Bulletin 2000-2002

School of Public and Environmental Affairs Business/SPEA Building (BS) 3027
801 West Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
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Master of Planning (M.Pl.)

The Graduate Program in Planning is an interdisciplinary, professional course of study designed to prepare students to address social, physical, and economic problems in a systematic and creative way. The program requires a minimum of 49 credit hours of study and is available only on the Indianapolis campus of Indiana University. Students in the program select an area of concentration from the following options: Environmental Planning
Health Planning
Specialized Concentration in Planning and Public Policy
Urban Development Planning Professional planners work in a wide variety of public agencies at the local, regional, state, and national levels, in planning consulting firms, community organizations, nonprofit corporations and foundations, development firms, utility companies, and other private businesses.

The Graduate Program in Planning provides a professional education in the forefront of planning knowledge and practice. The city of Indianapolis is nationally recognized for its achievements in urban revitalization and for its leadership in developing public/private partnerships. Planners involved in these developments bring their experiences and expertise to the program by teaching courses and participating in other ways in the educational activities of the program.

A specialized teaching facility for instruction in computer applications in designing applied planning workshops enhances the learning opportunities. This facility includes a computer laboratory with personal computers for the study and application of geographic information systems, and other advanced computer applications in planning. The Graduate Program in Planning draws upon the strengths of the school in areas such as public management and policy, environmental science and policy, and health administration. This relationship ensures that students are at the leading edge of developments in these related fields.

Admissions

In addition to the general requirements for admission to graduate study in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, students entering the Graduate Program in Planning are expected to have completed introductory undergraduate courses in statistics and microeconomics at an accredited institution with a minimum grade of B in each course. Students lacking this preparation may be admitted with deficiencies. These students are expected to remedy any deficiencies before taking courses in which this background is required.

Degree Requirements

(49 credit hours)

The Graduate Program in Planning requires a minimum of 49 graduate credit hours and the completion of (1) the core requirement, (2) the concentration requirement, and (3) the experiential requirement. The core requirement consists of 25 credit hours of work in nine courses and is required of all students pursuing the M.Pl. degree. Each student must complete the requirements of one concentration, which consists of 14-15 credit hours of course work, depending on the concentration and courses selected. The experiential requirement ensures that each graduate of the M.Pl. program has gained relevant professional planning practice outside the classroom. This experience may or may not involve the accumulation of credit hours toward the degree. The remaining credit hours necessary for graduation are general electives that can be used to add breadth to a student’s program, to further explore a field of concentration, or to enhance skills in quantitative tools or other techniques.

Core Requirements

(25 credit hours)

The core requirement in the Graduate Program in Planning ensures that each student acquires an understanding of the field of planning and its practice, of the environment in which planning takes place, and of the analytical methods necessary for the practice of planning. The core requirement also provides for the integration of learning and professional practice in workshop and seminar settings.

SPEA P500 Foundations of Planning (3 cr.)
SPEA P510 Social and Economic Aspects of Human Settlement (3 cr.)
SPEA P515 Physical Systems Development and Infrastructure (3 cr.)
SPEA P520 Methods for Planning and Policy Analysis (3 cr.)
SPEA P525 Geographic Information Systems for Planning (2 cr.)
SPEA P600 Portfolio Assessment (1 cr.)
SPEA P610 Planning Workshop (3 cr.)
SPEA V506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making (3 cr.) One of the following: SPEA H514 Health Economics (3 cr.) (May only be selected by health planning students.)
SPEA V517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.)
SPEA V541 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies (3 cr.) Students in the health planning concentration may elect to substitute SPEA H514 Health Economics (3 cr.) for the above requirement.

All students are required to assemble a portfolio of work completed in various courses taken as a part of the degree program. Students will evaluate this work and present their evaluations to the faculty in P600 Portfolio Assessment.

Especially well-prepared applicants may petition the director of the Graduate Program in Planning to waive one or more of the core requirements on the basis of advanced course work done elsewhere. Students may be exempted on the basis of satisfactory course work or by examination. Credit hours waived from the core increase the number of electives a student may take. Students requesting course waivers should contact the program director for requirements and guidelines.

Fields of Concentration

(14-15 credit hours)

The concentrations are designed to give the student the opportunity to focus on study in a specialized area of planning. Concentration requirements may be waived on the same basis as core requirements. The concentrations available in the Graduate Program in Planning are as follows:

Environmental Planning Concentration

(15 credit hours)

The environmental planning concentration is intended for students interested in planning that deals with the problems of the natural environment. The requirements for the concentration are as follows:

SPEA E549 Environmental Planning (3 cr.) One of the following courses: SPEA P530 Land Use Law (3 cr.)
SPEA V645 Environmental Law (3 cr.) Three of the following courses, including at least one of the courses marked with an asterisk(*): SPEA E431 Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment (3 cr.)*
SPEA E510 Hazardous Materials Regulation (3 cr.)*
SPEA E515 Fundamentals of Air Pollution (3 cr.)*
SPEA E520 Environmental Toxicology (3 cr.)
SPEA E542 Hazardous Materials Control (3 cr.)*
SPEA E552 Environmental Engineering (3 cr.)
SPEA E554 Groundwater Flow Modeling (3 cr.)
SPEA E560 Environmental Risk Analysis (3 cr.)
SPEA E562 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (3 cr.)*
SPEA E527 Planning Applications of Geographic Information Systems (2 cr.)

Health Planning Concentration

(15 credit hours)

The health planning concentration is intended for students interested in planning that deals with the problems of the health care system and the provision of health services. The requirements for the concentration are as follow:

SPEA H501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 cr.)
SPEA H514 Health Economics (3 cr.)
SPEA H516 Health Services Delivery and the Law (3 cr.)
SPEA H614 Strategic Management, Decision Making, and Evaluation I (3 cr.) One of the following courses: SPEA H515 Seminar in Health Policy: Special Topics (3 cr.)
SPEA H615 Strategic Management, Decision Making, and Evaluation II (3 cr.) Students in the health planning concentration who elect to take SPEA H514 Health Economics to satisfy the requirement in the core shall be required to take one additional health planning-related course, to be selected in consultation with their advisor.

Urban Development Planning Concentration

(15 credit hours)

The urban development planning concentration is for students interested in planning that deals with the problems of urban areas, including general urban planning, neighborhood and community development, housing, and economic development. The requirements for the concentration are as follows:

SPEA P530 Land Use Law (3 cr.)
SPEA V560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
SPEA V597 Land Use Planning (3 cr.) Two of the following courses: SPEA P527 Planning Applications of Geographic Information Systems (2 cr.)
SPEA P532 Site Planning and Urban Design (3 cr.)
SPEA P540 Community and Neighborhood Development Planning (3 cr.)
SPEA P550 Topics in Planning (3 cr.)
SPEA P630 Strategic Planning (3 cr.)
SPEA V564 Urban Management (3 cr.)
SPEA V622 Seminar in Urban Economic Development (3 cr.)

Specialized Concentration in Planning and Public Policy

(14-15 credit hours)

Students with professional interests and goals that are not met by the preceding concentrations may choose to develop a customized concentration with the approval of their faculty advisors.

Experiential Requirement
In addition to the course requirements listed above, students must demonstrate professionally relevant experience through approved internships, approved independent study projects, or other field experience approved by the director of the Graduate Program in Planning.
General Elective Courses
General elective courses are used to complete the overall degree requirement of 49 graduate credit hours.
 

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