Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Urban and Regional Planning
Geography

Urban and Regional Planning

Office: Washington Square Hall 216A

Telephone: 408-924-5882

Email: urbplan@sjsu.edu

Professors

Asha Weinstein Agrawal
Shishir Mathur
Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Chair

Associate Professors

Thomas Lester

Assistant Professors

Serena Alexander
Gordon Douglas

Overview

Urban planners manage and guide critical issues of growth and change while promoting environmental and social balance. Careers for urban and regional planners exist in city, county, regional, state and national government, private consulting firms, nonprofit organizations, and research and academic institutions.

SJSU’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning is uniquely poised to educate planning professionals and generate innovative research, given its location in downtown San José, the largest city in Northern California and the capital of Silicon Valley. The department takes advantage of its location in a rapidly changing and socially complex region by collaborating with local planning agencies and community-based organizations. Faculty and students engage in public service projects designed to assist local communities in addressing topical planning issues, while also providing students with real-world professional experience.

We offer an undergraduate minor in urban studies, graduate certificate programs, and a Master of Urban Planning (MUP) degree.

Certificates

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning at San José State University offers six certificate programs which lead to specialization in Affordable Housing and Community Development Finance, Applications of Technology in Planning, Community Design and Development, Environmental Planning, Real Estate Development, and Transportation and Land Use Planning.

The certificate programs are open to graduate degree students enrolled in any program at San José State University (SJSU). Members of the public who hold an undergraduate degree may also complete any of the graduate certificate programs through SJSU’s Open University. To earn a certificate, students must complete a total of nine to sixteen units of course work, depending on the certificate. If course work is taken through Open University, the maximum number of units allowed by SJSU policy may be applied towards the MUP degree.

In addition, the student must:

Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 over all semester credits of course work applied towards the certificate.
Earn a minimum grade of “B Minus” in every course applied towards the certificate.
Complete all the course work within seven years.

For detailed information on these programs, see the department’s website at www.sjsu.edu/urbanplanning or contact the department’s Graduate Student Advisor.

Geography

Office: Washington Square Hall 118

Telephone: 408-924-5475 (Voice); 408-924-5477 (Fax)

Email: geograph@email.sjsu.edu

Website: www.sjsu.edu/depts/geography

Professors

Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Chair

Associate Professors

Kathrine Richardson

Assistant Professors

Gary Pereira

Overview

We are the only Geography Program in the booming Silicon Valley. Our location in downtown San Jose provides the department a wonderful urban geography laboratory. We offer courses in all the academic sub-disciplines of geography including GIS and spatial analysis. We have long-standing relationships with government agencies, other universities, and the City of San Jose. We are developing research and educational partnerships with Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Google as these, and other powerful technology companies are nearing the cusp of a locational analytics explosion. Geography is a rapidly growing field and our students gain the critical thinking, analytic and problem-solving abilities to prepare them to participate fully in rewarding careers. Prospective students are encouraged to consult the geography website (www.sjsu.edu/depts/geography) as well as the informational brochures available in the department office (WSQ 118.)

Departmental Honors Program in Geography

Graduation with departmental honors in geography can be achieved by successful completion of any geography graduate seminar open to those seniors with a 3.5 GPA in geography, or completion of an Honors Thesis under supervision of a department faculty member. Students must have a 3.5 GPA in geography to qualify for Honors Thesis option.

Programs

Courses

Geography

Urban and Regional Planning

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