2019-20 Catalogs
Accelerated Graduate Pathway to Policy, Planning, and Management (MPPM)
For highly motivated undergraduate students who are already looking ahead to graduate school, USM offers an Accelerated Graduate Pathway to the MPPM program that allows you to begin graduate study while completing your bachelor's degree, saving you time and money -- which means you'll be ready for a career that much sooner, with your bachelor's and master’s degrees in hand.
In order to gain full admission into the MPPM, a student must meet the following admission standards:
- Choose a major in Geography-Anthropology, Environmental Planning and Policy, Economics, or Political Science (Political Science track only).
- Earn at least a B for all courses in these majors, as well as in any 500-level graduate courses taken while an undergraduate.
- Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 at time of matriculation into graduate program.
- Complete the following courses with grades of B or better: a course in Statistics that meets USM’s Quantitative Reasoning Core Requirement, a course in Microeconomics (or a course equivalent to ECO 102 or higher).
Anywhere from 3 to 18 credits of 500-level MPPM courses can be taken at the undergraduate level. Students may begin taking coursework in the PPM program in the summer after completion of the junior year.
How to Apply:
- On the Common App, select your preferred choice of major; then you will see the following option: “Please indicate your interest in one of the following accelerated pathway options at the University of Southern Maine” from which you can select a Pathway.
- In the University of Maine System application, select your First Choice Major; then you will see the following drop-down menu: Accelerated Graduate Degree Pathway (First Choice Major), from which you can select a Pathway.
- If you are a Transfer or Continuing Student, please contact the University of Southern Maine Advising Office to meet with an academic advisor who can review your previous coursework and determine your eligibility for entering an Accelerated Graduate Pathway. Please call (207) 780-4040 or email usm.advising@maine.edu.
Course Requirements for the Accelerated Graduate Pathway - Economics to MPPM
Matriculated Economics to MPPM students with at least 84 undergraduate credits may take six of the following seven courses prior to completing their undergraduate degree:
PPM 512 Sustainable Communities
PPM 510 Governance, Democracy, and Policy-making
ECO 523 US Labor and Employment Relations
ESP 526 Environmental Economics
ESP 527 Natural Resource Economics
GEO 502 Gender, Work and Space
GEO 503 Economic Geography
Course Requirements for the Accelerated Graduate Pathway - Environmental Planning and Policy to MPPM
Matriculated students in the Environmental Planning and Policy program who have completed at least 84 undergraduate credits will be eligible to enroll in the following courses at the graduate level:
Group A: Environmental Science and Policy Courses
ESP 326/526 Environmental Economics
ESP 327/527 Natural Resource Economics
ESP 340/540 Environmental Regulations
ESP 417/517 Site Planning and Assessment
ESP 421/521 Natural Resource Policy
ESP 470/570 Solid Waste Planning and Policy
Group B: Policy, Planning, and Management Courses
The following MPPM courses may be taken without prerequisite:
PPM 510 Governance, Democracy, and Policymaking
PPM 512 Sustainable Communities
PPM 515 Organizational Theory, Management, and Leadership
PPM 640 Public Financing and Budgeting
Graduate credit is granted upon satisfactory completion of the additional work as assigned by the course instructor and achieving a grade of B or higher.
The following MPPM courses may be taken with the indicated prerequisite:
PPM 601 Applied Data Analysis and Statistics
Prerequisite: MAT 120 Introduction to Statistics
PPM 611 Economics for Policy, Planning, and Management
Prerequisite: ECO 102 Introduction to Microeconomics
Requirements:
- Complete all requirements for the BA in Environmental Planning and Policy as detailed in the undergraduate catalog.
- Up to 18 credits from among the cross-listed and approved ESP-MPPM courses listed can be taken by the senior year. Students then enter the MPPM program with 18 credits of requirements remaining, allowing completion of the MPPM degree in one additional year of full time study.
