Mark a survey and Inform Staff

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I'm glad to see there are recent comments on here because that means people actually read this. So I earned my BA in environmental studies from UT and loved it. I really wanted to get into urban planning/development, but didnt have the means to move for a program. I was told by a professor in the Geography department that I could get into that field through the MA Geography program, it would just take more work experience before being able to take the certification exam. So I took the plunge and started the program. By the end of my first year I realized what a mess the department is. By no fault of the faculty, they're awesome in their fields and I am grateful to have worked with two of them. The department is shared by the political science program, which is great because the two disciplines are intertwined. I am working on publishing two papers I wrote, one with a geography professor and one with a PSC professor. So again, the faculty is wonderful. That said, most of them are geographers, not planners. The department name is Department of Geography and Planning. But the degree is a Geography degree. The webpage talks about an internship program and all these awesome planning seminars. But…there is no internship program and the only planning courses that are actually offered are introductory. Which is cool, those were my favorite classes. But the program site is very misleading. And most of the department faculty members are absorbed in their research, not working with the local community. Toledo is a disaster but there is actually a lot of great development work going on. That should give the department all kinds of connections and resources for students, but it doesnt seem that way at all. The program is cool if you wa t to be a geographer, GIS analyst, in research, or academia. Alumni have gotten jobs with the city, the head planner for the county is an alumni. But just the education itself is not enough. Students need connections and resources too. I networked a lot on my.own and am working on publishing some work, but that's about the extent of it for me as of now. Granted I just graduated in May 2019 but I feel pretty lost at this point. The university president is a frickin faulty member and a planner!!! Yet there is no correspondence between them to make improvements. Everything is all attributed to budget cuts from the previous president. Which is true but it's been multiple years since he left…it's time to make some gains and deliver what is promised to the students. I'm now considering BGSU for their MPA program because they actually have their stuff together. Again it's a great program but the department is very fragmented and if planning is what you want to do then I would look elsewhere.