Program Review Discussion

Unit Defined Core Questions1) What progress has the Program made toward each one of these objectives?

1. Reach national prominence (top 3 US Ph.D. planning programs).2. Align the curriculum and structure with the program’s intellectual focus. [We did this]3. Create and support quality mentorship and advising.4. Develop an effective, accountable, and transparent governance structure.5. Generate and sustain necessary resources for the long-term viability of the program.

State of the ProgramResources

We are a strong program but our resources are primarily external. In 2013 our faculty were PI’s in over $42 M in funding from diverse agencies of externally funded research projects. 22% of the total program’s resources come from the Graduate School, and about 18% were from UDP and contributing departments. 

We need to triplicate our resources to be able to recruit our top applicants and support our students and faculty productive research.

Current Trajectory

Applications 2000-2013

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

60

48

35

56

38

53

63

79

97

86

99

Composition of the faculty group

11 Dept.

15 Dept.

Faculty

48 faculty in the Interdisciplinary Group from 15 departments;

From 2010—Spring 2013 the interdisciplinary faculty group of this program published over 410 peer reviewed articles, with 35 more in press, forthcoming; 17 books, 6 forthcoming; and 67 book chapters, 20 forthcoming.

Students Current students in the last 3 years have published 13

peer reviewed papers, 8 reports and or conference proceedings, 1 book review, and 1 book chapter.

Current students in the last 3 years have presented at national and international conferences 52 times.

Current students in the last 3 years have received 20 awards, including the Bullitt Environmental Fellowship ($100,000), the Lincoln Land Institute Doctoral Fellowship, the Palestinian American Research Center Fellowship, Open Society/SOROS Foundation Fellowship, Huckabay Teaching Fellowships.

UDP

GeographyESS

CSS

Public Affairs

Forest Resources

CEE

Epidemiology

Landscape Architecture

Environmental Health

Statistics

Anthropology

Architecture

Ocean & Fish Sciences

Program Interdisciplinarity

Pediatrics

GraduatesAll of the graduates of the program continue to “be leaders in the international community of researchers, educators, and practitioners who focus on improving the quality of life and environment in metropolitan regions,” per our mission statement. Graduates in the last four years occupy academic

positions in North America at the University of Pennsylvania; SUNY Buffalo; and University of Vermont, Portland State University, and University of Washington.

Internationally, our graduates hold positions at Birzeit University, Palestine; Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; Yonsei University, Seoul National University, Korea; University of Glasgow, Scotland, and other universities in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Korea, and Thailand.

2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-20130

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80Program Resources: Student Support Distribution

UW-otherExternalURBDP/CBEGrad School

Quar

ters

of

Supp

ort

Creating Our Future: Aligning the program with

our renewed identity

Review Questions• What challenges and opportunities do the

current structural and financial changes at UW pose to fully achieve these objectives?

• What challenges and opportunities do the emerging changes in national and international trends in urban design and planning and doctoral education pose to achieve these objectives?

• What can we learn from other institutions and PhD programs to address the challenges and make further progress towards these objectives?

Mapping our Future

• Define a blueprint for realigning the program to our renewed identity

• Identify synergies and tradeoffs in realigning course requirements (e.g., research methods)

• Develop a guide map for orienting students through the program

Responding to the ChallengeOur Identity: New Clusters Urban Development Processes Urban Ecology and Wellbeing Urban Environment and Transportation

Pedagogy• Revised Curriculum to align with emerging

challenges and new clusters• Provide a road map to help students navigate

through program requirements and clusters

Emerging Definitions

(1) Urban Ecology and Wellbeing

(2) Urban Environment and Transportation

(3) Urban Development Processes

Research Clusters

The intellectual focus of the Ph.D. program centers around three unique research clusters bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives from the social and natural sciences, humanities, design, and planning disciplines. Each cluster applies the research to the formation and evaluation of urban and environmental plans and policies.

