Master of Regional Planning and MSc in Sustainability Science in Boston United States | University of Massachusetts Amherst

The Master of Regional Planning Program (Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP)) and the Master of Science in Sustainability Science (Environmental Conservation (ECO)) Program is offering a dual degree program for students to earn the Master of Science in Sustainability Science and the Master of Regional Planning within two years (plus summers) of full-time study. The professions of planning and sustainability science are intertwined in numerous ways. Many positions in government and in the private and nonprofit sectors can best be filled by persons who possess the technical knowledge and skills of systems analysts, consultants and planners. For example, sustainability planners in local governments often aspire to be researchers/analysts within government agencies and organizations. Conversely, sustainability analysts, especially in rapidly growing enterprises or organizations, may be hampered if they cannot exercise the skills to formulate and implement plans in a municipal or regional context. This connection is already reflected in the fact that there is a high degree of crossover between MS students in the urban sustainability concentration taking LARP courses as well as MRP students in the environmental concentration taking ECO courses.

The MS in Sustainability Science core curriculum is designed to provide students with a strong analytical foundation, applicable to a range of sustainability issues. The MRP core focuses on combining theoretical, historical, social, political, and technical dimensions of planning practice with strong emphasis on practice through studio and service to area communities. This two plus year dual-degree program would offer its students a rich educational experience in many areas of science, management and planning, including infrastructural development, systems analysis and implementation, science policy and planning, information technology, and sustainability tools and techniques. The MRP/MS degree program will provide its graduates with comprehensive education for professional careers in systems policy, management, development, and planning careers at the national, state and local level.