Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Interdisciplinary and Dual Degree Programs
We offer students the opportunity to earn a joint or dual degree with a number of other departments and schools at Tufts, and with Boston College. These are available only to students in the M.A. program.
Joint Degrees
A joint degree consists of one master's degree awarded by two graduate departments when a student meets the core master's requirements of both departments. Departments participating in joint degree programs with UEP are: Department of Economics, and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering. Prospective students should submit one application to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for the joint degree option.
Dual Degrees
A dual degree consists of two master's degrees awarded for work done in distinct disciplines by two schools of Tufts University, or Boston College. UEP has dual degree programs with: Fletcher School, School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Boston College Law School.
Students electing a dual degree option must be accepted by both departments/school and are expected to meet the requirements set by each program. Prospective students wishing to pursue a dual degree must submit a separate application for each school and select the dual degree option on each application.
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 would benefit from courses explicitly directed at public policy and planning issues. Students studying public policy and planning would benefit from an exposure to the analytical tools of economics.
Learn more about the M.S. in Environmental Economics and Urban Planning >
Students may pursue either a joint degree or a dual-degree program with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) in the School of Engineering. Both programs respond to the need for environmental professionals who are skilled in both an engineering or public health, and policy perspective in the analysis, planning, and implementation of environmental activities. The programs combine policy analysis skills with training in various civil engineering sub-disciplines. Students in the joint-degree program receive an M.S. degree, while the dual-degree program awards both an M.A. and an M.S. degree. The joint degree requires 12 course credits, an internship plus a thesis, while the dual degree requires 17 course credits, an internship plus a thesis and can be completed in five semesters.
The following programs within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering may be joined with the UEP degree:
- Environmental Health
- Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Students must be accepted into both departments in order to enter the joint degree program in UEP/Engineering Joint/Dual Degree. To facilitate the admissions process, however, a single application can be submitted on the Tufts' online application system by choosing the "UEP/Engineering Joint/Dual Degree" program. The application will then be reviewed concurrently by each department according to its own review criteria. The candidate's admission to UEP is not affected by the decision of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The Fletcher School offers a broad program of professional education in international affairs. Its curriculum covers international law and organization, diplomatic history and international political relations, international economic relations, and international political institutions and systems. UEP and the Fletcher School offer a dual-degree program focusing on international environmental policy. This program provides an opportunity for a select number of highly qualified students to earn both a Master of Arts (M.A.) in urban and environmental policy and planning and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (M.A.L.D.) at the Fletcher School in three years. Each degree normally requires two years. The dual-degree program responds to growing student and professional demand for graduate education in international environmental policy. It is designed to prepare students for careers in economic and development institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations concerned with international problems affecting the physical environment such as acid rain, global warming, offshore oil drilling, soil erosion, deforestation, biodiversity, waterways pollution, and chemical contamination.
Interested students must submit separate applications to each school indicating a preference for the dual degree. Each school reviews candidates based on its own requirements and criteria. The candidate's admission to UEP is not affected by the decision of the Fletcher School. Tuition and fees will be assessed and paid to each school based on the semester of enrollment. Students will be eligible for financial assistance based on current policies at each school. For detailed information on the requirements for the Fletcher M.A.L.D., please contact the Fletcher School, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155.
Learn more about the UEP/Fletcher Dual Degree >
Students can obtain a dual master's degree with UEP and the Agriculture, Food and Environment (AFE) Program and the Food Policy and Applied Nutrition (FPAN) Program of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The dual degree is aimed at students who have a particular interest in the connection between food production and supply and themes such as sustainable agriculture, food system planning, and food policy. Students pursuing this program will deepen their knowledge of policy analysis and planning while studying the relationship of food systems to community development and public health. By combining the two programs, the dual degree can be completed in three, instead of four years. Students receive both an M.A. in urban and environmental policy and planning and an M.S. in agriculture, food and environment or M.S. in food policy and applied nutrition.
Interested students must submit separate applications to each program indicating a preference for the dual degree. Each school reviews candidates based on its own requirements and criteria. The candidate's admission to UEP is not affected by the decision of the School of Nutrition. Tuition and fees will be assessed and paid to each school based on the semester of enrollment. Students will be eligible for financial assistance based on current policies at each school. For detailed information on the requirements for the Nutrition programs, contact: The Gerald J. & Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155.
Learn more about the UEP/Nutrition Dual Degree >
For students interested in exploring the connections between law and urban and environmental policy and planning. Students receive two degrees: a Master of Arts and a Juris Doctor (M.A./J.D.). The dual degree program recognizes that the fields of law and planning are inexorably linked. Planning (including policy analysis) is a process of guiding future development patterns; the law frames the mechanisms and limits of government control over this process. Planning and law immerse students in broad debates and critical thinking about the environment, human settlements, social and environmental justice, corporate responsibility, and land use, each guided by constitutional, equitable and pragmatic principles. To learn more, download the UEP/Boston College Law School Dual Degree requirements.
The M.A./J.D. is offered through a collaboration between the Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) and the Boston College Law School. There is currently no graduate program in New England which offers the combined strengths of this program.
Upon acceptance to the dual degree program, students will be required to meet with the program coordinator and the respective academic advisors from both schools to plan an overall course of study that matches the student’s background, interests, and requirements of the program. Advisors at both schools will collaborate, under the auspices of an advisory committee, to ensure that students receive accurate and timely information about how they are to proceed through the dual degree program. Students will be eligible for financial assistance based on current policies at each University.
Students fulfill the requirements of each program, but may transfer credits toward each degree such that they may concentrate their studies in four years (as opposed to five, which would be typical if a student was pursing each degree separately).
Interested students must submit separate applications to each school indicating a preference for the dual degree. Each school reviews candidates based on its own requirements and criteria. The candidate's admission to UEP is not affected by the decision of the Boston College Law School. Tuition and fees will be assessed and paid to each school based on the semester of enrollment. For detailed information on the requirements for the J.D., please contact the Boston College Law School, Newton, MA 02459.
Learn more about the UEP/Boston College Law School Dual Degree >
