'Sup SOP
Hi! I have another SOP to post...the prompt is under the cut. This one wants you to emphasize your career plans, and I'm not sure I did that enough.
DURP's admissions committee places particular emphasis on each applicant's statement of purpose. Applicants should use the statement to convey information about their backgrounds, personal experiences, and intellectual perspectives, in the context of articulating why a masters in urban planning from the Nifty U will help them achieve their professional goals. The best statements communicate an applicant's career aspirations, not simply his or her technical qualifications. The statement should be no more than two single-spaced, typed pages.
Please note that this departmental statement of purpose is required in addition to the Graduate College's online statement submission, which consists of a narrative including the following: previous academic work and professional experience; memberships in honor societies and professional organizations; scholarships, prizes, honors, or other recognition; and give titles of publications, major papers, or theses of which you are author or co-author (if published, give citation).
The summer of 2007 was an eventful season for urban planners. The collapse of an interstate bridge in Minnesota, excessive flooding in the Northeast and increased hurricanes in the South, as well as seemingly neverending wildfires in California provided environmental planners with a pressing question: How to build in tandem with nature, minimizing risk to humans, while preserving valuable ecological systems? It was that summer I decided I wanted to answer that question, and find the answer through graduate study at the Nifty U.
After watching the effects of these natural disasters on communities across the United States, I registered for urban planning and hazards courses at Current U. It was through these courses, especially Designing Cities and Suburbs, Natural Hazards, Advanced Conservation, and Environmental Geology, that I realized I wanted to build communities that respected the environment while being able to respond to changes, disastrous or otherwise, with minimal damage to the community and its residents. I also broadened my knowledge of environmental planning by participating in a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction course at the Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy.
My summer internship at Company A took my theoretical classroom skills and put them to practical use. I saw the effects of commercial construction on residential homes in floodplains, and studied local ordinances and proposed plans to mitigate damage to homes. I conducted research for Company B for their work on the Hazard Mitigation Plans for counties in New Jersey and Louisiana, and had the opportunity to take professional courses at the New Jersey State Police in hazard management and seminars in the use of the Web Soil Survey and HAZUS for GIS. My work at Company A introduced me to the multi-faceted world of planning, and reaffirmed my desire to study sustainable environmental planning.
In addition to the courses listed above and my professional experiences at Company A, I am also conducting research during the 2008-2009 academic year on environmental change and environmental refugees with Dr. Advisor. This research will culminate in a Geography Honors Thesis, as well as a potential presentation at the (can’t remember its name!) conference at Current U in late March (I think).
Watching the millions of dollars used every year to mitigate erosion of the Jersey shore, protect structures from floods, and the general degradation of the natural environment as the result of a poor built environment, has inspired me to change the accepted focus of city planning. The environment is not available for the thoughtless building that has plagued the past, but for a seamless relationship between ecology and humans. With a masters in Urban Planning, I want to work in the private or public sector mitigating natural disasters in residential or urban settings. My experiences at Company A are an example of the career I’d like to pursue - cooperating with community organizations in creating a city plan that will prevent damages from natural events. Town planners have the extraordinary capability to create sustainable communities on two levels: allowing communities to sustain the threats of nature, while allowing nature to sustain its ecological diversity.
The Nifty U is the ideal university for me to pursue urban and regional planning. The research of Dr. Cool in disaster preparedness and mitigation, as well as the New Orleans Research Projects, would provide me with technical and theoretical experiences in hazard planning. It is also ideal because of its size; I thrive at large institutions with a plethora of educational and occupational opportunities, as indicated by my undergraduate performance at Current U. Within the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the Sustainable Development concentration focuses on the changes I want to implement throughout the country. The Nifty U would provide me with limitless opportunities in and out of the classroom to focus my study. My education at Current U and internship at Company A have given me academic and professional experience in city and regional planning, and continuing those experiences at the Nifty U, would prepare me to execute the design and construction of a built environment that continues to maintain ecological systems, while being able to sustain the forces of nature.
