RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS
All courses leading to the master's degree must be taken at the University of Kansas, except that up six hours of graduate credit may be transferred and applied to a program leading to the master's degree, subject to approval by the Program Chair. Eight hours may be approved for transfer if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from the University of Kansas. Transfer credit is only given for courses in which the final grade was A or B.
GRADES
The grading system in the Graduate School is an A, B, C, D, F system, where A designates above-average graduate work; B, average graduate work; C, passing but below average graduate work; D and F, failing graduate work. The suffixes + and - are used and counted in grade point averages. Upon falling below a cumulative graduate grade-point average of B (3.0), the student may be placed on probation or dismissed from the Program. At the end of the next semester of enrollment, the student's overall graduate average must be raised to a B (in which case the student is returned to regular status) or a departmental recommendation will be required for the student to continue in graduate study.
To complete requirements for the master's degree, a student must present a record of 48 credit hours with a grade point average of at least 3.0. Only courses graded A, B, or C (excluding C-) may be counted. All required Planning courses must be included in this calculation.
ADVISING
The Urban Planning faculty share advising responsibilities. If you have decided upon a concentration, the faculty member for that concentration will be your advisor. If you have not decided upon a concentration, the Program Chair will be your advisor until you select a concentration. Petitions for the waiver or modification of program requirements in individual cases typically require faculty approval and should be transmitted to the Chair.
FACILITIES
The Planning Program is housed on the third floor of Marvin Hall, which is a picturesque older building. The main office is in Room 317. Marvin Hall also contains a reading room, a slide library, and a carpentry shop.
The Program uses computers extensively in instruction and research. There is a computer lab for the exclusive use of planning students. The School of Architecture and Urban Design owns a number of IBM compatible microcomputers and peripheral equipment.
RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Urban Planning faculty is actively engaged in research, often in conjunction with the Transportation Center and the Center for Research, Inc. Funded research projects often provide opportunities for employment of Planning students as research assistants. Recent funding sources include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, and the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Students are encouraged to join the American Planning Association, the national organization of planners, and to attend its meetings. The Kansas City Section normally meets once a month. The Kansas Chapter meets several times a year. The Program sometimes arranges for groups of students to attend regional and national APA conferences. For example a group of students went to the national conference in Chicago in April 2002.
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
The Urban Planning students have their own organization called Kansas Association of Planning Students. The organization holds several social activities during each year and provides a forum through which student views are crystallized and conveyed to the administration. The President of the organization is invited to faculty meetings and votes on all issues. The University has a rule that at least 20 percent of the members of all committees must be students.
THE COMMUNITY
Lawrence is a very attractive city of 85,000 people located on the Kansas (Kaw) River. Contrary to the popular image of Kansas, the city is quite hilly and affords some impressive vistas. The campus covers 1,000 acres on the crest of Mount Oread and includes three buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Landmarks. Nearby Clinton and Perry Lakes offer opportunities for water-oriented recreation.
Town-gown relationships are excellent. The Program maintains close contact with the Lawrence - Douglas County Planning Department, and members of the planning staff sometimes teach courses. One student, usually an individual in the second year of graduate study in planning, serves as the students' representative on the Lawrence - Douglas County Planning Commission. Lawrence has been growing rapidly; current political issues include economic development, urban sprawl, and preservation of open space.
Lawrence is 40 miles from downtown Kansas City, an hour's drive on the Kansas Turnpike. The Kansas City metropolitan area has a population of 1.8 million and a wide variety of cultural, entertainment, and sports activities, including major league teams in baseball, football, and soccer. Kansas City is famous for its park system, based on George Kessler's 1893 plan. Other attractions include Crown Center (a sophisticated in-town shopping complex developed by the Hallmark Company), the Westport district (a congregation of restaurants and night spots), and the Country Club Plaza (the world's first shopping center, opened in 1922 and still thriving).
CAREERS IN PLANNING
The Planning faculty assists students in finding jobs after they graduate. The Program Chair coordinates the exchange of information between employers looking for applicants and students and graduates looking for jobs. The demand for planners has been increasing in the last few years, particularly in the Great Plains and Southwest regions of the country. The present employment of some recent graduates is given below:
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Name
Sajiv Joseph
Jeffrey Leaders
Jacob Bean
Richard Bennesch
Shay Elder
Karin Graves
Chad Lamer
Lonna Larson
Kory Lewis
Guoqiang (Alex) Li
Kevin Morris
Christopher Carucci
Angela Costa
Amy Dzialowski
Christopher Eaker
Jesse Gotz
Staci Henry
Lisa Koch
Nishtha Mehta
Davonna Morgan
Donald Smith
Michael Tedesco
Cassandra Baldwin
Thomas Morefield
JuYin Chen
Karen Clawson
Justin Dorsey
Duane Felix
Dirk Goering
Amy Miller
Ngoc Nguyen
Cylus Scarbrough
Erika Stanley
Jennifer Thomas
Tommy Wilson, Jr.
Andrew Wright
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Graduated
2004
2004
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2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
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2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
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2005
2005
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2005
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2006
2006
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2006
2006
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2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
2006 |
Current Employer
City of Leawood, Leawood, KS
AMLI, Atlanta, GA
National Church Residences, Columbus, OH
Novogradac, Overland Park, KS
Community Housing of Wyandotte County, Inc., Kansas City, KS
EPA, Sausalito, CA
King Hershey, Kansas City, MO
South Eastern Council of Governments, Sioux Falls, SD
Coffman Associates, Inc., Lee's Summit, MO
Traffic Division of Public Works, Olathe, KS
Community Housing of Wyandotte County, Inc., Kansas City, KS
Downtown Council, Kansas City, MO
U.S. Air Force, San Angelo, TX
Bucher Willis & Ratliff Corporation, Kansas City, MO
City of St. Peters, St. Peters, MO
Council of Governments Michiana Area, South Bend, IN
City of Shawnee, Shawnee, KS
ECKAN, Ottawa, KS
University of Texas, Austin, TX
Ozarks Transportation Org., Springfield, MO
Community Housing of Wyandotte County, Inc., Kansas City, KS
Town of South Fork, Colorado, South Fork, CO
City of Independence, Independence, MO
City of Olathe, Olathe, KS
Virginia Dept. of Transportation, Richmond, VA
Mid-America Regional Council, Kansas City, MO
Yarco Company, Kansas City, MO
Housing Development Fund, Stamford, CT
Dept. of Planning, Douglas County, Utah
City of Lawrence, Lawrence, KS
Lecturer, Danang University, Danang, Vietnam
City of Topeka, Topeka, KS
Kansas Dept. of Health & Environment
Dept. of Planning, Missouri City, TX
Downtown Council of Kansas City, MO
U.S. Air Force, Sheppard Air Force Base, TX |
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