Environmental Psychology
Submitted by: ann_schweitzer
3 December 2007 - 10:38am
Hello. I am interested in pursuing a degree/concentration in Environmental Psychology as well as Urban Planning. Does anyone have any suggestions about where to do this, how the discipline is evolving, and its relationship to planning? It seems very relevant to me; however, it seems rather difficult to locate a many programs that specialize in this...
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UCI Scool of Social Ecology
Check out http://socialecology.uci.edu/psb/?q=psb.
The University of California at Irvine has a concentration in Ecological Pshycology in its Psycology and Social Behavior program. The school also has a well-developed program in Environmental Analysis and Design. It may be a possibility for you. I have known a few graduates of the various programs and they are pleased with their education from the School of Social Ecology.
Good luck-
EnvPsych
If you want to stay in the states, UM means you work with the Kaplans. UW means you work with Kathy Wolf and Marina Alberti (no conc at UW for EnvPsych). I suggest you contact some professors and ask a few questions before you get too much farther down that path.
Best,
D
EnvPsych
Could you by any chance elaborate on the "Kaplans" and the other individuals you mentioned? I'm new to this whole community so I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with names yet.
Thanks!
More EnvPsych.
Rachel and Steve Kaplan's work here (esp. 'attention restoration'). Kathy Wolf here. The Kaplans were the American pioneers in this field, esp this watershed book. Kathy Wolf's best-known recent work has been in commerce-greening relationships, although I attended a recent conference with her and she's delving deeper into greening-environment and behaviors.
If you want to get in the planning side of it, I'd recommend UW, as IMHO WA State is great to plan in and Seattle is fairly easy to find a job and great to get around as a student, plus the abundant, varied and verdant nature nearby. UW is also starting a Green Infrastructure institute with Nancy Rottle, who is one of those people who touches something and it is dynamite.
Best,
D
I was in the same boat
Hey,
I graduated undergrad in '04 and had very similar thoughts to you. I searched a lot for env. psych and didn't find much either. CUNY has a PhD program, University of Michigan has something, Westchester University has something, and a few others. Env. psych is much bigger in Europe, especially Britain, and many US practicioners of it seem to have gone over there. I was particularly looking for reputable universities in the US with it, and that's where there aren't too many options.
In the end I gave up on the env. psych direction, at least for now, and I am in my first semester of studies for a Master of City Planning at MIT. I'm extremely pleased and don't think I have made the wrong decision yet.
I find a cool US design firm whose 2 principals did env. psych degrees in Britain: http://www.migcom.com/.
Good luck and let me know if you need any more info.
Benji
Thanks for the
Thanks for the suggestions...I really appreciate it. So far, I've had the most luck talking to the folks at Cornell. I'm still researching my options, but thanks so much for the suggestions!
Update?
Hey Ann,
I'm in the same position, looking for graduate programs with a focus on environmental psychology and urban planning. Have you made any progress in your research? Who have you talked to? What programs have you found?
Thanks!
A