Submatric Program (Accelerated BA/MCP)

What is the Sub-matriculation Program?

As part of the Quaker Consortium, the Department of City and Regional Planning has agreements with Penn's undergraduate Urban Studies Program, and with Bryn Mawr (and Haverford) College's Program on the Growth and Structure of Cities, allowing juniors to apply for sub-matriculation in the Master of City Planning (MCP) program. This enables them to complete their undergraduate degree and an MCP degree in five years. Students interested in this program should have a strong academic record, some orientation to the planning field, and well-defined professional goals appropriate to the MCP degree.

Program Requirements and Advising

Like regular MCP students, sub-matriculating students must complete the MCP core curriculum (10 Course units, or CUs), one of five concentrations: Community and Economic Development (4 CUs); Land Use and Environmental Planning (4 CUs); Transportation Planning (4 CUs); Urban Design (5 CUs); or Public/Private Development (4 CUs); and a summer internship. The remaining 4 or 5 CUs are taken as electives, and are typically transferred from undergraduate coursework.

For most sub-matriculants, their senior year is one of overlap between completing their undergraduate degree requirements and starting their MCP requirements. Upon their acceptance into the MCP program (usually in their junior year) sub-matriculating students work with their advisors at PennPlanning and in their undergraduate major to develop a two-year course plan. Entering sub-matriculating students are permitted to count up to four (4) upper-level undergraduate courses towards MCP. electives. These courses must have numbers of 300 or above and must have significant planning or related content.

As per the current Quaker Consortium agreement, students from Bryn Mawr and Haverford may take up to but not more than two (2) courses at Penn each semester while in undergraduate school. This includes their senior year.

Related undergraduate courses:

Prior to applying, interested undergraduates are encouraged to take courses related to city planning in order to become familiar with the field and to help make an informed choice of a graduate program. The following courses in Penn's Urban Studies Program are recommended for their planning and related content:
URBS 204 Urban Law
URBS 206 The Public Environment of Cities
URBS 253 Cities, Suburbs, Regions
URBS 270 The Immigrant City
URBS 290 Metropolitan Nature
*URBS 330 GIS Applications in Social Science
*URBS 415 Urban Real Estate Markets
*URBS 416 Metropolitan Food Systems
+URBS 440 Introduction to City Planning
*URBS 450 Urban Redevelopment
*URBS 451 The Politics of Housing and Community Development
*URBS 452 Community Economic Development
*URBS 454 City Limits: Impacts of Urban Policy

* = These 300- and 400-level courses may be counted towards sub-matriculants' M.C.P. elective coursework.

+ = Successful completion of these courses enables students to waive some MCP requirements, resulting in more electives in a student's schedule. To make schedules more manageable, students from Bryn Mawr and Haverford are especially encouraged to take both URBS 204 and URBS 440 before entering the M.C.P. program.

To apply:

Applications for sub-matriculation must be submitted during the student's junior year. Applicants follow the regular application procedures for the MCP program, which include a personal statement, resume, transcript, GRE, and three letters of recommendation. The due date and further details on admissions may be found on the Penn Design Admissions web site (http://www.design.upenn.edu/admissions).

For further information, prospective candidates should contact Prof. Domenic Vitiello (vitiello@design.upenn.edu).