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URBAN LAND DEVELOPMENT

College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies

• MASTER OF SCIENCE
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this program is to bring together the private (decision making) and public (policy) aspects of real estate development and to help students develop skills related to land development in metropolitan areas.  The program is interdisciplinary and covers all major aspects of the development process including design, feasibility analysis, land use regulation, market and location analysis, and negotiation.  Thus, graduates from the program would bridge the gap between 1) professional training in fields such as city planning and public policy and 2) business administration.  Graduates from the new program should be able to understand the constraints and incentives faced by both the private and public sectors when making land use recommendations and decisions.

GRADUATE PROGRAM

Admission Requirements

The following are required for admission to the Master’s Program in Urban Land Development (including admission as a pre-ULD Master’s student):

• A BA or BS degree;
• A minimum GPA of 3.0 or above in all undergraduate courses;
• Completion of the foundation courses or their equivalents with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and no grade lower than a "B-"; and
• A minimum score of 550 (213 if computer based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for students whose preparatory education was in a language other than English, taken within three years of the date of application.

Additionally, the following information will be considered in evaluating applications:

• The candidate’s overall GPA, GPA in the last 60 units of the bachelor’s program, and GPA in foundation courses;
• The candidate’s performance on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination taken within three years of the date of application;
• The candidate’s written statement of purpose; and
• The candidate’s letters of recommendation.

Admission Procedures

The Department of Public Policy and Administration in the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies will be responsible for processing applications at the departmental level.  The Graduate Office will process applications twice a year: once in the fall semester and once in the spring semester.  Candidates for the MS in Urban Land Development will be required to submit the following information to the PPA Graduate Office:

• Any specific application form that may be developed for the program;
• GMAT or GRE scores;
• TOEFL scores (if applicable);
• A written statement of purpose addressing the applicant’s purpose in pursuing a Master’s in Urban Land Development; and
• Three letters of recommendation from individuals with knowledge of the applicant’s academic and professional potential.

Additionally, the candidate shall submit the following information to the University’s Office of Graduate Studies:

• The application for graduate school admission (in accordance with any applicable University filing deadlines);
• Two sets of official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended; and
• TOEFL scores (if applicable).

For more admissions information and application deadlines please visit http://www.csus.edu/gradstudies/.

Applicants who are approved for admission will receive a letter from the Associate Dean, Office of Graduate Studies.  The Graduate Admission Recommendation (GAR) form will include any relevant information about proficiencies to be addressed and foundation courses that are required.

There are specific course prerequisites for certain MS in Urban Land Development “foundation” classes (e.g., ECON 1A and 1B are required to be taken before ECON 204).  In addition, students are expected to have demonstrated basic proficiency in mathematics, statistics, and computer usage before enrolling in the foundation courses. Such proficiencies include the following:

• Mathematics: equivalent to at least one semester of calculus;
• Statistics: equivalent to an introductory course in probability and statistics; and
• Computer usage: literacy as demonstrated by coursework or competency examination.

The program director has the discretion to determine if and how such proficiencies may be demonstrated.

Moving from Foundation to Required Courses

Students who have met the above prerequisites can be admitted as Pre-ULD Masters students and enroll in the foundation courses.  To advance from the foundation to the required courses students must 1) earn a B- or better in all foundation courses and 2) maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better in such courses.  Students in the last semester of the foundation courses must file an Application for Classification with the Graduate Programs Office in the College of Social Sciences.  The student’s academic status will be reviewed to assure that he or she meets the necessary criteria to be accepted as a classified graduate student.  At the discretion of the ULD program director, a student may enroll in required or elective courses while concurrently completing the last of the foundation courses.

