pacific Islander Indigenous Education
ELP 6260 Critical Race Theory
ELP 6290 Community Engaged Partnership
FCS 6730 Community Development & Environmental Chang
NURS 7510 Social Determinants of Health
PADMN 6323 Policy Analysis
PADMN 6340 Organizational Leadership & Change
PRT 6680 Parks & Community Relations
PHIL 6710 International Human Rights SOC 6050 Classical Social Theory
SOC 6674 Global Health
SOC 6085 Cities & Communities
SUST 6870 Environmental Justice