Full-Time Curriculum

The M.A. in Urban and Regional Sustainability and Resilience program consists of 36 total credits completed in 18 months.

Year One: Summer Immersive Learning Experience

The program begins with a six-week online core course in the summer that orients students to the program and prepares students to understand policy challenges facing the fields of sustainability and public affairs.  The online experience culminates in a three-day immersion that connects students to faculty, community partners, and second-year students while they analyze an important public policy issue relevant to individuals working in the field of sustainability and resilience. 

Year One: Fall and Spring Coursework

In their first academic year, students take graduate coursework in Economics, Statistics, Organizational Communication, and Philosophy & Public Policy.  The core courses are complimented by graduate-level track (URST 650+) courses that focus on a particular issue or area of interest in sustainability and resilience.

Year Two: Summer Fieldwork and Immersive Learning Experience  

During the summer of year two, students will participate in a second online summer course culminating in participation in a second three-day sustainability immersion. The immersion allows second-year students to engage community leaders and the public as they leverage the ideas and skills they learned in their first year to analyze a new issue from the perspective of their discipline.  Second-year students will be joined in the immersion by faculty and members of the new first-year student cohort, providing  opportunities for networking and mentoring within the program. 

Second-year students also participate in a summer field experience (and accompanying course), or alternatively, work on a thesis.  Students secure their own field experiences and receive guidance and advice during their first year on networking, resume and communication skills as they move through the process to identify professional opportunities.

Year Two: Fall Coursework

During the final semester, second-year students participate in two core courses: a course on geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, and a public policy capstone in which they learn the skills needed to write a public policy analysis (thesis students would substitute additional thesis work for the capstone). Students in each program will also take one program-specific (URST 650+) track course related to a topic or area of study in the field of sustainability and resilience. 

 

Block Schedule for M.A. in Urban and Regional Sustainability and Resilience

Summer Year 1	Fall Year 1	Spring Year 1	Summer Year 2	Fall Year 2
PAEA 501: Public & Environmental Affairs I (3.0)	PAEA 600: Philosophy and Public Affairs (3.0)*	PAEA 622: Quantitative Methods (3.0)	PAEA 502: Public & Environmental Affairs II (3.0)	PAEA 640: Public Policy Capstone or PAEA 649 Thesis II (3.0 credits)
	PAEA 620: Economics and Public Policy (3.0)*	PAEA 622: Quantitative Methods (3.0)	PAEA 630: Field Experience or PAEA 648: Thesis I (3.0)	PAEA 624: Political Geography and GIS (3.0)
	URST 650+ (3.0)	URST 650+ (3.0)		URST 650+ (3.0)
3.0 credits	9.0 credits	9.0 credits	6.0 credits	9.0 credits

***One of the core courses in Summer or Fall will carry a "Pro-Seminar" Flag.