Does anyone know of any area colleges with good Masters programs in Urban Planning?

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Lrfox

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I have taken My LSATs and I've applied to area law schools, but I don't feel as passionatly about pursuing my J.D. as I had in previous years. I've found that I've taken a much keener interest in Urban Development (not just Boston) since taking a few geography electives in the past four years. If I don't get into my first choice law school, then I will probably consider trying to get a masters in urban planning but it seems only a few schools have related majors in this area (Including MIT; which I doubt i can get into). Does anyone have suggestions? I'll have a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine if that makes any difference.
 
BU Metropolitan College has a Master of Urban Planning program.

I'm in the undergrad Urban Affairs program.

All the 500 level courses are open to undergrad and grad students so I've taken a few grad courses.

It's not bad. Some of the professors are OK. Some are less than OK.

The point, as it seems to me, is to meet people who are already working in the field.

The courses haven't been particularly challenging, just time consuming and most professors are 'kind' graders.

But, most importantly, if you are friendly and outgoing you'll make a lot of good contacts there.
 
Your goals are not necessarily mutually exclusive, Lrfox. Quite a few schools have joint JD/Masters in Urban Planning programs - I know Harvard does, for example. There might even be programs linking two schools - look for law schools with cross-registration privileges at MIT, for example. The JD can probably get you ahead in the field, too, since having solid knowledge of property and zoning laws is probably as essential to that field as pure design.

And, PS, I know how you feel. The creative environment over at the Design School has always raised a little thrill in me that I don't quite get studying law.
 
Lrfox said:
I've found that I've taken a much keener interest in Urban Development (not just Boston) since taking a few geography electives in the past four years ... I will probably consider trying to get a masters in urban planning
Click to expand...
Don't let them knock the true things you already know about cities out of your head. If you encounter teaching that doesn't seem true, trust your judgment and experience. You'll find more true and useful stuff on this forum than you will in most planning schools, which are still mired in 20th Century ideology.
 
^^ How would one properly phrase that on a resume?

Education:
- High School
- College
- Spent a lot of time on ArchBoston.com/forums

Would that work?

It probably should, but would it?
 
Thanks for the responses.

Statler, you seem sort of indifferent on the Metropolitan College's program. Is it something you would recommend? I have no problem with networking and meeting people; in fact, no matter which way I go, I feel (as I'm sure do most people) that networking contacts is vital in order to succeed in either field (law or urban planning).

Bostonian, I read about the Muskie School on the USM website. It seems to fit the mold, my only beef would be that I desperately want out of Portland. I've been here for four years and it's quirks and cuteness have really lost their luster and I feel trapped in a small town. I'll have to look into it more (since I'm at USM every day this should be no problem); obviously if it were the best route, then I would stick it out here for a few more years, but I'd prefer going elsewhere.

CZSZ, I didn't know that there were combined programs (Again, I've only begun seriously considering other than law) including both. I'll have to check into that more because that may be the smart way to go as the legal background could only help. Are you studying law only or are you involved in a joint programs?

ablarc, Have no fear, It's obvious that the members of this site have a deeper understanding of urban planning than anything I'll likely find in a classroom. In fact, urban planning of different sorts has been a hobby of mine from a very young age. I started playing the Sim City games at age 9 (even though I didn't understand them at the time) and I still do. I used to love road trips because we passed through all sorts of towns and cities and I was always fascinated by the towers, the homes, the layouts, etc. The problem is that I had always considered it a hobby and mentally separated it from potential career paths. But after years of monitoring this website and occasionally posting, it dawned on me that this is something I could do and would enjoy doing professionally.

Of course I would go into class with an open mind, but I'm well aware that the people on this website are progressive thinkers and after four years of school, it's painfully obvious that progressive thinking is not the educational standard (in most instances). I don't mind sitting through the B.S. to get the degree as long as I have the knowledge that truth does exist elsewhere. It's just that I can't do anything without that little piece of paper, so I'll suffer through the crap to get it.

Thanks again for all the responses... I'll keep this thread updated as I learn more and make some decisions.
 
