An MCP Course Checklist is available.  See the following information for more detailed course descriptions. Click the course number to see the most recent syllabus.

Core Courses

All students must also complete all 8 core courses:

23PLAN701 Concepts and Issues in Planning Practice Overview of significant contemporary urban and regional planning and policy issues and their historic and intergovernmental contexts; broad introduction to the main ideas and approaches underlying the practice of urban and regional planning. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN703 Planning Theory Systematic analysis and evaluation of theoretical foundations and specific theories of planning. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN709 Comprehensive Planning Workshop Planning and policy implications of one significant urban or metropolitan issue, one section emphasizing primarily quantitative analysis modeling, the other qualitative social and aesthetic issues. (5 credit hours)

23PLAN711 Planning Law and Administration Exploration of the legal foundation of planning practice and of organizational environments and administrative practices characterizing planning practice. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN714 Finance and Budgeting for Planners Fiscal and budgetary issues and methods in local and state governments, especially as related to urban and regional planning issues and shapes by broader economic policies and intergovernmental transfers. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN716 Structure and Dynamics of Human Settlements Historical comparative approaches to urban spatial structure. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN731 Political and Ethical Issues in Planning Examination of political and ethical issues in planning practice linking current and projected large-scale national and urban problems and professional practice, knowledge and growth. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN753 Statistics for Planners Enables planning students to utilize sample data to prepare, implement and evaluate policy and planning decisions; course covers research methods related to statistics, measurement principles, descriptive statistics, tests of significance for single and multiple samples and an introduction to regression analysis. (4 credit hours)

Methods Courses

Students are required to complete three methods courses, as recommended by their faculty advisors, from among the following six courses:

23PLAN702 Social Science Research Methods Data, data collection, sampling, surveys, coding, organizing and analyzing data, levels of measurement, historical and content analysis, and qualitative methods. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN704 Economic Analysis For Planners Shift-share analysis, input-output, basic econometric modeling, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, and more advanced evaluation techniques. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN705 Methods Of Physical Analysis Planning graphics and mapping; physical data selection and recording; and physical analysis, including the mapping and analysis of political characteristics, environmental data, topography, land use, zoning, transportation, infrastructure and buildings; photography, report graphics and presentation methods used in planning. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN712 Planning Methods And Techniques Simple and multiple linear regression, time series, population and employment projections, cohort survival, economic base and gravity models. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN754 Computer Graphics for Planners Basic skills and presentation graphics, image manipulation and photography, desktop and Web design and publishing. ArcView, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Pagemaker, Excel and Netscape Composer. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN780 Computer Graphics for Planners and Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Planners Fundamental understanding of GIS, software availability, hardware configurations, database management, GIS project implementation and a wide variety of issues associated with the application of GIS; included is a hands-on laboratory. (4 credit hours)Internship Courses

Graduate Project and Internship Courses

Students must complete these graduate project and internship courses:

23PLAN700 Introduction to Graduate Planning Research Preparation of the proposal for the Graduate Project, which demonstrates the student's ability to conduct independent research on a particular planning problem or issue. (4 graduate credits)

23PLAN721 Graduate Project Preparation Seminar designed to help students choose and define a topic for the Graduate Project. (1 graduate credit)

23PLAN723 Graduate Project in Planning I Continued conduct of the Graduate Project focusing upon problem formulation research, analysis, and presentation of alternative solutions. (4 graduate credits)

23PLAN724 Graduate Project in Planning II Conclusion of the Graduate Project focusing upon evaluation of alternatives policy choices, and plan implementation. (4 graduate credits)

Summer Internship

All students must serve an internship within a bona fide planning agency or organization over the summer between the two years of study. This normally is a full-time, paid entry-level professional planning position. Students may also elect a voluntary, non-paid position to gain a particular type of experience. With the approval of the Graduate Coordinator, mature students with prior planning agency experience may have the summer internship requirement waived. International students may, with approval, elect to spend the summer between the first and second year of classes pursuing other academic interests and delay their internship until the second summer. Typical internships are in local government planning departments, private planning departments, private planning consulting firms, non-profit community development agencies and environmental advocacy groups.

23PLAN726 and 727 Summer Planning Internship Seminars I and II Introduction to the selection, performance standards, and evaluation of the required professional internship, as well as reporting on the internship experience. (1 and 2 graduate credits)

Elective Courses

Each student must successfully complete a minimum of nine credits of elective courses offered within the School of Planning and elsewhere within the University of Cincinnati. Students will select these courses with the advice and consent of their assigned faculty advisor. The number and variety of planning electives will vary from year to year according to the faculty expertise and student demand.

Possible course topics include Housing, Transportation, Land Use, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Urban Policy Planning, Environmental Planning, Regional Analysis, Sustainable Development, and Planning Implementation and Management. Course areas of interest outside of the School might include Real Estate Development, Remote Sensing, Architecture, Transportation Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Environmental Health, and Management.

