Double Education

Submitted by SMSPlanstu on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 12:39.

Last I saw there were 24 accredited undergraduate programs as compared to far more graduate programs. When researching graduate schools in planning I discovered a duplication of planning eduaction regarding urban history, statistics, land use, planning law, site planning, etc Out of the 12 schools I researched only one accommodated accredited undergards while other schools required non-measurable or defined standards. Thus is graduate school in planning worthwhile for undergrads from accredited programs or shall they seek related professions?

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Went to Graduate School

Submitted by SMSPlanstu on Sun, 09/21/2008 - 21:49.

Thanks for replying,

I sought the advice of existing planners and colleagues in the APA who recommended masters in planning. Some dismissed an accredited bachelors in planning as nothing, my stellar leadership or full participation in the APA at the local, state, and national levels meant nothing because I had an undergraduate degree. This ignores the quality level of education and training that an APA accredited program measures up to. The other problem is the economy in the midwest outside of Chicago is very limited.

This sad fact sends more of us smart, talented, and young people to the sunbelt. Call it the brain drain and a loss for even large midwest major metropolitan areas who need young workers with good minds to keep their economies going. Sorry St. Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and others whom we called home; may you succeed somehow without the educated and professionally skilled echo boomers that you raised into responsible, hardworking citizens.

If it takes a master's to get an internship outside of the sunbelt, then graduate school is the right place for giving people an edge over the large crowd of people with undergraduate degrees. I guess that is how this system works in America--the land of opportunity only for those of whom employers take a risk on and add to the labor force of professional planners. Everyone needs a first job to start their career.

Diatribe over.

Lesson: Take out the loans, lobby for scholarships, and go to graduate school unless you want to work for something only one step up from Wal-Mart.

It All Depends on Your Focus

Submitted by Alabama Planner on Sun, 09/14/2008 - 13:12.

I received my undergraduate degree in Planning and my Master Degree in Planning from the same University. I agree with the duplication of courses, but at my University the Graduate degree presented the information on a more in depth view of the information. They also required us to present our knowledge on a more in depth level.

I think that the benefit of going to same University as well as acquiring the advanced degree in my field was two fold. One I was familiar with the University and two I was familiar with the subject matter.

One thing we must remember about a Planning degree is that it is a functional degree versus other degrees such as Biology, Political Science, English, etc. Most of those degrees are what I refer to as gateway degrees. With the exception of becoming a researcher in the field of Biology or a Political Analyst; those degrees require that one pursues a higher level of education such as a Medical, Law, or Education degree.

I wanted to be a municipal type of planner (current/long range planner) versus an urban design planner, private sector planner, etc. so going into a program that focused on such was the right fit for me. It all depends on what you want to do. You must remember that your Master Degree becomes the icing on the cake. It makes your cake taste better and look better but if you don’t have it you still have a cake that taste pretty darn good.

~Now is the Time~

In my planning graduate

Submitted by Failing_Grad on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 16:22.

In my planning graduate program, there was not one person who had studied planning as an undergraduate. There was only one person in it who had gotten their undergraduate degree from the same institution. Honestly, I really liked having that diverse background my fellow students had, it provided a great perspective on many issues.

I graduated with a bachelors

Submitted by nrschmid on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 08:42.

I graduated with a bachelors in planning from an accredited undergrad program. One of the reasons I chose not to pursue an MUP was, like you said, an exact duplicate of what I learned in college. I have been working for 3 years in consulting, and will be switching over to the public sector after I take the AICP exam this fall. After that, I will go back to school to earn an MLA then do both planning and landscape architecture.

Personally, I was fed up with my planning program. The undergrad program was awful: I received no guidance from the faculty regarding work after college (they just assumed I would enroll in their graduate program). I earned about 6 internships throughout my last 2 years of college, which was good work to put in my portfolio and resume.

As a planner with just a bachelors, I really have to sell myself in order to move up the ladder. With three years under my belt, I am still competing with students fresh out of MUP programs who know squat. So, I have to set myself apart, whether that be a stellar portfolio, certifications, or involvement in my local APA chapter.

With the economy in the toilet, there is no better time to be in school. It is becomming harder and harder in most, but not all, geographic areas for college grads to find entry-level work in planning. If you really want to diversify, I would recommend earning your bachelors and masters in two different, but related fields (planning + landscape architecture, planning + architecture, planning + engineering, etc.). Your chances of landing work after school might be a little higher.

First post

Submitted by PHeller on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 00:13.

I'm a non-traditional, albeit younger student. I took a few years off to figure out if I wanted to go to college, and went back in swinging, and earned a "don't know what I want to do" Associates in Business. I then figured that I'd really enjoy the planning profession, and kept my eyes and ears open for possible internships and local colleges offering programs.

I recently completed a 6 month internship with a local municipality as the Planning and Zoning Assistant. It was more administrative than anything else, but it got my foot in the door.

I'm finishing up my Bachelors now, but I decided to stay close to home and get a broader Environmental Geography degree, with a Land Use Minor (or maybe a few others as well).

Will I continue for a Masters in Regional Planning? Maybe, but I think I might look into Landscape Architecture, maybe even into some more of the specialized business degrees like Logistical and Supply Chain Management. If I were better at Math I might consider Civil Engineering.

What I've learned in my internship and the months of researching the career of a Planner, is that it seems like everyone comes into the field with a slightly different background, and that just because you go for a specific planning degree doesn't guarantee you a spot.

This site is awesome by the way.