Master's in City and Regional Planning
Message from the Director
The City and Regional Planning program at Morgan State University is an exciting and affordable place to study urban planning. It is the only accredited planning program in the Baltimore region and has a long tradition of excellence in preparing students for careers in planning, urban development and related fields. Building upon Morgan State’s designation as Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, the program is administered by engaged and productive faculty, who balance intimate instruction with advanced urban research and public service. Its curriculum is flexible and accommodates the needs of working students with evening and hybrid on-line classes and part-time enrollment. Generous merit-based scholarship packages and need-based aid are available for qualifying students and provide opportunities for those who are challenged to pay for graduate education. Students can also obtain work-study employment through grant-funded faculty research projects.
Housed in the Department of Graduate Built Environment Studies in the School of Architecture and Planning, the program enables students to build their education around their own interests within the field including urban design, community development, sustainability and environmental planning, housing, transportation, international development, and urban data analysis. Students are also encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary discourse and can take courses in our sister programs of architecture and landscape architecture and in other graduate programs of the university. With its emphasis on advanced discourse and research, the program is also an ideal stepping stone for those students considering doctoral study in planning or other urban fields.
The program’s curriculum is hands-on and much of the learning occurs outside of the classroom, often with a focus on engaging and improving Baltimore’s many and diverse neighborhoods. At the same time, the curriculum deftly weaves theoretical and applied discourses and professors routinely blend instruction, research and service in developing, applying and testing new ideas about cities using the program’s strategic location within the Baltimore region and within the U.S. northeast megaregion. Courses often feature field projects and trips that exploit the rich history, culture, institutions and physical fabric of Baltimore and nearby Washington, New York, Philadelphia, and points in between. At the same time, the program functions as a global urbanism laboratory and faculty and students alike are committed to progressive ideals about the substance and nature of urban life and improving the lives of city dwellers, whether they live in Baltimore, Barcelona, Bogota, Bangalore or Beijing.
Come study and plan the city with us! Do not hesitate to contact me for more information about the program or field.