Dual Master's Degree in City Planning and Transportation

Background

The Master of Science in Transportation (MST) degree is a two-year, inter departmental graduate degree program, administered by MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The Master of City Planning (MCP) degree is a two-year accredited degree program, offered by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning within the School of Architecture and Planning. Given the strong links between transportation and city planning, interested students can choose the dual MCP/MST degree option at MIT. Note, however that the dual degree option is not for everyone, and students can study transportation within the MCP program or can study urban transportation within the MST program without pursuing the dual degree option.

Entering the MCP/MST Dual Degree Program

There are three ways for a student to enter the dual degree program. These are outlined on the M.S.T. Admissions web page:

  1. Students already enrolled in the MCP program can, during their first year of study, apply to the MST program. To do so, they must fulfill the requirements as outlined on the under the heading “Special Information for Current MIT Students (Non-MST)” on the M.S.T. admissions web page. Students will typically be notified of their acceptance to the MST program by the end of their second semester.
  2. Students already enrolled in the MST program can, during their first year of study, apply to the MCP program. In this case, students must fulfill the normal DUSP application requirements, including meeting the official January deadline, and will be notified of their acceptance by no later than the end of their second semester.
  3. Students can simultaneously apply to both the MST and the MCP programs. Acceptance decisions to both programs are made independently.

Academic Requirements

Students enrolled in the MCP/MST dual degree program must fulfill the minimum course requirements of both degree programs. In other words, students must complete the 66 course units (including all core requirements, but not including thesis) required of the MST degree, as well as the 126 course units (including all core requirements, but not including thesis) required of the MCP degree. Students enrolled in the dual degree may petition the MCP Committee to reduce the MCP degree course credit requirements by up to 24 units. This petition should be submitted for approval together with the student’s proposed course of study. That is, students must take a minimum of 168 total course units (not including thesis) to qualify for the MCP/MST dual degree. Courses taken for credit towards one degree cannot be counted towards the other degree program.

Typically, a single thesis can be written for both degrees. The thesis research must be carried out under the supervision of an approved member of one of the two degree programs, with the other program providing the thesis reader. The single thesis cannot be used to satisfy the thesis requirements of any additional graduate degree programs. Students must fulfill the MCP thesis prep requirement; it is possible to fulfill this requirement through the MST guided research program and related research meetings.

In extraordinary circumstances, the dual MCP/MST degree can be finished in two years (4 semesters). More typically, the degree is completed in 2.5 years (5 semesters) or 3 years (6 semesters).

Typical Course Selections

Students in the dual degree are free to tailor their course selection to their own interests, as long as they fulfill the course credit requirements outlined above, as well as the core course requirements and additional program requirements of each degree. Naturally, students who come to the MCP from the MST program will normally have fulfilled the MST core during their first year, such that year 2 of the program focuses on the MCP core requirements. For students entering the MST program from the MCP program, the reverse is the case. For students entering both degree programs simultaneously, it is recommended that students focus primarily on one set of core courses in the first year. The Academic Advisor will help guide the student in structuring the course selection.

Administrative Requirements

After admission, students must fill out a petition indicating that they intend to complete a dual degree, and listing the subjects they plan to take to fulfill the requirements for each degree. This petition must be signed by a representative from both degree-granting departments, and by the Dean of the Graduate School.