Course Requirements for the Accelerated Graduate Pathway - Geography-Anthropology to MPPM
Students in their junior year in the Geography-Anthropology program who have completed at least 84 undergraduate credits will be eligible to enroll in the following courses at the graduate level:
Group A: Geography-Anthropology Courses
The following GYA courses will be available for graduate credit to GYA to MPPM students:
GEO 303/GEO 503 Economic Geography
GEO 320/ GEO 520 Conservation of Natural Resources
GEO 350/ GEO 550 Geography of International Development GEO 402/ GEO 502 Urban Geography
GEO 455/ GEO 555 Gender, Race and Class in the City GEO 305/GEO 505/GEO 605 Remote Sensing
GEO 308/GEO 508/CPD 608 GIS Applications 1 GEO 408/GEO 518/GEO 618 GIS Applications 2
GEO 481/GEO 581 Megacities and Global Planning Issues
ANT 315/ANT 515 Ethnographic Methods: Ethics and Practice
ANT 308/ANT 508 Environmental Archaeology
ANT 360/ANT 560 Public Archaeology
ANT 355/ANT 555 Public Interpretation in Anthropology
Group B: Policy, Planning, and Management Courses
The following MPPM courses may be taken without prerequisite:
PPM 501 Planning Theory
PPM 512 Sustainable Communities
PPM 507 Elements of Plan Making
PPM 508 Dispute Management
The following MPPM courses may be taken with the indicated prerequisite
PPM 550 State and Regional Economic Development
Prereq: GEO 203 Urban and Regional Development
PPM 601 Applied Data Analysis and Statistics
Prereq: MAT 120 Introduction to Statistics
Requirements:
- Complete all requirements for the BA in Geography-Anthropology as detailed in this catalog.
- All GYA to MPPM students will take PPM 612/PPM 512 during their senior year.
- Up to 18 credits from among the cross-listed and approved GYA-MPPM courses listed earlier can be taken by the senior year. Students then enter the MPPM program with 18 credits of requirements remaining (allowing completion of the MPPM degree in one additional year of full time study.)
Cross-listed courses may be curriculum requirements of the MPPM and GYA programs as follows:
Curriculum Requirements: BA in GYA
Courses in Group A (see below) may be used to meet the GYA requirements for Methods or Topical Electives within specified GYA tracks (provided they are taken from a minimum of two different professors) or other general electives within the major.
Course in Group B (see below) may be used to meet requirements for electives at the 300 level or above.
Curriculum Requirements: MPPM
The following courses in Group A count as electives in the MPPM Sustainable Development & Geospatial Technologies concentration
GEO 303/GEO 503 Economic Geography GEO 305/GEO 505 Remote Sensing
GEO 308/GEO 508 Geographic Information Systems 1
GEO 408/GEO 518 Geographic Information Systems 2
GEO 320/GEO520 Conservation of Natural Resources
GEO 402/GEO 502 Urban Geography
GEO 481/GEO 581 Megacities and Global Planning Issues
ANT 306/ANT 506 Public Archaeology
ANT 308/ANT 508 Environmental Archaeology
ANT 315/ANT 515 Ethnographic Methods
The following courses in Group A count as electives in the MPPM Public Policy concentration
GEO 302/502 Gender, Work and Space
GEO 455/GEO 555 Gender, Race and Class in the City
GEO 308/GEO 508 Geographic Information Systems I
GEO 408/GEO 518 Geographic Information Systems II
The field experience/internship elective for GYA may be used to meet the public service internship elective for MPPM provided the internship is taken during the Senior Year, meets the requirements for the MPPM public service internship experience and is approved by the MPPM chair (or designee) prior to beginning the internship.
Course Requirements for the Accelerated Graduate Pathway - Political Science (Political Science track) to MPPM
Requirements:
- Complete all requirements for the BA in Political Science (Political Science track) as detailed in the undergraduate catalog.
- Up to 18 credits from among the approved 500-level PPM courses listed can be taken during the senior year. Students then enter the MPPM program with as few as 18 credits of requirements remaining, which would allow completion of the MPPM degree in one additional year of full time study.
For students in the Accelerated Graduate Pathway from Political Science to MPPM, the following three courses count as Political Science upper level electives: PPM 510 Governance Democracy and Public Policymaking, PPM 515 Organizational Leadership, or PPM 534 Managing Cities, Towns, and Counties. Other PPM courses will count as university electives.
A student may take any other PPM 500 level course, such as the following:
512 Sustainable Communities
522 Intro to ARC/GIS
531 Measuring Performance in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
560 Crisis and Risk Management
550 State and Regional Economic Development
570 Argumentation and Advocacy