Mission Statement
The Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP) program’s mission is to improve public wellbeing by providing the knowledge and tools needed by professional planners to shape places that are responsive to climate change and promote the health and prosperity of diverse communities.
Program Goals and Measurable Objectives
Goal 1. Develop innovative, ethical, and skilled planning practitioners prepared for service and leadership in public, private and non-profit sectors.
Objectives:
- Attract and retain motivated students who have qualities needed to succeed in the program.
- Provide relevant knowledge and skills to prepare students to attain and succeed in professional planning or planning-related careers.
Goal 2. Advance planning knowledge through rigorous, interdisciplinary, actionable, and collaborative research spanning local to global issues.
Objectives:
- Conduct research that is peer-reviewed, widely cited, and solution-oriented.
- Disseminate research directly to communities via presentations to policymakers and stakeholders, social and traditional media, and venues that impact the planning profession (e.g., JAPA or JPER, ACSP, state and national planning conferences, Planning magazine, PAS reports, etc.).
- Apply for competitive external and internal grants and awards for research, teaching and professional service.
- Serve in leadership positions at planning-related academic organizations (e.g., editorial boards and editorships, ACSP, etc.).
- Involve students in research and knowledge dissemination.
Goal 3. Build productive relationships with alumni and professional planning and planning-related organizations and communities.
Objectives:
- Participate actively in professional planning and planning-related organizations (e.g., APA committees, planning boards and commissions, non-profits, etc.) and grow students’ capacity to partner and engage with these organizations as members and leaders.
- Generate solutions for communities, especially planners and policymakers in these communities, through student capstone projects and experiential or service-learning courses.
- Involve professional planners, especially alumni, in enhancing our curriculum through teaching, workshops, internships, and student projects.
Goal 4. Advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in planning education, scholarship, and practice.
Objectives:
- Increase the representation of faculty and students from underrepresented communities.
- Mentor faculty and students from underrepresented communities to be successful and take on leadership in the planning profession.
- Integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the curriculum.
- Provide opportunities for students to participate in decisions related to program governance.
- Seek out opportunities to learn from and assist underrepresented communities and local Native nations and tribes to realize community-determined solutions.