Program Overview

The Ph.D. program in Regional Planning leads to a research degree for students interested incareers in the academic world or conducting research in public agencies, non-profitorganizations or private corporations. We are able to supervise doctoral work in most areas ofplanning, plus some areas where planning and landscape architecture overlap. To learn moreabout faculty interests and expertise, and the intellectual tone of the Department, potentialapplicants should review faculty descriptions on the LARP website (www.umass.edu/larp).

We are a craft rather than factory shop, bringing in students who are ‘apprenticed’ to existingfaculty who mentor, support, and co-publish with students. Our total program enrollmenttends to be around ten to fifteen students, in total, with two to three new students enteringthe program each year. It is generally helpful if the student's research interests align with aplanning faculty member and contact with the appropriate faculty member prior to applicationwill assist the student in understanding current research opportunities. Applicants to thisprogram are encouraged to visit the campus and meet with the Program Director and pertinentfaculty.

Coursework and Timing

General steps and minimum/recommended timing of RP PhD Program:

• Coursework: 2-4 semesters
• Proposal drafting and reading for comprehensive exams: 1 semester
• Take comprehensive exams, final proposal approval: 1 semester (can be combined with proposal drafting semester above)
• Dissertation research and writing: 1.5 – 3 calendar years

General time to complete: for very focused students who have moderate assistantship obligations,four years is quite feasible. Students who must work more, have more trouble focusing their research,or experience life transitions during their studies may take more like 6 years. The total university-allotted time to complete the degree (known as the Statute of Limitations) is four calendar years for those with a master's degree in planning, and six years for those with degrees in other fields.Extensions to this may be granted if the student is making clear academic progress, but requests for more than one extension will require a clear demonstration of unusual challenges and a feasible plan for quick completion.

The University requires all doctoral candidates to have a minimum of one year of full-time residence(two consecutive semesters); after that students may choose to go part-time, but this does not change the statute of limitations described above. A typical full-time course-load tends to be around 9 credits for students who are also working as TAs or RAs. Note also that dissertation credits (18 required) can be taken at any point during the coursework to bring a student’s total credits up to 16 maximum per spring or summer semester (without an overload).

Preparation for comprehensive exams can coincide with the proposal drafting where the research plan is very clear early on. For almost all students, there is significant overlap and iteration in the proposal development and the preparations for the comprehensive exams.

Required courses are as follows:

* Requirement may be waived for students with an MRP from an accredited US planning program.
** One RP elective may be waived with permission of the GDP for students receiving their MRP from UMASS within the past five years.
*** It is often cost-effective to sign up for these while you are still taking other classes.

Students take a total of 60 credits. Of these, 12 will be waived for those with a master’s degree from a planning-related discipline or an MRP from a non-PAB accredited institution. 17 credits will be waived for those with a PAB accredited master’s degree. Students register for 18 credits of dissertation coursework, which is for independent work on their research. Thus, most students will take 25 to 30 active course credits.

Students should establish a strong foundation in research skills through their coursework, studying for comprehensive exams, as well as in their independent research. To this effect, we require advanced courses in research design, quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Statistics courses designed for professional master's students (such as RP 620) are typically not sufficient to qualify as a doctoral-level quantitative methods but may be used as a departmental elective for students entering the program that need a gentle introduction to the topic.

Although not required, we encourage students to use elective coursework to build their pedagogical and other professional research skills. For example, in the past, the College of Education has offered credit-based courses in college teaching and in the fundamentals of writing scholarly literature reviews. Other, non-credit based, workshops are offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning and other UMASS Centers and Institutes.

Students may wish to explore the various certificate programs the Department and the University offers. These include Departmental certificates in Cultural Landscapes Management and Green Infrastructure Planning, and certificates in other Departments such as Public History, Heritage Studies, GIS, Feminist Studies, and Latin America, among others. Certificate courses without RP designation can only serve as additional non-required electives for the degree.

Roles of the Student, GPD, Comprehensive Exam Committee, and Dissertation Committee

PhD studies work best for students who are self-directed in their learning and motivated to research and write. Much of the initiative for meetings, topics, funding, etc., will need to come from the students. The faculty are responsible for mentoring the students with whom they have an advising relationship, and generally keep an open door for conversations with PhDs about research or other program issues.

The student should at the outset of their studies establish strong relationships with their likely dissertation advisors by whenever possible taking their courses. Initial advising will be done by the Graduate Program Director (GPD). Over time, advising responsibilities will shift from the GPD to the examining and then the dissertation committees, but the GPD is available to discuss issues wherever the student is in their matriculation. Generally:

• During coursework: the GPD will identify the minimum course requirements students must achieve. Selection of courses outside the PhD core, and particularly courses the student anticipates will fulfill methods requirements, should be undertaken in concert with the advice of both the GPD and the likely dissertation chair.
• Comprehensive exams: prior to beginning the comprehensive exams, the student prepares a list of courses completed and grades achieved on the course record(Appendix A), and the GPD certifies that course requirements have been met. The student then works with the committee to schedule their exams and informs the GPD of that schedule. The examining committee has primary responsibility for determining the type and content of exams, as well as whether the student has passed.
• Dissertation research: the dissertation chair with advice from other committee members is the student’s primary advisor regarding content and method of the dissertation. The committee will indicate to the student when they think the student is ready to schedule their oral dissertation defense. The student will coordinate the time for the oral defense with the committee and the GPD. Those in attendance at the defense include the committee, any other faculty who wish to attend, and friends of the student, but only the committee votes on whether the student has passed.
• The student should check with university requirements regarding forms, timing, statute of limitations, etc. For instance, the final approved proposal must have the signature of all committee members as well as the GPD and must be officially filed with the Graduate School.

The Comprehensive Exam committee: This includes three faculty members, which must include at least two members from LARP PhD Program Faculty. Examinations in planning history and theory must be by an appointed RP faculty. Almost always, the anticipated chair of the dissertation will be among the comprehensive examiners, but otherwise members can be on the exams but not on the dissertation,and vice versa. It is often most efficient, however, for the comprehensive exam committee and the dissertation committee to be more or less the same.

The Dissertation Committee: Dissertation committees consist of a minimum of three members, with the chair and at least one other member coming from LARP PhD Program faculty. A list of Planning PhD faculty and their research interests is included in the Appendix. It is also expected that the committee will include at least one member from outside the department. One rare occasion, all three members are LARP faculty with special approval of the Graduate Program Director. All dissertation committee members must have a doctorate and have graduate faculty status as determined by the UMASS graduate school. A dissertation supervisor is generally identified by the end of the first semester in residence, and a dissertation committee by the end of the second or third semester.Committee members are formally appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School after submission of an acceptable research proposal, generally in the fourth semester