MUP Curriculum
The Master of Urban Planning (MUP) is a 45-credit degree program made up of core courses, a required specialization, electives, the Professional Experience Requirement (PER), and capstone.
TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED: 45
I. degree CORE (18 credits)
Statistical Methods || Microeconomics
Management and Leadership || Financial Management
Urban Planning: Methods and Practice || History and Theory of Planning
II. SPECIALIZATION REQUIREMENTS (9 credits)
Each of the two specializations requires three courses (9 credits) to give students an introduction to key concepts and skills.
| City and community planning | International development planning |
|---|---|
| Data Analysis, Mapping, and Spatial Analysis | Institutions, Governance, and International Development |
| Land Use Law | Decentralized Development Planning in Developing Countries |
| Urban Economics | Urban Economics |
III. ELECTIVES: Program-recommended AND SCHOOL-WIDE FOCUS AREAS (15 CREDITS)
You may choose courses across Wagner for your electives. To assist you, we've grouped courses by recommended Focus Areas.
You can go deeper in your specialization by choosing elective courses within program-recommended focus areas that help you develop more advanced skills.
If you wish to gain a breadth of knowledge and skills, or sharpen your career focus, you may also choose electives within and across the school-wide focus areas.
Focus Area Courses
- Public Policy and Planning in New York
- Climate Economics
- Environmental Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities
- Planning for Emergencies and Disasters
- Water Sourcing and Climate Change
- Topics in Urban Design
Focus Area Courses
- Government Agencies: How Plans, Policies and Projects are Put into Action
- Program Development and Management for International Organizations
- Immigration Politics and Policy -- Past and Present
- Constructing National Development Strategies
- Financing Local Government in Developing Countries
- Planning for Emergencies and Disasters
- Water Sourcing and Climate Change
Focus Area Courses
- Community Organizing
- Public Policy and Planning in New York
- Racial Inequality in America: What Do We Do Now?
- Poverty, Inequality, and Policy
- Public-Private Partnerships, Public Spaces, Politics, & the Press
- Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in American Cities
- Real Estate Finance
- Land Use, Housing and Community Development in New York City Seminar
- Topics in Urban Design
- Housing and Community Development Policy I
- Housing and Community Development Policy II
Focus Area Courses
- Debt Financing and Management for Public Organizations
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Public Policy and Planning in New York
- Transportation, Land Use, and Urban Form
- Urban Transportation Planning
- Topics in Urban Design
- Topics in Urban Studies
Focus Area Courses
- Advanced Data Analytics and Evidence Building
- Geographic Information Systems
- Data Visualization and Storytelling
- Large Scale Data Analysis I
- Large Scale Data Analysis II
- Introduction to Database Design, Management, and Security
- R Coding for Public Policy
- Python Coding for Public Policy
- Advanced GIS: Interactive Web Mapping and Spatial Data Visualization
School-wide Focus Areas
- Cities
- Communication Skills
- Data Science and Data Management
- Education
- Environment and Climate Change
- Global Action
- Health Policy and Management
- Inequality, Race, Poverty
- Program Evaluation
- Nonprofit and Government Organizations
- Philanthropy and Fundraising
- Social Justice and Democracy
- Transportation
Search courses by school-wide focus area
IV. CAPSTONE (3 Credits)
The Capstone Program, a year-long consulting or research project that's required for all MUP students, puts you out in the world, resolving a problem or conducting an analysis for a client organization.
V. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT
NYU Wagner is deeply committed to education outside of the classroom. First-hand work experience in your field of choice can be a pivotal experience, and our New York City location offers countless opportunities for career exploration. To this end, NYU Wagner requires all MPA and MUP students to graduate with professional experience that is directly related to their degree program and field of interest.
Students can fulfill this requirement in one of two ways:
- Enter NYU Wagner with at least two years of full-time, degree-relevant, professional experience; or
- Complete the Professional Experience Requirement (PER), which means working in a degree-relevant job or internship while attending NYU Wagner and before enrolling in Capstone. Students typically fulfill the PER via a relevant work experience over one semester (i.e. 15-20 hours per week during a semester, or 35-40 hours per week in the summer).
Once you begin classes, NYU Wagner’s Office of Career Services staff is available to advise you on strategies and resources for identifying degree relevant positions, submitting strong application materials, conducting successful interviews, or seeking a PER waiver for previous experience.
Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this web-page, is for informational purposes only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.