Apply to MUP this fall or wait?

[nutellamonster47]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a while and just wanted to thank everyone on here for being such a great resource. So, here we go: I'm a recent graduate with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and I made the decision this year to pursue a career in transportation planning. Although my degree and work experience is not the most relevant to planning, I have developed a keen interest in the subject in the past few years due to studying abroad in the Netherlands and taking courses on the History of Urban Design and History of Modern Architecture. I've been reading Jane Jacobs, James Kunstler, and Jeff Speck, and I'm really interested in issues of bicycle transportation. I also just started volunteering/interning (reception/email responsibilities) with a planning non-profit think-tank to try to turn this interest into something more concrete.

I want to apply to MUP programs in the U.S. this Fall and get my career going, but I'm unsure if my current set of experiences (academics/work/interests) will be enough to convince he admissions dept. that I have a genuine interest and personal involvement in the field of Planning. Do you think my current experiences would seem valid enough on a statement of purpose, or should I wait another year to get more experience (GIS/planning courses, more internships...)? I definitely plan on doing these things whether I apply this year or not, but I'm having a hard time gauging if I'll need to have that knowledge/experience under my belt before I apply this Fall. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Blide]

If you know you're interested in planning, just go ahead and apply. The worst that can happen is that you'll be turned down, although I wouldn't expect that to happen. Most people entering those degree programs are in a very similar situation to you. They have no relevant work or academic experience but are interested in the field. I think the fact that you're even volunteering at a planning non-profit and are reading up on planning literature puts you ahead of many applicants in the experience category.

[nutellamonster47]

Thanks for the reply, it's good to know that there are other people in my situation! It's been tough to gauge without knowing people in the field or knowing where/who to ask.

[csld09]

That's great news about the volunteer position. If you find in the next month or so that you enjoy it, you'll have good reason to apply! With respect to skill-building: that's what school is for, so don't sweat it too much! If you end up with a lot of quantitative work or GIS work by the time you start a program in the fall, you might be able to waive a required course or two, but that's not the sort of thing that would make your application really stand out.

Since you're in CA, you've got a lot of quality programs to choose from in public and private settings. There's got to be close to a dozen out there, I think. Anyhow, if you haven't seen this, be sure to check it out: http://www.acsp.org/sites/default/fi...e-Book-WEB.pdf. There might be a newer one coming out sometime soon, but this will give you an idea of each program's size, aid options, research centers, and areas of faculty expertise. One of the most interesting things to compare is required courses: you'd be surprised at how many variations there are. I thought this part of the process was the most fun.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your work in the office. And may you keep your cultural studies close to your heart! I am currently reading Stephen Graham's Cities Under Siege and enjoying every bit of it.

[Queenducky21]

As someone who is in my first year of my program, I'm amazed at how many people don't have a planning background. Some people HAVE A HUGE ONE...while others of us are still asking "what is urban planning?"

[nutellamonster47]

@csld09 Thank you! It's a little slow moving, but interesting so far and should be great for networking. Thanks for the link and suggestion too, I never thought of the required courses as a deciding factor, I'll definitely look into that. Yup, there are quite a few out here. UCLA is looking pretty good right now, but I'm also checking out programs in the larger cities on the east coast. And yes! I don't read as much as I'd like to but I'll always look and read with a critical eye. That sounds like an awesome book. I just checked out the description and the first thing I thought of was how you could use Cities Under Siege to think about the govt.'s/police's response to the Occupy movement. It would be really interesting to see what Graham has to say about ideas control and security given the recent NSA happenings too.

@Queenducky21 That's great to hear haha. I'm glad that programs are accepting people from diverse backgrounds, hopefully it'll breathe some fresh ideas into the planning/design world!

[akshali2000]

Options are always good. So if you have the time right now, study up for the GRE, write an application, and submit it when you feel you are ready sometime in the next couple months. Even if you decide not to attend come next spring, it will give you a chance to visit schools, talk to people, apply to jobs, weigh your funding and personal situation, and then make a decision.