Advancement to Candidacy

Before enrolling in a 500 level course a student must advance to candidacy.  Initiation of advancement is the responsibility of the student.  The application for Advancement to Candidacy must be filed no more than four weeks before the opening of the final semester of the program.  To be eligible to advance a student must be making satisfactory progress and have completed at least 12 units in the program beyond the foundation courses.  Satisfactory progress is defined in part as earning an overall GPA of 3.0, with no grade in a foundation or required course below a "B-".  Students with a GPA deficiency cannot advance to candidacy.  Students must also satisfy the Writing Placement for Graduate Students (WPG) or take a Graduate Writing Intensive (GWI) course in their discipline within the first two semesters of coursework at California State University, Sacramento or secured approval for a WPG waiver.

Requirements - Master of Science Degree

Total units required for MS: 36

Courses in parentheses are prerequisites.

A. Foundation Courses (up to 15 units)

(3)	ECON 204*	Business Economics
(2)	MBA 206*	Managerial Statistics Analysis
(2)	MBA 207*	Finance (ECON 204, MBA 201, MBA 206)
(3)	RELU 140*	Real Estate Development (Junior status or instructor permission)

*Equivalent courses may be substituted with approval of the program director.

B. Program Requirements (21 units)

(3)	MBA 232	Seminar in Negotiation and other Dispute Resolution Methods OR
	PPA 270	Introduction to Collaborative Policy Making (PPA 200 and PPA 210, or approval of instructor)
(3)	MBA 251	Real Estate Finance and Investment
(3)	MBA 253	Seminar in Real Estate Development (MBA 251, PPA 250, advanced to candidacy, and instructor permission)
(3)	PPA 207	Quantitative Methods in Public Policy and Administration (ECON 1B, STAT 1, PPA 205 or instructor permission)
(3)	PPA 220A	Applied Economic Analysis I (ECON 1B or instructor permission)
(3)	PPA 250	California Land Use Policy
(3)	PPA/ECON 251	Urban Problems, Economics, and Public Policy (PPA 220A or ECON 100B; Corequisite: ECON 251) OR
	PPA 252	Sustainable Development and Building Practices

C. Elective Courses (12 units)

(12) Select four of the following:

	CE 261	Transportation Planning (CE 148 or instructor permission)
	ECON 241	Applied Econometric Analysis (ECON 141, ECON 200M)
	ENVS 122	Environmental Impact Analysis: CEQA and NEPA
	ENVS/GOVT 128	Environment and the Law (ENVS 110, ENVS 111 or instructor permission)
	GEOG 109	Geographic Information Systems
	MBA 220	Financial Management
	MBA 221	Financial Markets (MBA 220 or instructor permission)
	MBA 231	Personnel Management
	MBA 252	Mortgage Markets: Institutions, Securities, and Strategies
	MBA 295E	Internship in Urban Land Development (Classified graduate status; completion of graduate foundation courses plus 6 units of the second year requirement, minimum Sacramento State GPA of 3.0 required)
	PPA 205	Research in Public Policy and Administration
	PPA 220B	Applied Economic Analysis II (PPA 220A)
	PPA/ECON 251	Urban Problems, Economics and Public Policy (PPA 220A or ECON 100B; Corequisite: ECON 251; only one of these courses may be counted for credit)
	PPA 252	Sustainable Development and Building Practices
	PPA 271	Practice of Collaborative Policy Making (PPA 200 or instructor permission)
	PPA 272	Collaborative Governance Advanced Practice (PPA 270 and PPA 271 with grades of B- or better in each, or instructor permission)
	PPA/GOVT 284	Urban Policy
	SOC 210	Urban Sociology (Classified graduate status)

Other courses approved by the program coordinator may be used to meet the elective course requirements. However, a maximum of six (6) units of upper division undergraduate coursework may be used to meet the elective course requirements.

D. Culminating Experience (3 units)

(3)	MBA 500A/B	Thesis/Project (Advanced to candidacy; completion of MBA 244) OR
(3)	PPA 500	Culminating Experience (Advanced to candidacy and permission of the graduate coordinator)

Notes: Complete descriptions of the following courses can be found for the appropriate department within this catalog.

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