a city model in the foreground with people in the background

A coordinated degree program has been designed to allow students to obtain both the Master of Public Administration and the Master of Urban Planning degrees concurrently.

This program is intended to combine professional training in planning with applied administrative and managerial skills. The MPA/MUP requirements are described later in this section.

Program Type

Master’s

Program Format

On Campus

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Admission Requirements 

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.

Credits and Courses

This program allows students to complete master’s degrees in Public Administration and in Urban Planning concurrently. The coordinated degree requires 42-45 credits of required courses and completion of a concentration in Public Administration (18 credits). However, because some courses completed for the core requirements of the MUP also may count toward the MPA concentration, students may complete the dual degree with a minimum of 54-57 credits. The total number of credits will depend on the student’s track and choice of concentration in public administration.

Required Courses in Urban Planning (27 credits)

URBPLAN 701Introduction to Land Use Planning1
URBPLAN 702Introduction to Planning Law2
URBPLAN 711Planning Theories and Practice3
URBPLAN 720Urban Development Theory and Planning3
URBPLAN 721Applied Planning Methods3
URBPLAN 740Data Analysis Methods I3
URBPLAN 810Planning Policy Analysis6
URBPLAN 811Applied Planning Workshop3
Select one of the following:3
URBPLAN 751Introduction to Urban Design and Physical Planning
URBPLAN 791Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning
URBPLAN 857Urban Design as Public Policy
Total Credits27

Required Courses in Public Administration (18 credits)

BUS ADM 738Human Resource Management3
URBPLAN 630Budgeting and Finance in the Public Sector3
PUB ADM 763Scope and Dynamics of Public Administration3
PUB ADM 921Public Service Administrative Internship 13
or URBPLAN 991 Legislative/Administrative Agency Internship
PUB ADM 959Capstone Seminar in Public Administration3
Select one seminar in organizational management and leadership from the following:3
BUS ADM 731Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion
BUS ADM 732Transforming Organizations
BUS ADM 737Managerial Decisions and Negotiations
Total Credits18
1

The internship requirement will be waived for students with significant public sector work experience.

Concentration Requirement (18 credits)

Completion of all the requirements for one of the concentrations in Public Administration. A maximum of six credits of MUP core courses may be used as electives in the MPA concentrations.

Application to all graduate programs are completed through the UWM Graduate School. Please see their website for detailed information about the application process and contact them with questions.

We also have provided information about applying to one of the Public & Nonprofit Administration graduate programs and our admissions criteria:

How to apply for the master's in Public & Nonprofit Administration

Contact

Prospective Graduate Students

Questions regarding the application or the application process should be directed to the UWM Graduate School at gradschool@uwm.edu or 414-229-6569.

Current Graduate Students

Questions about research opportunities, department funding opportunities, or issues specific to the discipline should be directed to Prof. Douglas Ihrke.