The Master of City Planning (MCP) at Boston University's Metropolitan College helps address these questions and, more importantly, prepares students for a wide variety of professional roles in planning for urban and regional development. City planners specialize in an array of complex sub-topics that include: land-use regulation; community and local economic development; infrastructure planning and budgeting; transportation planning; sustainable development; and urban design. The planning field is intensely political, dealing with core issues of resource distribution and the co-habitation of diverse communities. In this context, city planners are also called upon to be savvy mediators or advocates for an array of social, economic, and cultural issues. In addition, an acute sense of the public policy process is a hallmark trait of most city planners. The professional city planner frequently functions as a member of a multidisciplinary team and may be involved in such tasks as the analysis of policy alternatives, formulation of public investment programs, forecasting and monitoring urban and regional systems performance, development of joint programs among various public and private sector institutions, and plan design and implementation. The Metropolitan College MCP emphasizes a theoretical and methodological core common to the numerous roles and specializations within the urban and regional planning field, as well as coursework specialized for several career options. The core of required courses provides training in analytical and evaluative skills, application of those skills to urban and regional public policy problems, and preparation of proposals for action. The program accommodates students on both a part- and a full-time basis. The 64 credits required for the degree may be earned within two years of full-time study and must be earned within a maximum of seven years. Students are encouraged to participate in selected fieldwork internships for course credit. Students who complete the master's degree in City Planning will be able to demonstrate: Mastery of knowledge in the history and theory of urban and regional development, the structure and functions of cities and urban systems, local and national policy making processes, and the role of planning. Proficiency in quantitative and qualitative research skills and their application to theory-building, data-gathering and analysis, and policy making processes. Mastery of communication and mediation skills for public (community) and policy settings. Awareness of the political, social, and ethical issues inherent in policy work and the planning practice, as related to minority or disadvantaged urban communities.