In the last several months, ASU has approved the school to offer 3 new options for planning degrees, and at the same time, its existing Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP) program was granted a highly positive accreditation from the Planning Accreditation Board.  Here are details about all four developments:

• Master of Urban and Environmental Planning accreditation:  After a year-long review process, the Planning Accreditation Board granted a 7-year accreditation to the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP) program. This is the longest term possible under the Board’s rules.  The review process included an extensive self-study prepared by the planning program’s faculty and staff, as well as a visit by a PAB-selected review team that met with faculty, administrators, students and local planning professionals.  As the final step, Professor David Pijawka and school Director Luc Anselin met with the Planning Accreditation Board in October.
• Ph.D. in Urban Planning:  The ASU administration has approved a proposal for the School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning to offer a doctoral degree in Urban Planning beginning in Fall 2012.  Applications for doctoral study are now being accepted, The school will fund up to four qualified students in the program, each receiving four-year funding to begin and complete their PhD. Take a look at http://geoplan.asu.edu/phdplanning for more information about areas of study and how to apply.
• Joint Masters Degree in Planning and Sustainability:  This program offers students an opportunity to build expertise in both sustainability and planning, through a new concurrent degree program in which students earn both a Master in Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP) and a Master of Science or Master of Arts in Sustainability. A student will be able to earn both degrees in a three-year period.  For more information about the program, contact Dr. David Pijawka (Pijawka@asu.edu) or Dr. Christopher Boone, Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Sustainability (Christopher.g.boone@asu.edu).
• Accelerated B.S.P. - Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (Fast Track / 4 + 1):  This option allows highly qualified students who are finishing their Bachelor of Science in Planning degree to be enrolled simultaneously in the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree program. These students are permitted to take up to 21 credits of graduate courses as undergraduates after admission to the fast track, 9 of which is coursework that would be shared between the two degrees’ programs of study.  Full details about the program are available at http://geoplan.asu.edu/fasttrack.