Urban Environment and Transportation

This research cluster examines the connection between urban (built) environment and transportation at scales ranging from neighborhood to metropolitan region. Drawing from multiple disciplines including behavioral sciences, economics, geography, engineering, and public health, it explores ways to improve the spatial organization of urban activities to make cities more accessible, viable, and sustainable.

Urban Ecology and Wellbeing

This research cluster focuses on the interactions between urban system dynamics, and ecosystem function, and human wellbeing across multiple spatial and time scales. It is grounded in the sciences of coupled human/natural systems and their interface with the theories and policies of planning and design. Human wellbeing is grounded in theories from preventive medicine and health promotion, which address both physical and mental health at the individual and the group levels.

Urban Development Processes

This research cluster inquires into the social, political and cultural norms and functions of planning and other forms of spatial collective and cumulative individual actions, manifest in the community, city and region. The cluster addresses core problems of how entities acting at these scales negotiate or contest access to urban space, and participate in economic, housing, real estate, and community development. Concerns include social and economic vitality of city regions; urban design as an expression of socio-political relationships; equity in benefits and access across economic groups and geography; gentrification pressures; addressing market failure; and assessing, apportioning, and reducing risk.

coupled human-natural systems

urban form

transportation

social environment

wellbeing

informationsociopolitical processes

economy

environment

methods

planning policies/interventions (land value taxing, participatory planning)

0

50

100

Urban Development Processes

Urban Ecology and WellbeingUrban Environment and Transportation

Program Clusters

Urban Ecology & Wellbeing Urban Development Processes Urban Environment & Transportation0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

StudentsFaculty

Program Clusters

Faculty Students # of Depts represented0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Urban Environment & TransportationUrban Development Processes

Urban Ecology & Wellbeing

Urban design & planning 9Geography 5Forest Resources 3Landscape architecture 3Public affairs 3CEE 2CSE 2Anthropology 1Statistics 1Epidemiology 1ESS & CEE 1Oceanography & Fish Sciences 1Pediatrics 1

Curriculum Review1. Added curriculum requirement

descriptions to better explain core requirements and research methods

2. Added more qualitative courses to both phase 1 and phase 2 research methods requirements.

3. More appropriately placed some of the quantitative methods courses in phase 1 or phase 2, depending on level of difficulty.

Road Map: Example of PhD Curriculum

Road Map: Example of PhD Curriculum

State of the Program: A SynthesisWith the world becoming increasingly urban our

field of knowledge and practice is becoming increasingly central to both academia and society.

We are continuing to make important progress in making our program visible through our graduates, numerous publications, and participation in conferences.

It is now critical that we strengthen our capacity to perform a leading role in bringing together diverse disciplines, integrate many points of observations, and linking research and practice.

The Future of the Program• Acknowledge the centrality of urban

challenge and its role beyond our field

• Build on synergies with the UW faculty to generate new opportunities for scholarship and education

• Partner with other programs/colleges to generate greater efficiencies

An Urban PhD Cluster• Create a cluster of independent PhD

Programs in different Colleges who have a focus on urban issues

• Develop a set of shared courses, seminars, and resources to support students and faculty in these programs focusing on urban scholarship

• Create open forums for exchange and cross-fertilization in urban studies

Annual Symposium

The Study of Cities in the AnthropoceneObjective: explore the challenges and

opportunities that a new centrality of "urban problems" pose to the study of cities. Speakers from diverse disciplines will articulate a new definition of "urban" and identify existing and potential intellectual synergies among scholars of urban studies.

Annual SymposiumThe Study of Cities in the AnthropoceneThe symposium will be structured in three sessions

and five panels. A first session will define planetary-scale socio-

ecological change and elaborate the challenges and opportunities for the study of the city.

A second session, three panels will explore the implications of such new definition for three research areas: 1) urban development processes, 2) urban ecology and wellbeing, and 3) transportation and the environment.

A third session will explore the implications for graduate education and opportunities for innovation in PhD Education.