Master of Urban and Regional Planning / Social Work

Program Overview

The dual degree prepares students to work for social change at the community level. The program incorporates issues related to class, race, ethnicity, gender, age, and cultural differences. It develops skills in organizing groups for social action, planning programs at the community level, developing community-based services, and involving people in the planning process.

Students have many opportunities to participate in community-based planning projects associated with Taubman College’s Detroit Community Partnership Center and in research projects related to community development.

Course of Study

Students admitted to the combined program are required to complete the first year courses in one school during the first year and to complete the first year courses at the other school in the second year. Students may begin at either school. During the third year of the program, students are permitted to elect courses in either school and are generally not restricted in their choices beyond fulfilling the required course work.

Degree Requirements

The M.U.R.P./M.S.W. is a 90-credit-hour program designed for completion in two and one-half to three years. Students take 60 credit hours in social work, 48 credit hours in urban and regional planning, 18 of which may double-count toward both degrees. Students meet the specific requirements of each degree.

In social work, students usually major in community organization and also concentrate in a substantive policy or service field. Human behavior and social environment courses emphasize community structure, organizational processes, and related areas. In urban and regional planning, students usually choose to focus in housing, community, and economic development or international development. Students often take courses in non-profit and public management and take advantage of seminars and workshops offered through the University’s Non-Profit and Public Management Center.

Coordinated Requirements

Field experience is an important part of the program, and the social work field placement is usually arranged in a setting that gives the student exposure to community development from the perspective of both social work and urban and regional planning. Dual degree students can complete the Urban and Regional Planning Program’s capstone requirement through a professional project that builds on experience in a field placement or can participate in a community-based group planning project in partnership with a community-based organization in Detroit. Students may take either SW 661 or URP 510 to meet the budgeting and financial management requirement in urban and regional planning.

Admission Requirements

Students must file separate applications to and be admitted by both schools. An application fee must accompany each application. Each school will apply its own deferred admission standards to students who elect to take the first year at the other school. Students enrolled in either program can apply to the other during the first year of study, but not later.