The Master of Community and Regional Planning / Juris Doctor dual degree program is offered in collaboration with the College of Law at UNL. This program enables completion of both the MCRP degree and the Juris Doctor degree within a four-year duration of full time study.
Professionals in the fields of law and planning are commonly called upon to assist in the definition and resolution of complex issues relating to change and the future growth of communities and regions. Persons educated both in the law and in planning have a unique combination of problem solving skills that equip them to advise decision makers with justifiable and legally defensible decisions to bring about desirable change to improve the quality of life.
The intent of this joint degree program is to prepare students for a variety of professional roles in which the knowledge, skills, and training of both the planner and lawyer are synthesized and applied. These roles include, but are not limited to, professional work in the following areas:
- land use planning and growth management
- zoning administration
- city planning and management
- land development
- human services planning, programming, and management
- advocacy planning
- environmental planning and management
- mediation and conflict resolution
Persons completing this joint degree program will have the opportunity to attain professional status in either or both of the planning and legal professions. Planner/lawyers find challenging professional positions in a wide variety of private sector and non-profit organizations, in all levels of government, as well as in international settings.
Application Procedures
New Students
Applicants to the JD/MCRP Joint Degree Program must complete the application requirements for both the JD and MCRP degree programs as though they were applying separately to each program, and must be admitted to both degree programs in order to be considered as being admitted to the joint program.
College of Law or MCRP Students
A first-year student in either the JD or MCRP degree program may declare interest in the joint degree program and submit an application to the other degree program, but no later than the first year of enrollment in either of the separate degree programs. No student may enter the joint degree program after having completed more than two full semesters in either the JD or the MCRP degree program.
At least one full academic year (consecutive fall and spring semesters) in the joint degree program must be devoted exclusively to the standard first-year curriculum in the JD degree program, and this year of course work must precede any other law courses. No credit toward the requirements for the JD degree will be recognized for any law courses taken prior to admission to the College of Law.