You people are fabulous, thank you :)
DURP's admissions committee places particular emphasis on each applicant's statement of purpose. Applicants should use the statement to convey information about their backgrounds, personal experiences, and intellectual perspectives, in the context of articulating why a masters in urban planning from the Nifty U will help them achieve their professional goals. The best statements communicate an applicant's career aspirations, not simply his or her technical qualifications. The statement should be no more than two single-spaced, typed pages.
Please note that this departmental statement of purpose is required in addition to the Graduate College's online statement submission, which consists of a narrative including the following: previous academic work and professional experience; memberships in honor societies and professional organizations; scholarships, prizes, honors, or other recognition; and give titles of publications, major papers, or theses of which you are author or co-author (if published, give citation).
The summer of 2007 was an eventful season for urban planners. The collapse of an interstate bridge in Minnesota, excessive flooding in the Northeast and increased hurricanes in the South, as well as seemingly neverending wildfires in California provided environmental planners with a pressing question: How to build in tandem with nature, minimizing risk to humans, while preserving valuable ecological systems? It was that summer I decided I wanted to answer that question, and find the answer through graduate study at the Nifty U.
After watching the effects of these natural disasters on communities across the United States, I registered for urban planning and hazards courses at Current U. It was through these courses, especially Designing Cities and Suburbs, Natural Hazards, Advanced Conservation, and Environmental Geology, that I realized I wanted to build communities that respected the environment while being able to respond to changes, disastrous or otherwise, with minimal damage to the community and its residents. I also broadened my knowledge of environmental planning by participating in a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction course at the Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy.
My summer internship at Company A took my theoretical classroom skills and put them to practical use. I saw the effects of commercial construction on residential homes in floodplains, and studied local ordinances and proposed plans to mitigate damage to homes. I conducted research for Company B for their work on the Hazard Mitigation Plans for counties in New Jersey and Louisiana, and had the opportunity to take professional courses at the New Jersey State Police in hazard management and seminars in the use of the Web Soil Survey and HAZUS for GIS. My work at Company A introduced me to the multi-faceted world of planning, and reaffirmed my desire to study sustainable environmental planning.
In addition to the courses listed above and my professional experiences at Company A, I am also conducting research during the 2008-2009 academic year on environmental change and environmental refugees with Dr. Advisor. This research will culminate in a Geography Honors Thesis, as well as a potential presentation at the (can’t remember its name!) conference at Current U in late March (I think).
Watching the millions of dollars used every year to mitigate erosion of the Jersey shore, protect structures from floods, and the general degradation of the natural environment as the result of a poor built environment, has inspired me to change the accepted focus of city planning. The environment is not available for the thoughtless building that has plagued the past, but for a seamless relationship between ecology and humans. With a masters in Urban Planning, I want to work in the private or public sector mitigating natural disasters in residential or urban settings. My experiences at Company A are an example of the career I’d like to pursue - cooperating with community organizations in creating a city plan that will prevent damages from natural events. Town planners have the extraordinary capability to create sustainable communities on two levels: allowing communities to sustain the threats of nature, while allowing nature to sustain its ecological diversity.
The Nifty U is the ideal university for me to pursue urban and regional planning. The research of Dr. Cool in disaster preparedness and mitigation, as well as the New Orleans Research Projects, would provide me with technical and theoretical experiences in hazard planning. It is also ideal because of its size; I thrive at large institutions with a plethora of educational and occupational opportunities, as indicated by my undergraduate performance at Current U. Within the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the Sustainable Development concentration focuses on the changes I want to implement throughout the country. The Nifty U would provide me with limitless opportunities in and out of the classroom to focus my study. My education at Current U and internship at Company A have given me academic and professional experience in city and regional planning, and continuing those experiences at the Nifty U, would prepare me to execute the design and construction of a built environment that continues to maintain ecological systems, while being able to sustain the forces of nature.
You people are fabulous, thank you :)