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Admissions Criteria

The Admissions Committee is composed of CRP faculty members and representatives of the student body. All files are evaluated on the basis of:

The persuasiveness of the letter of intent, which should be a statement of professional goals, personal accomplishments, and academic motivation. The Admissions Committee looks for a letter that expresses commitment to planning practice and assesses your goals and philosophy in the context of the CRP program. The applicant should identify any special attributes that may add to the multicultural and affirmative action goals of the program and why you think our program can help you to accomplish your goals.

The strength of the three letters of recommendation. These should be letters from people who are aware of your academic and professional accomplishments. We are interested in your seriousness and capability as a student and as a future professional, so the committee carefully considers these letters in assessing your potential. The standard recommendation form is contained on the forms page of the UNM Office of Graduate Studies website, which can be accessed at the following link: HYPERLINK "http://www.unm.edu/~grad/" http://www.unm.edu/~grad/. This form is what an applicant partially fills out and then provides to each writer of a letter of recommendation. Each writer then will need to mail the form with a letter attached directly to the CRP Program.

The demonstrated capacity to perform high quality graduate study, based upon academic transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate courses taken by the applicant. A minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0 is required for the last two years of an applicant’s undergraduate study. The transcript is reviewed for coursework that demonstrates preparation for a professional degree in planning, such as social and life sciences, statistics, economics, and ethnic, gender and area studies.

The relevance of the applicant’s experience and background, most commonly based upon a clear curriculum vita. A personal vita helps the Admissions Committee to understand your career path, especially your experience in some aspect of community-based or regional planning through employed or volunteer job experience, publications, community service, and other outstanding achievements.

The fit with the CRP program in terms of our community-based planning philosophy and focus, the natural resources, community development, and physical planning concentrations, and our concern with issues of equity and social justice.

Recent and potential personal growth, a more subjective criterion that is based on our desire to admit students who are committed and motivated, who have already begun their intellectual development, and who have real potential to continue that development in our program and as planning professionals.

Admissions Decisions

The Admissions Committee reviews, discusses, and ranks all applications, identifying the degree to which each meets the criteria and satisfies the academic prerequisites. Applicants then are notified whether they are 1) admitted; 2) conditionally admitted pending receipt of formal contents of the application; 3) placed on the waiting list for admission should a space open up; or 4) not admitted. Those who do not gain admission are encouraged to contact the CRP Director for an explanation and to assess the feasibility of a successful reapplication.

Graduate

• Criteria


• Application Process


• UNM Office of Graduate Studies

Undergraduate