Student Profiles
Read about the kinds of students who pursue a career in planning—their motivations and experiences inspire the generation that will follow in their footsteps.
Interdisciplinary Lessons in the Real World
Justin Wrede Bucher
The University of Georgia
While I am still an enthusiast of all things geospatial, I am now more inspired to create positive change in communities and environments.
Sustainable Farming and Food Security Through the Lens of Indigenous Knowledge
Reyhanillo Andi Kasim
University of Hawaii at Manoa
A Community Worth Fighting For
Kylie Wyatt
University of Kansas
As a planner, I will be able to use everything I’ve learned at KU to change policy, engage with communities, and work on interdisciplinary teams to create a future that we can be proud of.
Bridging Public Health and the Built Environment With Transit-Oriented Growth
Luke Ranker
University of Michigan
Skilled Planners Needed for Sustainable Food Systems
Rial Carver
Kansas State University
I started to realize that the part of the job I enjoyed most were the tasks that required strategic visioning and big picture thinking. I knew from my undergraduate degree that urban planning could offer training in that kind of thinking, so I started to consider urban planning graduate programs.
A Language of Design and Data
Anna Stokes
Columbia University
Coming from a public policy background, I realized throughout my professional experience as an urban planner how important it is to visually communicate and develop ideas.
Improving Housing in the Global South
Meryem Belkadi
University of Cincinnati
My master’s thesis research assesses the housing delivery system, through the analysis of the financial tools aimed at slum dwellers, in the context of slum clearance programs in Morocco.
Healthier Housing and Stronger Communities
Alex Halloway
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Similar to my time growing up, I get a lot of joy from the fact that I get to study in a region with diverse communities. In North Carolina there are, among other things, mountainous communities and coastal communities, growing communities, and shrinking communities.
Changing a Career Path Toward a More Holistic Approach
Nicole Marrocco
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
To be more effective, I felt that I needed additional technical skills and a solid foundation in community development, real estate, and land use.
Empowering Underserved Communities
Hugo Agosto
Portland State University
Affordable housing is my passion! Housing is a fundamental right, and everyone is entitled to a quality and safe space.
Resilience for an Era of Climate Change
Mary Nicol
University of Illinois at Chicago
I was selected as a fellow, which has provided me with several unique opportunities, including helping to write the city’s Resilience Strategy and supporting the work of the Mayor’s Mobility Task Force as they create a set of mobility recommendations for the next mayor.
A Master's Degree on the Way to a PhD and a Career in Academia
Camden Miller
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
The field of urban planning is unlike any other discipline in that it impacts every single person, every single day.
A Place for Entrepreneurialism
Amanda Sapala
Florida State University
You might be surprised to hear, like I was, that other people will talk about how their city, and its design, has impacted them in personal and emotional ways.
Top Schools
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
