Comprehensive Project Course

One of the options available for Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) students at UCLA to fulfill the capstone requirement for graduation is the Comprehensive Project Course.  The Comprehensive Project Course, a 20 week course, involves a team of ten to twelve students and a faculty advisor examining specific planning problems on behalf of a real-world client.  The course requires students to use methods and techniques learned in the core curriculum of the program and in course work in the students’ areas of concentration (see below for descriptions of the skill sets in each area). Topics vary, but all have significant practical importance and provide a substantial public service to a client.

Comprehensive Project courses are a two-quarter series typically completed in the Winter and Spring quarters.  Students work with their client and one or more faculty advisors.  Projects are typically completed at the beginning of June, and the students generally present this work publicly. Fees are charged on a sliding scale and range from $4000 - $30,000.  Two or three projects will be selected per year by the Department based on several criteria, including the value of a project to the community and/or our students, and ability to span the areas of concentration.

Students completing the MURP program study in one or more of the following areas of concentration (click to view detail):

Community Economic Development and Housing

 Skills: 

• explore innovative policy approaches, particularly in nonprofit housing, while learning the traditional tools of housing analysis and real estate methods. 
• economic development, housing, land use, the environment, social services, and education are examined in this stream, which also stresses the interaction between grassroots organizations, development and policy.  
• methods of analysis that encourage applied research and techniques of participation, which facilitate an open planning process with people and organizations. 

Design and Development

 Skills: 

• how private market forces drive development along with how public forces shape and channel it, and how we can build in a smarter, more sustainable way, which is respectful of varying cultural needs and practices is essential to an inclusive and just built environment.
• multi-disciplinary approaches in urban planning, urban design, real estate development, finance, law, construction technology, marketing, lifestyle trends, community participation, public policy, multi-levels of government, and politics.
• courses, studios, and seminars in physical planning, real estate development and finance, site planning, history of urban form, urban design and land use.

Environmental Analysis and Policy

 Skills: 

• analysis of the physical, biotic, socio-economic, political and cultural context in which environmental interactions and conflicts occur.
• array of analytic tools ranging from cultural to socio-economic and ecological approaches is then applied to specific questions – not only local but also larger scale regional, national and global processes and social movements.
• a conceptual understanding of the nature, magnitude and causes of environmental problems and practices; an understanding of the various environmental policy and planning approaches; and a set of professional skills necessary for effective practice.

Regional and International Development

 Skills: 

• global and regional economic integration
• international environmental problems and processes
• planning and policy development for metropolitan regions with particular emphasis on Southern California, industrial policy issues, and links to local development initiatives.

Transportation Policy and Planning

 Skills: 

• examine relationships between transportation systems and metropolitan development patterns.
• use travel forecasting models to predict travel behavior.
• study the relationships between transportation access, poverty, and economic development.

Click here to view a sample proposal, sample course syllabus and three completed student projects.  

Click here to view a complete list of past projects. 

If you would like to submit a proposal for a Comprehensive Project Course, please email a description of the project, including the proposed research question and the scope of services requested, to Sherry Dodge at dodge@publicaffairs.ucla.edu.  Review of projects will begin on April 15, 2012.