College: College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Letters and Science
Designation: Department
Major: Urban and Regional Planning
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.
Other: Ph.D. Minor
Faculty: Professors LaGro (chair), Chenoweth, Huddleston, Jacobs, Marcouiller, Ohm; Assistant Professors Genskow, Gocmen, Morales, Paulsen
The department's primary degree is the master of science (M.S.) in urban and regional planning (URPL). This program normally requires two academic years of full-time work plus a summer internship. In addition to the M.S. program, the department offers a variety of special master's degree programs, as well as a Ph.D. program. Some double-degree master's programs are offered, and provisions have been made, in all of the department's basic programs, to serve the specific needs of students from developing countries.
The M.S. program equips students with sufficient understanding of and training in the principal tools, methods, and techniques of planning to enable them to perform effectively as junior members of planning staffs from the start of their careers; in addition, UW-Madison's program in planning emphasizes concepts, perspectives, and practices that promise to be useful not only upon graduation, but even more so in later years for graduates who reach positions of major influence and responsibility.
Although the department stresses the development of general skills and mental attitudes that are common to all planning endeavors, areas of concentration allow students to focus about one-third of their academic work in one substantive area of concentration and to interact closely with others in this particular area of planning. The department's five areas of concentration are community development planning, economic planning, natural resources and environmental planning, land use planning, and international development planning.
The department seeks students with high academic qualifications and the potential to become qualified professional planners. The department is especially interested in women and minority applicants. Since there are relatively few undergraduate planning programs in the country, students come into the field from a wide range of disciplines. In recent years, planning students have generally come from the social sciences, with geography, economics, political science, and sociology the most common undergraduate backgrounds. The range, however, runs from the arts to the sciences.
It is possible for students to pursue two master's degrees simultaneously. No more than one-fourth of the credits being offered in the requirements of one degree can be used for the requirements of any other master's degree. Special arrangements have been developed for double degrees in the following areas: public affairs, water resources management, geography, and landscape architecture. Interested students should consult with faculty in these program areas, as well as with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
This curriculum is tailored to educate students for energy-related professional work with governments, utilities, consulting firms, and other organizations. A certificate is issued to those students who complete the curriculum. Details on this program may be obtained by writing to the department or to the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
The Ph.D. is open to a limited number of quality students who intend to teach, or do research in a university, in an independent research agency, or in large planning organizations.
Generally, students spend two years of full-time course work before being advanced to candidacy, and an additional one to two years in preparation and defense of a dissertation. Details on administrative requirements for the degree are available in the department's Policies on the Ph.D. Program in Urban and Regional Planning, available on the URPL Web site or by request.
Applicants should indicate their interest in applying for financial aid when submitting an online application. Students interested in the University Fellowship are strongly encouraged to review the information at the Graduate School's Funding pages, info.gradsch.wisc.edu/education/funding/univfellowships.html . University Fellowships are open only to domestic students. Applicants interested in these fellowships should have their completed applications submitted to the department by December 1. URPL currently does not have any department fellowships. Assistantships are the only available department-based aid and are very competitive. Madison's setting as a major government and education center provides many opportunities for students interested in planning or related part-time employment. Students will find the normal part-time employment opportunities available in a typical mid-sized metropolitan center.
All applicants are required to have an introductory-level course in statistics. This requirement may be met by taking an introductory course, for no graduate credit, during the student's first semester of study.
Applicants for the experienced individual program (EIP) M.S. degree program are considered in the normal admission process. If applying for this program, applicants should indicate it in the statement of purpose and provide information about relevant work experience. Students may also be admitted into this program during the first semester in the department. Work experience must come before admission into the EIP program.
Students interested in being admitted into the energy analysis and policy certificate program should have at least one college level course in biology or chemistry, calculus, computer programming (a short course is sufficient), economics, physics, and politics and government or American history. A core of 15 credits of basic planning courses is normally required in the two-year M.S. program.
Besides the general requirements for admission to the M.S. program, there are two additional requirements unique to the Ph.D. program. First, applicants to the Ph.D. program are expected to have a master's degree in planning or a related field. Second, because planning is a practice-oriented field, applicants are expected to have completed at least one year of full-time experience as a professional planner. The Ph.D. program is flexible and is intended to appeal to individuals from diverse academic backgrounds. Therefore, it is possible to be admitted without having met the professional practice requirements. Deficiencies may be made up once a student is in the program.
A student must have an URPL academic sponsor in order to be admitted into the Ph.D. program. Before final admission decisions are made, student files are circulated among the faculty. Only when a faculty member agrees to serve as an academic sponsor for an admissible candidate is a final admission decision made. The sponsor is the student's academic advisor, and it is expected that the sponsor will become the chair of the student's Ph.D. committee.
In reviewing applications, the department gives extra weight to planning-related work, such as Peace Corps or professional planning experience. The department also considers graduate course work, even if it is in another field. If students have such experience, it should be stressed in the application.
The success of international students enrolled in the program depends heavily on a good working knowledge of English. Prospective applicants who do not feel comfortable using the English language are strongly urged to consider further language study before applying for admission.
Application for admission to the department consists of the following materials: the online application, official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work, statement of purpose (applicants should submit a thoughtful, reflective one- or two-page statement discussing reasons for going into planning; applicants with an interest in a particular concentration should discuss this; applicants with planning or planning-related experience should include this), and three references from people familiar with the applicant's academic and/or professional work. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for M.S. admission and strongly recommended for Ph.D. admission.
For more information: Alice Justice, Admissions, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Old Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706; 608/265-0509; ajustice@wisc.edu; www.wisc.edu/urpl.