International development alums: what are you doing?

[adamwipp]

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory...I know UW Madison and and the U of Michigan have these as concentrations...I'm sure other schools do too. What are those of you who have gone through this type of program doing with your degrees?

Would you recommend this route as opposed to an Economic Development concentration? Are the 2 drastically different? I became interested in Urban Planning when I realized a lot of my dream UN and NGO jobs required it but I don't want to specialize too much and limit my self domestically if I changed my mind in the future...and advice?

[ILovePlanning23]

Hi Adam,

I'm an undergrad in international relations and public administration with a strong interest in international planning (economic and community development). I'm obviously not an alum yet, but my plan to get both domestic and international training is to choose programs with a strong domestic core and international specialization. That way, I'd be able to gain a solid planning education and apply these principles to international development. Also, a strong international specialization will allow for comparative U.S. planning analysis and is also important for understanding planning considerations in the global environment. So, this is my plan so far.

I do hope an international development alum will pop in and shed light on your question though I'd like to know too.

[adamwipp]

Sounds like you've got a good plan ILovePlanning23. As I've been reading through the posts, it seems as if those International Planning routes may not be the best route to go...? The schools that boast their international programs really base their info on high numbers of international students. Would anyone agree or disagree that if you want to live and work abroad, its better to specialize in one aspect of planning... (ie. Econ Dev or Costal Planning or whatever it is that interests you)...do well and work your way up to a multinational company, an NGO or something like the UN?

[progmac]

FWIW, I have an international planning specialization with my MCP and two years working overseas in Peace Corps. I now work as a Town/County Planning Director in the rural west. Point being, an international specialization didn't hurt me on my search for domestic work.