Portland State University

About Portland State University

The PSU MURP is a professional degree program, with 72 required credits. It can be completed full-time in two years, or part-time in longer. The curriculum prepares graduates for careers as professional planners, and for planning-related careers that benefit from the interdisciplinary nature and analytical approach of a planning education. The 43-credit core curriculum focuses on the history and theory of planning, values and ethics, plan-making and implementation, analytical methods, leadership and engagement skills, and the dynamics of metropolitan development. Students also get to shape their own experience and choose from a range of pathways, certificates, or a dual degree.

Points of Distinction

We believe the promise of planning is to create environmentally and socially just worlds. We study and practice planning in the Portland metropolitan region in Oregon, a place where planning matters. Our students engage in practice from the moment they join us. Our “classroom” extends beyond the walls of our downtown campus: we use real planning issues and processes as the basis for much of our teaching and research. Students engage in class projects, an internship experience, and a two-term Workshop project that is client-focused, community-based, and culminates in a professional product to serve as a capstone to the program.

Degrees & Programs