A listing of elective courses and their descriptions follows:

23PLAN600 Policy Issues in Urban Design, and Environmental Planning Land use, urban design, and environmental policies and issues currently addressed by physical planners. (3 graduate credits)

23PLAN603 Environmental Resource Analysis Concepts, issues, and processes within the context of policy development for land use planning and resource management at federal, state and local levels. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN604 Principles of Urban Design Concepts, methods, analytical techiques, and processes fundamental to the practice of urban design. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN605 Workshop in Land Use, Urban Design, and Environmental Planning Application of generic and physical planning methods to a physical planning problem, based on projects with real clients. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN606 Environmental Processes and Programs Analysis of environmental processes and various local, regional, state, national, and international programs to address environmental problems. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN608 Seminar in Urban Design and Environmental Planning Review and discussion of literature from ancient through contemporary periods, dealing with issues critical to modern practice. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN609 Policy in Urban Design and Land Use Public decision-making framework for environmental problems and major land, air and water management programs in the United States. Emphasis on planning strategies and management techniques. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN621, 622, 623, 624 Special Topics in Planning Study of priority issues in planning processes, planning administration, implementation or evaluation. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN628 Introduction to Historic Preservation Introduction to the processes of historic preservation, relationships to cultural and economic factors and planning and design processes. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN630 Housing Systems Housing viewed as social and economic, as market commodity and public provision, to be planned in relation to land use and public facilities. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN651 Urban Spatial Structure Investigation of political, social and economic determinants of the use of urban land. Different theories are discussed and the contributions of various disciplines to a variety of general themes on spatial structure are explored. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN655 Politics of Implementation Examination of problems for implementation of urban plans. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN656 Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Examination of the relationships among land use, planning, public policy and the environmental agenda; focus on environmental justice and the ways in which environmental disputes can be lessened or resolved. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN658 Transportation Planning Presentation of the significance that transportation plays in the development of urban areas, its historical context, its constituent and necessary interconnected parts, its current problems, its future as mandated by U.S. federal regulations and the role the urban planner should play in the future of transportation planning. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN661 History of Urban Spatial Environments Examines the history of urban spaces/places as results of cultural patterning; utilizes cross-sectional analysis. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN662 History of Urban Form Examines specific examples of urban form through history; uses developmental analysis. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN670 Planning Issues in Developing Nations Overview of issues of urban and regional development in developing nations, with readings from various disciplines topics include theories of development, processes of urbanization, immigration, housing, urban services, environment, employment, regional development, and planning and policy responses. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN673 Methods in International Development Planning Methods of research and planning specifically applied to planning in developing nations; may cover cross-cultural research, local, regional or national planning efforts. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN676 Social Planning A study of the sociological factors generating, supporting and altering planning and development processes and the professional role of the planner. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN706 Organizational Theory and Behavior Examination of the structure, functioning, and change within organizations in relation to planning and its professional practice. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN707 Workshop in Urban Design II Advanced urban design studio. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN710 Issues in Economic Development Planning Review and analysis of the causes of economic decline in inner cities, the ways in which urban poverty is perceived, the structural problems of local economies, and strategies for their mitigation; introduction to the process and techniques of economic development planning for communities and urban areas. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN713 Economic Development Planning Methods I Survey and implementation of basic techniques used for economic development. The course covers economic base and employment multipliers, shift-share analysis, input-output analysis and structural multipliers, gravity models and retail location analysis, and real estate development assessment analysis. (4 graduate credits)

23PLAN717 Land Use Controls Methods and legal constraints pertaining to the development of zoning regulations and land use plans; lectures, readings, exercises, discussions and field trips. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN719 Policy Planning for Economic Development This seminar course explores the role of the state in economic development, examines the history and evolution of economic development policy and its institutions after the Second World War, and evaluates policies and strategies employed by federal, state and local governments to position them competitively as entrepreneurial entities in an increasingly globalized world economy. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN720 Site Planning Advanced discussion of factors influencing site analysis and development. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN725 Special Planning Topics Overview of selected planning/policy topics. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN749 Graduate Planning Abroad Studio Individual and group studio project to address a planning issue in a foreign setting. (0-15 credit hours)

23PLAN750 Graduate Exchange Study Special program open only to selected students; requires approval of School Director. (1-15 credit hours)

23PLAN773 Social Factors in Environmental Design An experimental attempt to study, appreciate, and analyze the relationship (both and one-way and reciprocal) between human behavior and other social factors on the one hand, and the man-made and designed environment on the other; a good deal of attention is paid to current and recent empirical research as well as published theoretical and conceptual ideas; emphasis is placed on reading, thinking and exchanging ideas. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN779 International Development Planning Policy Survey of plans and policies used in urban and regional planning in developing nations. Covers the post-WWII era and focuses on different agencies and actors involved in policy and plan development and implementation. (3 credit hours)

23PLAN781 GIS Planning Applications Advanced GIS concepts and skills and their application to planning issues that require geographic data analysis. Student projects will be produced using advanced GIS analytical functions. Prerequisite: 780. (4 credit hours)

23PLAN791,793 and 794 Independent Study in Urban Design Study proposal prepared by student and accepted for guidance by member of urban planning faculty. (1-6 credit hours)

23PLAN792 Mediation Skills in Urban Settings A systematic examination of concepts and processes related to the resolution of disputes within urban settings. (4 credit hours)