City & Regional Planning (MRP)

Graduate School

Program Website

Graduate Field

City and Regional Planning

Program Description

The Master of Regional Planning (M.R.P.) core curriculum provides each student with a foundation in planning history and practice, urban theory, and the tools of planning analysis — both qualitative and quantitative. It includes requirements such as law or international institutions, microeconomics, statistics, and workshops that examine theory in practice. In addition, an independent writing project is required.

The M.R.P. program at Cornell is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). In addition, the M.R.P. program is designated as a STEM program making international M.R.P. graduates eligible to extend their F-1 visas for up to three years in order to work in the United States.

M.R.P. Policies

Students are expected to follow all university, college, and program policies. Failure to comply with any policy or petition decision may result in review by the program committee.

Academic Standing

To be in good academic standing, an M.R.P. student must:

  • Successfully complete a minimum of 12 academic credits each semester; and
  • Earn a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.000; and
  • Follow the prescribed program curriculum and comply with all university, college, and program policies including any grade requirements for core courses.

Grading

All courses used to fulfill the MRP core curriculum must be taken for a letter grade when offered. No grade below the C level (C-, D+, D, D-, F, U, and UX) may be used to fulfill a core requirement.

  • No grade below C– (D+, D, D-, F, U, UX) may be used to fulfill the 60 credit requirement.
  • No more than six hours of grades of C–, C, or C+ will be accepted for meeting the 60 credit requirement. Partial credit from a course could be used in calculating this six-hour maximum; e.g., if a student received C in two, 4-credit courses, only 6 of the 8 credits may count toward the degree.
  • Incomplete coursework must be completed by the beginning of that semester one year hence, unless an earlier deadline has been set by the course instructor.
  • Students will be automatically pre-enrolled in CRP 7850 during each semester in residence. Due to the varied and wide array of topics covered each semester, students are encouraged to remain enrolled in CRP 7850 each semester. Enrollment in one fall and one spring semester is strongly encouraged.
  • No more than 18 credits may be taken in any semester without a special department petition.
  • Nonacademic courses will not be counted in the minimum 60 total credits. Please refer to the college policy regarding nonacademic credit for additional information.  
  • M.R.P. students complete a minimum of 60 total credits; at least 30 of these credits must be obtained within the Department of City and Regional Planning, including credits earned in fulfilling and completing the exit project and the M.R.P. core requirements.

Residency Requirement

  • M.R.P. students must be in attendance for four full-time semesters of study.
  • Students must enroll in a minimum of 12 academic credits per semester.
  • Students have a maximum of four years from the time of matriculation to complete all degree requirements. After four years, students may be withdrawn from the program.

Transfer Credit/Advanced Standing

At the discretion of the petition committee, up to one semester and 15 credits may be granted, by petition after matriculation, for graduate-level work done elsewhere, where a degree was not earned and is above and beyond undergraduate-level work.

Exit Project Requirements

M.R.P. students can prepare a research paper, professional report, or master’s thesis as their Exit Project.

M.R.P. students must:

  • Have an Exit Project Advisor on file by the end of the first year and an Exit Project Minor Advisor on file by October 15th of the second year.  Failure to meet these deadlines may result in an enrollment and/or registration hold on the student’s record until the Exit Project Advisor or Minor Advisor is officially recorded.
  • Register for exit project credits. All three options must include CRP 8901, a variable credit research course for 1-4 credits.  In addition, each option must also include a specific variable credit writing course: CRP 8902 for a research paper; CRP 8904 for a professional report and CRP 8906 for a master’s thesis.  A student may not earn any credit connected to the exit project beyond that awarded for completion of CRP 8901 and CRP 8902; CRP 8904 or CRP 8906.
  • Pass a final oral examination given by their exit project committee. The student’s written document should essentially be complete before the oral examination is scheduled.
  • Complete the Exit Project requirement by submitting an acceptable research paper, professional report, or thesis paper. MRP students are required to submit your exit project to eCommons – Cornell University Library’s online repository for dissertations and theses.

Students should work closely with their exit project committee regarding the scope, content, and organization of the submitted document and the nature of the final examination. A student’s exit project committee must consist of at least two members of the graduate faculty or other faculty members approved by the graduate school. Both committee members must attend the final oral examination and sign the appropriate forms. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the independent writing requirements are satisfied.

All exit project papers must meet the format requirements. M.R.P. students should consult the Academic Programs Coordinator regarding these requirements. When approved by the student’s graduate committee, a copy of the final document must be submitted to eCommons – Cornell University Library’s online repository for dissertations and theses.

M.R.P. Option for B.S. URS Seniors

Cornell URS seniors may apply to earn an accelerated Master of Regional Planning (M.R.P.) degree. If admitted to this highly selective program, all two-year M.R.P. requirements apply. Therefore, acceleration is not guaranteed for all URS students who are admitted to the M.R.P. program. The accelerated degree option will allow URS students to complete the M.R.P degree in three semesters if enough graduate level credits were completed during their URS program. These credits must be above and beyond the required 120 credits and those additional courses must not have been used to fulfill any requirements for the degree. Because acceleration requires careful planning, interested students should meet with their advisor and develop an academic plan that includes graduate level CRP courses during the last two years of the URS program. The accelerated M.R.P. option remains available to URS students for up to three years after the conferral of their undergraduate degree. In fact, URS students are encouraged to work for a year or two before returning for the accelerated M.R.P. program.

For information on admissions requirements and how to apply, contact the Department of City and Regional Planning office.