How well will a Bachelors of Economics work when applying to grad school for a Masters of Urban Planning or similar program? What do Grad schools even look for in this field?
How well will a Bachelors of Economics work when applying to grad school for a Masters of Urban Planning or similar program? What do Grad schools even look for in this field?
It'll be a good fit. My MUP program at Michigan had a wide diversity of undergraduate degrees - Math, Econ, CE, History (me), English, Environmental Sci, Social Work, etc.
If you have even decent grad (B or better) you shouldn't have much problem at all. Well, unless you want a very competitive program like at MIT or NYU, or some such.
I'm sorry. Is my bias showing?
A good fit that will help you with methods and economic concentrations, not to mention budgeting after you get that big job out of grad schoolIt will also be a fantastic advantage if working with TIF's, LID's and other taxing issues at work
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
Econ is a great background for a master's in planning. So much of what planning encompasses is driven by the economy or subject to its constraints and pressures. I did my undergrad with 2 years as an econ major and 2 years as a political science major and I struggle much less than some of my fellow students in the economics and statistics courses.
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" Jeremiah 22:16
Please, when I went to grad school I had English majors, History Majors, and even a French Major in my classes. It really sort of cheapened the fact that I took a path in Geography and Urban Studies to get into grad school and they accepted students who had no prior background in Planning. I don't know any other major that would take you if you didn't come from that background. Can you imagine applying for a Masters in Physics... you have a Criminal Justice undergrad??? .... thank you for applying.
Long story short, you will probably be in a better position than half of the people applying.
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Well...that's a rather hard opinion to have. Maybe the English majors were much better then you at writing plans, etc. The French major probably could help interpret planning activity happenning in french speaking places. Perphaps you should look at it as having the advantage, instead of thinking they were not wrothy (to paraphrase).Originally posted by Tide
Maybe your personal experience was different and unique, but I enjoyed the wide variety of educations and perspectives in my MUP program. Masters of Planning are most often a professional program that doesn't require previous education in the subject, much like Law School, Medical School, etc.
I knew a person with a bachelor's in Math, that got accepted to a very highly regarded Medical School.
I'm sorry. Is my bias showing?
Econ will pair up well, assuming you're not involved in a heavy design program.
Yup, econ is a good one, especially if there is some aspects of econ that you still are interested in. Planning and Economic Development have strong ties (although there can be some head butting at times). It will may also help when assessing the viability of projects and the economic impacts, but it depends on what econ you did too. If you want to go into Land Use planning, land economics would be the most beneficial labour market the least. Conversely, if you are thinking about social planning then the opposite would be true. Environmental is pretty self explanatory.
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