Planning Accelerated Degree Program (Plan 4+1)

The accelerated Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning/Master of Science in Planning and Development is initiated while undergraduates are completing the bachelor’s degree. For this program, graduate student course work begins in the student’s third year of undergraduate study and can be completed with one academic year of study beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students admitted to the accelerated program may count up to 12 semester hours of graduate courses towards the completion of both the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree. Students will be formally admitted to the master’s program after all requirements for the undergraduate degree are completed.

Community and Regional Planning students with a 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA may apply to the accelerated program during the semester in which they expect to complete a minimum of 60 eligible undergraduate semester hours. Students interested in the accelerated program should speak with the Graduate Program Director to determine admissibility into the program. Following this discussion, the Graduate Program Director will submit the Request to Pursue an Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Program online form as outlined in the Admission and Readmission section of the ECU graduate catalog. Upon acceptance, the student can begin taking graduate courses the following semester.

Students admitted to the accelerated program must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and at the time of undergraduate graduation will matriculate into the master’s program in good academic standing. Approved graduate courses completed as part of the accelerated program with a grade of B or higher as an undergraduate student will be counted as transfer credits in the master’s program.

Students should apply for undergraduate graduation one semester prior to completing the undergraduate degree requirements and should apply for formal admission into the graduate program by the advertised application deadline for the desired term of admission.

Admission Requirements

Curriculum

Students accepted into the accelerated program may count up to 12 s.h. from the following courses towards completion of both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees:

  • PLAN 5985: Historic Preservation Planning
  • PLAN 6003: City Planning and Design (for PLAN 4003: Urban Form and Design)
  • PLAN 6015: Disaster Planning, Policy, and Practice (for PLAN 4015: Emergency Management Planning)
  • PLAN 6025: Housing and Community Development (for PLAN 4025: Housing and Neighborhood Planning)
  • PLAN 6040: Community Facilities and Capital Budgeting (for PLAN 4040: Community Facilities Planning)
  • PLAN 6045: Environmental Planning and Policy (for PLAN 4045: Environmental Resources Planning and Management)
  • PLAN 6055: Coastal Planning and Policy (for PLAN 4055: Coastal Area planning and Management)
  • PLAN 6065: Growth Management (for PLAN 4065: Land Use Planning)
  • PLAN 6075: Transportation Planning and Policy (for PLAN 4075: Transportation Planning)
  • PLAN 6250: Advanced Environmental Impact Analysis (for PLAN 4250: Environmental Impact Analysis)
  • PLAN 6270: Advanced Water Resource Management and Planning (for PLAN 4270: Water Resources Management and Planning)
  • PLAN 6301: Computer Applications for Planning (for PLAN 3041: Computer Applications in Planning)
  • GEOG 6401: Geographic Information Systems (for PLAN 3430: Geographic Information System I)
  • GEOG 6430: Advanced Geographic Information Systems (for PLAN 4430: Geographic Information System II)