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Thesis and Dissertation

  • Infographic with three columns: program design, reality, and distribution

    Public housing, Private priorities: The invisible dynamics in low-income housing allocation in urban Peru, the case of CSP-Techo Propio: Fiorella Belli Ferro & Mora Orensanz

  • Image of a water storage container, the top of the water is covered an algae and one can view the entire surface because of a fish eye lens

    Disordering Capital: The Politics of Business in the Business of Water Provision. Isadora Araujo Cruxên

  • Image of city block in San Francisco with a rainbow flag centered in the photograph.

    Bridging the Divide Between Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Gentrification Research Through the Introduction of a Novel Mixed-method in Four U.S. Gayborhoods. Amelia Seabold

  • Image of the cityscape of Los Angeles

    Walking to Transit: Using Big Data to Analyze Bus and Train Ridership in Los Angeles. kloe ng

Doctoral Dissertation

In addition to the traditional monograph (i.e. a book-length manuscript), doctoral students may opt for a three-paper dissertation. 

The three-paper option is based on three related publishable papers and is designed to be used in situations where the thesis material is better suited to three papers on the same general topic rather than turning the dissertation into a book. A dissertation cannot be comprised of essays on three totally separate topics.

The embedded table below shows recent DUSP doctoral dissertation research. For access to PDF copies, please visit MIT Library's Dspace.

MCP/SM Thesis

The fourth semester as an MCP student is devoted to completing a thesis and rounding out course work leading to graduation. A thesis in the MCP program may take one of several forms: an independent scholarly research project guided by an advisor and readers; a directed thesis contributing to a larger research effort directed by a faculty member; or a professionally oriented thesis developed in the context of a studio or practicum course. In all cases the thesis must be a piece of original, creative work conceived and developed by the student.

The SM is a non-professional degree intended for professionals with a number of years of distinguished practice in city planning or related fields who: have a clear idea of the courses they want to take at MIT, the thesis they want to write and the DUSP faculty member with whom they wish to work.

The embedded table below shows recent DUSP MCP and SM thesis research. For access to PDF copies, please visit MIT Library's Dspace.

SB Thesis

Undergraduate students in course 11 and course 11-6 are required to write a senior thesis or complete a senior project. The thesis/project writing process is accompanied by a required undergraduate thesis preparation seminar. 

The embedded table below shows recent DUSP SB thesis research. For access to PDF copies, please visit MIT Library's Dspace.