This thread is of particular interest to me. I am very fond of Northeastern's School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs, which is headed by Barry Bluestone, a very well respected academic. And I also struggled with the same issues/concerns outlined here.
As a young professional interested in local government I am very sensitive to employers preferring/seeking someone with the "AICP designation", which is their way of screening out/down applicants. Dharmster's comments sums up some of the issues and Tarf's comments put a lighthearted spin on the matter....
8hesaid - my suggestion is to really research what it is you want or are looking for in a degree. Do you want a planning degree or a blended degree that has planning elements to it, but also has regional and urban economic policy dispersed within it. There are settle nuances to it, such as the differences between obtaining an "MA" Master of Arts and an "MSc." Master of Science..... In academia the difference in an MA and an MSc are large, but to the general population it may not matter. I respectfully, suggest you do your research on what it is you want, because if you are looking for solely an "urban planning" degree then NEU's MSc in Urban & Regional Policy may not be for you, but if you are more like me and interested more in Economic Development, this degree may be more appropriate. Are there elements of economic development in a planning degree, of course and that may satisfy your goals, but should you be interested in more of a science based approach to solving urban development problems -- using economic development theories, then maybe NEU's MURP degree is better.
By way of background, I am an alum of Northeastern's MPA program and have been accepted into "Urban Planning" degree programs at Tufts & Cornell (PAB accredited) and the London School of Economics "LSE" (PAB non-accredited)..... And to Northeastern's MSc URP (PAB non-accredited). I took all of the articulated issues into consideration, but I also looked at a couple of other issues.
-- How does the university support the school and what are their resources
-- What type of practical experience beyond classroom knowledge will I gain; because employers don't want to train people... you need to hit the ground running.
I ultimately decided to pursue my MSc in Urban & Regional Policy at Northeastern, because of the two additional factors, which I just mentioned.... I have 3 or 4 friends who graduated from Harvard/Tufts "Urban Planning Degree Programs" (PAB accredited) who have not been able to find an urban planning job.... The market is really tough they have graduate degrees and they work as interns in planning offices in suburban communities outside of Boston in an effort to build a portfolio of experience.
I found that the Public Policy & Urban Affairs (PPUA) School understands this and works hard to give you the practical skills & techniques to be marketable beyond also learning the proper theory within the classroom. I have found -- that -- they taught me, how to think, frame and approach an urban problem within the classroom, and then they gave me the skills/techniques (and confidence) to back it up..... Most of my friends are looking to work for (Large, Medium and Small) Redevelopment Authorities. At the end of the day, I knew my personality would not fit in well with strict "Urban Planners" -- I lack the basic personality requirements, which would ironically also make me a poor academic/professor. I'm very fast paced and have little patience for slowly moving through "the process" of which good "urban planners" can do -- I'm working on it. At any rate, I'm willing to forgo the AICP designation by a year or two, because I'll be happier.
*As an aside, the MPA and MURP degree program(s) are two distinct programs. There is overlap to be expected, but “public administration” is different.
