MA in Community Planning

Over the course of the program each of these topical areas are addressed in some fashion. For instance, through case studies, course readings, short- and longer-term class assignments, and community engagement partnerships. 

However, the distribution of this emphasis can change from year to year, and in general we tend to focus on local and regional issues more than international topics.

Courses in the MACP program are organized by themes and skills (for instance, communication; social movements; equity; power; spatial design; etc., that cut across multiple issues. In any given course students are exposed to different areas of traditional spatial planning and development policy. No MACP courses are designed to focus exclusively on a single area of planning. 

Possibly. It depends on the faculty teaching a particular course, and whether their emphasis and syllabus aligns with your topic of interest. However, it is important for prospective students to know that the MACP is not a "choose your own adventure" degree. Our pedagogy is founded upon community engagement and social learning, which means that 1) we work together on particular project commitments, sharing the process and delivery of scoping, defining, and producing work products that emphasize collaborative leadership and inclusive management skills; and 2) our collaborative projects are defined by the expressed needs and existing histories of our community partners, which may or may not align directly with your own topical area of interest.

Our commitment is to building effective community engagement and integrative skills among our students, which we believe are transferable and applicable to a wide range of issues and topics -- including your passion project.

We do not give credit for work and service that you are already involved in, outside MACP coursework. These commitments are important - we look for evidence of community engagement in our applicants, and encourage it in our students - but academic credit involves significant additional reading, writing, and reflection. In rare cases a student can arrange an independent study or research project with faculty sponsorship, but this cannot replace required MACP coursework, and requires negotiation between all parties (student, faculty, and outside group) to establish academic expectations and work products.

No. You are welcome to explore classes in other areas, and this can be an enriching addition to your training in community planning. Students sometimes enroll in additional UW classes over the summer, or find that they can add another, complementary class during a regular term, particularly if they are a full-time student, and do not have other work commitments. However, such classes do not apply to the MACP degree, may require additional tuition or fees, and cannot be substituted for MACP courses. The graduate advisor can tell you more.

MUP/MURP: The MA in Community Planning is most commonly compared to a master's in Urban Planning or Urban & Regional Planning (MUP/MURP). While there are similarities, the main difference lies in our broad-based commitment to social justice and equitable development, which requires a shift from the traditional design or public policy orientation of most planning programs. Design and policy traditions are present in our curriculum, however, the MACP draws on a wider array of professional practices and academic concepts, to train community planners in strategic, inclusive, and analytic skills of collaborative leadership for socio-spatial change.  

For example, in a MUP/MURP degree you would take a Land Use Law course (Traces development control historically and analyzes contemporary approaches to land-use control which reflect environmental and economic development concerns), in the MACP program, you take a course on Legal Urbanism (Examines the statutory and administrative bases of decision-making authority across subfields [e.g., historical preservation, transportation, environmental]).  

Our aim is to prepare students to become leaders working for positive change in urban communities–by analyzing issues of social justice and equity and using that understanding to work effectively with grassroots organizations, non-profits, community members, and government agencies.  Our alumni work in careers in community development, urban planning, community engagement and outreach, economic development.  Our graduates have found jobs at organizations such as the Tacoma Housing Authority, Forterra Community Land Trust, Tacoma City Planning Department, and Des Moines City Planning. 

MPA: There are also important similarities between the MACP and a Master's of Public Administration (MPA): namely the focus on a variety of professional roles, both public and private, beyond planning; the embracing of public affairs and collaborative governance as an important aspect of graduate training in community planning; and the use of the case-study method and practice-oriented deliverables and work products, in many MACP courses. However, the MPA emerges from a more narrow training in public sector management and administration, and has typically been more focused on professionalization of civil service, as opposed to a stated, normative commitment to justice and social change. The MACP is more interdisciplinary and equity-oriented than most MPAs.

MSGT: The Master's of Science in Geospatial Technologies (MSGT) is also focused on training professionals to bring about greater equity, justice, and social change in urban development, in this case through technical skills related to mapping, geospatial data, spatial representation, coding, and mobile app development. The MSGT grounds students in critical thinking and social equity concerns not always at the forefront of the rapidly expanding geotechnical profession; it is a one-year, four-quarter, 40-credit program for students with existing GIS experience, capacity for programming and application development, and a commitment to geospatial technology as a career field.

There are twelve (12) required courses, requiring two years of full-time study, with summers off. Each course is five credits, for a program total of 60 credits (UW operates on a quarter system). Students take two courses per quarter (autumn-winter-spring) for two years, and move through the program curriculum as a cohort.

Yes. Some of our students opt to pursue part-time status. Typically these students enroll in one course per quarter, rather than two, and take twice as long to complete the degree (i.e. 4 years instead of 2). This can be a good option for students who expect that jobs and other obligations will make it difficult to sustain the work required in graduate school. The downside for part-time students is that it may be more difficult to build and enjoy the cohort-based trust and familiarity with other students that is an important benefit of the MACP program.

It depends. Are you someone who thrives on having a "full plate"? How demanding is your job, and are you engaged in other commitments that require your time and attention? How flexible is your employer?

Some people can work full-time and go to school full-time, especially if they know that other interests may need to take a back seat for a while, and that it is for a limited period of time. Others recognize that their work, graduate study, and other relationships may suffer somewhat, and decide that these trade-offs are too costly, even for a relatively short period of time.

Additionally, some positions allow students the flexibility to prioritize their studies when necessary. While the majority of our master's classes are offered in the evenings, some classes will require fieldwork that necessitates some degree of availability during the day. 

Talk to other graduate students, to the graduate advisor and program coordinator, and to your supervisor, colleagues, and family members to help you decide.

We have chosen to focus on interpretive and practical skills that diverge somewhat from the classic urban design and public policy assumptions of city planning. For this reason, our curriculaum does not currently follow the requirements of the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB), and the MACP, therefore, is not currently accredited by the PAB. However, we are institutional members of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP); our graduates are able to sit for and earn American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification, should they wish; and our program assessment is being designed with input from PAB experts.