School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Economics

Joint MS in Environmental Economics and Urban Planning

The Department of Economics offers the Joint MS in Environmental Economics and Urban Planning in conjunction with the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP). There is a natural linkage between economics and urban and environmental policy and planning. Important public policy and planning questions have motivated some of the classic studies in economics, and the tools of economic analysis can be applied to a wide variety of policy and planning questions. Many students receiving master's degrees in economics find employment in the policy and/or planning sector, and benefit from courses explicitly directed at public policy and planning issues. Likewise, students studying public policy and planning benefit from an exposure to the analytical tools of economics. This joint degree offers students the opportunity to take courses and gain expertise in both areas. 

Joint Degree Requirements

  • The candidate for a joint master's degree in Economics and UEP must satisfy the joint degree requirements specified by each of the two departments. 
  • Guidance for joint degree candidates will be provided by advisors from each department who help the student design a coherent program and aid in the direction of the thesis or capstone exam.
  • A student who completes these requirements is awarded a single joint MS degree in Economics and UEP (versus an MS degree in Economics and an MA degree in UEP).
  • Students enrolled into the joint degree program can opt out at any time and decide to pursue the graduate degree in UEP or Economics. The student would then need to meet all the regular requirements for that program.

Economics Course Requirements

The Economics course requirements consist of four required core courses, and two elective courses to be selected from a list of approved courses. The core courses provide tools in statistics, econometrics, and microeconomic theory that can be applied to a wide variety of problems. The elective courses provide an introduction to the use of these tools in particular areas of economics.

  1. Core Courses
    • Economics 201: Statistics
    • Economics 202: Econometrics
    • Economics 203: Microeconomic Theory I
    • Economics 204: Microeconomic Theory II
       
  2. Elective Courses
    Each semester, the Economics Department selects a set of courses that satisfy the requirement for elective courses for the MS degree. Typically they include upper level undergraduate courses in the Economics and Mathematics Departments and courses in the Fletcher School.

UEP Course Requirements

The UEP requirements for the joint degree program consist of three required core courses, four elective courses, a noncredit internship, and a thesis or capstone exam. The choice of electives, internship, and thesis or capstone exam is dependent on the interests of the student and will be chosen in consultation with his/her advisor.

  1. Core Courses
    • UEP 250: Foundations of Public Policy and Planning
    • UEP 252: Cities in Space, Place and Time
    • UEP 255: Field Projects: Planning and Practice
       
  2. Elective Courses
    A wide range of UEP and Tufts courses qualify as electives. These are chosen by the student with the approval of the UEP advisor.
     
  3. Internship (noncredit)
     
  4. Thesis or Capstone Exam
    The thesis requires that students conduct a research project that applies the knowledge and skills that they have developed during their course of study, while the capstone represents an exam format that tests students on their expertise in a select few subject areas. For additional detail on the content of the capstone/thesis requirements, please consult with the UEP office. The thesis or capstone committee for a joint degree candidate must include at least one faculty member from each department. The advisor can be from either department.