Statler, you seem sort of indifferent on the Metropolitan College's program. Is it something you would recommend? I have no problem with networking and meeting people; in fact, no matter which way I go, I feel (as I'm sure do most people) that networking contacts is vital in order to succeed in either field (law or urban planning).
Click to expand...

Depends on what you want, I suppose.
If you are looking for an 'in' into the field and make some contacts, it's probably a great program. There are a lot of people taking classes that are already in the field working their way up. I've shared classes with people who work in architecture firms, developers offices, city, town and state planning offices and lots and lots of non-profit community organizations.
If you are looking to get a solid understanding of urban design and planning ins & outs, you may want to look elsewhere.
The program is in a bit of a transition right now and from what I can tell they haven't figured out if they want it to be an academic, theory-based program or a hands-on, real world type program.
I went into it looking for some sort of direction and never really found it, but that may be more my fault than theirs.
I did have a lot of interesting classes and a few painful ones. But, to be honest, with only two classes left I don't feel any more prepared to enter the urban planning work force now than when I started.

Your mileage may vary.
 
I'm not dismissing your desire to leave Portland, but just for the sake of having all the information you should know that the Muskie School offers a joint Law/Planning degree with Maine Law (4 years) and you can take a couple Muskie classes before enrolling.

Lrfox said:
Thanks for the responses.

Statler, you seem sort of indifferent on the Metropolitan College's program. Is it something you would recommend? I have no problem with networking and meeting people; in fact, no matter which way I go, I feel (as I'm sure do most people) that networking contacts is vital in order to succeed in either field (law or urban planning).

Bostonian, I read about the Muskie School on the USM website. It seems to fit the mold, my only beef would be that I desperately want out of Portland. I've been here for four years and it's quirks and cuteness have really lost their luster and I feel trapped in a small town. I'll have to look into it more (since I'm at USM every day this should be no problem); obviously if it were the best route, then I would stick it out here for a few more years, but I'd prefer going elsewhere.

CZSZ, I didn't know that there were combined programs (Again, I've only begun seriously considering other than law) including both. I'll have to check into that more because that may be the smart way to go as the legal background could only help. Are you studying law only or are you involved in a joint programs?

ablarc, Have no fear, It's obvious that the members of this site have a deeper understanding of urban planning than anything I'll likely find in a classroom. In fact, urban planning of different sorts has been a hobby of mine from a very young age. I started playing the Sim City games at age 9 (even though I didn't understand them at the time) and I still do. I used to love road trips because we passed through all sorts of towns and cities and I was always fascinated by the towers, the homes, the layouts, etc. The problem is that I had always considered it a hobby and mentally separated it from potential career paths. But after years of monitoring this website and occasionally posting, it dawned on me that this is something I could do and would enjoy doing professionally.

Of course I would go into class with an open mind, but I'm well aware that the people on this website are progressive thinkers and after four years of school, it's painfully obvious that progressive thinking is not the educational standard (in most instances). I don't mind sitting through the B.S. to get the degree as long as I have the knowledge that truth does exist elsewhere. It's just that I can't do anything without that little piece of paper, so I'll suffer through the crap to get it.

Thanks again for all the responses... I'll keep this thread updated as I learn more and make some decisions.
Click to expand...
 
CZSZ, I didn't know that there were combined programs (Again, I've only begun seriously considering other than law) including both. I'll have to check into that more because that may be the smart way to go as the legal background could only help. Are you studying law only or are you involved in a joint programs?
Click to expand...

I'm only a law student, but I've looked into this path. Harvard's is the only formal JD/MUP program in the Boston area, but it looks like it would be easy to put together a similar program independently while studying law at either BU or Northeastern. Northeastern in particular is known for public interest law and has a JD/PhD program in "law, policy, and society" that seems to produce a bunch of urban planners.
 
Bostonian, Thanks for the info. I'm going to try and get some information after classes tomorrow. Again, it would take a near perfect fit to keep me in the area, but I wouldn't disregard a good opportunity just because I'm not particularly fond of the location.

CZSZ, The joint program seems like the best fit right now. My school has break next week (Feb. and March, what's up with that?) so I'm probably going to try to set up appointments to meet with someone at BU and Northeastern (I've already applied to both Law Schools) for sometime in the next week.
 
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