Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Urban Planning
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Graduate Degrees
The Department of Urban Planning offers the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (M.U.R.P.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Urban Planning.
Urban and Regional Planning
Master’s Degree
Admissions Requirements
Advising
The Program’s Student Affairs Officer is available for general and specific information about the degree program. Students are assigned an adviser upon admission to the program.
Areas of Study
Real Estate Development
Foreign Language Requirement
None
Course Requirements
The degree program is a one-year program and requires a minimum of nine courses in Real Estate Development. A capstone project is required. Required courses include MRED 201, 202A, 202B, 203, 204, 205, and 206; and the two capstone courses, MRED 219A and 219B. Students must take 8 units from the following electives: MRED 211, 212, 213, 214; other MRED electives; approved UP courses; and approved courses from LAW and MGMT.
Sample Degree Program
| Sample Degree Program With Curriculum Schedule (The in-person instruction component of the program is shaded) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Person | In-Person | In-Person | Remote |
| Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer |
| (Session A: 10 Weeks. Typically ends in mid to late August) | |||
| MRED 201 Real Estate Economics & Market Analysis | MRED 206 The Politics, Institutions, and Economics of Urban Development | MRED 219A Capstone: Development Processes A | MRED 219B Capstone: Development Processes B (Remote instruction) |
| MRED 202A Real Estate Development & Finance | MRED 202B Advanced Real Estate Development & Finance | MRED 205 New Building Technologies and Construction Management | |
| MRED 203 Law and Regulations in Land Development | MRED 204 Real Estate Development & Design Studio Required Elective II | Optional Elective Optional Elective | |
| *The Fall quarter will be preceded by an optional but recommended one-week boot camp on Advanced Excel Skills & ARGUS Developer and Spatial Analysis & Visual Communication. | |||
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Field Experience
Not required.
CapstonePlan
A capstone project is the final requirement to complete the degree. The capstone project will consist of a hypothetical urban development project with students working in teams to analyze the context and develop a real estate development proposal. Students will be divided into groups in the first quarter to analyze various aspects of the project’s urban development context. For example, different teams might focus on site and spatial analysis; market context and demand; legal, institutional, and political conditions; or financing and capital stack options. In the second quarter, the groups will be reorganized, and the different teams will develop real estate development proposals, including programming, design, cash flow projections, and regulatory approval strategies. The groups will present their proposals to a jury of real estate and urban development professionals and faculty members and receive feedback. Students will return to campus for their final capstone project presentations in the summer.
Thesis Plan
None
Time-to-Degree
Students must complete the degree within four quarters from matriculation.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD | MAXIMUM TTD |
| M.U.R.P. | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
All Master’s students at UCLA are subject to university-wide policies and procedures governing study for the MRED degree. These policies and procedures are administered by the UCLA Graduate Division, a campus-wide unit dedicated to ensuring high-quality graduate degree programs at UCLA. Some of the most important of these requirements are summarized below. For additional details on these and other policies and procedures, refer to Standards & Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 (B) in all coursework undertaken, as required by the academic senate. Students failing to do so are placed on probation. Students whose cumulative GPA is below 3.0 for any three quarters will be asked to withdraw from the Program.
Any course that receives a grade below C- will not be permitted to count towards the degree. Any student who receives a grade below C- should consult with the Student Affairs Officer.
A counseling board is established for each student on probationary status (grade point average falls below 3.0 for the term) or making insufficient progress toward the degree. The board consists of three faculty members, including the student’s advisor. The counseling board meets with the student at least once each term as long as the student remains on probation. The board is responsible for reviewing the student’s record, determining strengths and weaknesses, and aiding the student in raising academic performance.
Students on probation, students admitted provisionally, or others not making sufficient progress toward the degree (e.g., part-time status or failing core courses) may be recommended for termination. Recommendations for termination may be made either by the counseling board through a written statement to the Program Director or by the Program Director, acting in consultation with the Executive Director and faculty advisor. Students recommended for termination may petition to have their situation reviewed by a three-person faculty review board. The review board, which includes the faculty advisor and two other faculty members (one chosen by the Program Director and one selected by the student), reviews the formal record and conducts a personal interview. The board then makes written recommendations to the Program Director. If students do not petition for a review board, or if the review board recommends termination, the recommendation is then made formally by the Urban Planning Department Chair on the advice of the Program Director to the Dean of the Graduate Division.
The MRED degree is normally obtained after three quarters of full-time study and part-time study during the fourth and final quarter. Students are expected to return to UCLA to present their required group capstone projects in the Summer quarter. They may petition to participate in the presentation remotely. Such petitions require approval by the Program Director in consultation with the Executive Director and are only occasionally granted in truly extenuating circ*mstances.
Students who have completed the normal one-year residence requirements (which are not the same as the University residence requirements) but who have yet to complete all of the requirements for graduation may petition to remain in the Program for one additional year to complete all remaining requirements. Such petitions require approval by Program Director in consultation with the Executive Director and are only occasionally granted in truly extenuating circ*mstances.
Only students who have completed all of the Master of Real Estate Development requirements for the first three quarters of their degree may participate in the commencement ceremonies. Specifically, students with outstanding “incomplete” grades in courses will not be permitted to “walk” in the commencement ceremonies.
