Students must complete a minimum of 48 graduate credits plus an internship. A core of required courses accounts for 30 of these credits; the remaining 18 are electives. An overall GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is required for receipt of the M.U.R.P. degree.
Students within the M.U.R.P. program are required to complete either a thesis (URSP 764) or to prepare a professional quality plan through the Planning Studio II course (URSP 762). Program administrators request permission to utilize the grade of PR, in addition to normal letter grades (“A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “F”) in URSP 762 Planning Studio II. This will allow students the ability to work on their plans over a more extended period of time, if necessary.

Internship and placement

The internship is designed to give students practical experience in planning-related activities in an institutional context. Normally, the internship is taken during the summer between the first and second year. Many opportunities for internship positions, as well as part- and full-time jobs in planning at all levels of government, exist within the Richmond area. Upon request, the internship requirement may be waived for students with substantial professional experience.