The department offers a multidisciplinary approach to planning education. Students are provided with an opportunity to develop an individualized but integrated course of study drawing on this department and other departments and professional schools in UH Manoa. Faculty and students engage in both funded and non-funded research and community service. The graduate curriculum focuses on theory, methodology, and practice in the following areas: community planning and social policy, environmental planning, urban and regional planning in Asia and the Pacific, and land use and infrastructure planning. Planning in the developing countries of Asia is emphasized.The UHM-MURP degree program is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.As the student progresses, more emphasis will be laid on his/her interests, in particular as they are to be expressed through a thesis (Plan A) or work in a focus (Plan B, Capstone). The focus may either fall within one area or bridge interest across two or more areas of interest. At this later stage a committee is formed for each student at his/her invitation. The committee, consisting of at least three faculty members, two of whom must be from the Urban and Regional Planning Department, carries the primary responsibility for assuring that subsequent coursework is appropriate for the student.Articulate processes leading to urbanization and rationales for planned interventions, Apply planning methods to organize, analyze, interpret and present information, Critically and creatively develop planning inquiries or processes to foster solutions-oriented decision-making, Effectively collaborate as a planning team to work with a client and/or stakeholders to assess and address a relevant planning problem to create a plan or professional report, Effectively present oral and written work (as a plan, professional report, or research paper) in a coherent, persuasive and professional manner, Reflect upon the ethical implications of the choices planners make as professionals.