The #2021APPAM Fall Research Conference will feature some fantastic sponsors from across the policy research spectrum. Today we're shining a spotlight on the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs (CAPPA) - University of Texas at Arlington
What types of programs does your school offer?
Master of Public Administration (campus, online, cohort)
Master of City and Regional Planning
PhD in Public Administration and Public Policy
PhD in Urban Planning and Public Policy
Graduate certificate programs in public budgeting/financial management, urban nonprofit management, development review, geographic information systems, and transportation planning and policy
Master of Architecture
Master of Science in Sustainable Building Technology
Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Bachelor of Science in Interior Design
Master of Landscape Architecture
Bachelor of Science in Urban Design
Dual degrees in most masters programs including combinations with social work
What would you list as your school's greatest accomplishments in the last 5-10 years?
1. Carnegie R1 and Texas Tier 1 institution
2. Two doctoral degrees in Urban Planning and Public Administration with STEM designation
3. Graduated over a hundred doctorates who are now working as academics in the USA and internationally, higher education administrators, school district administrators, serving in leadership roles in local, state, and federal governments, and in the military.
4. Recruited high caliber faculty with research interests in diverse policy issues such as transportation, health, economic and community development, urban issues, housing, homelessness, environmental sustainability and so forth.
5. Support interdisciplinary research with faculty and students from other units of the university
Why should potential students choose your school or program?
We uniquely merge public administration, policy, and urban planning, with critical design perspectives from architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. We create more livable, healthy, friendly, and inclusive built environments, fostering supportive policies that enable communities to meet these ends. In our Carnegie R1 university, students find multiple pathways to transform the current and future environments at all scales, from a highly crafted interior design to the design of cities and the public policies that affect them. Students have outstanding practical, applied research opportunities in the nation’s fast growing and 5th largest metro area in Dallas-Fort Worth via our many multidisciplinary research centers as well as strong employment opportunities.
Outstanding graduate assistantship packages up to $21,000 for nine-months plus tuition offered to top applicants and over $300,000 in student support across scholarships and assistantships.
If you are hiring, what makes your school a great place to work?
1. Location of the school makes it a viable place for dual employment. Arlington is right at the center of the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, and is home to many corporations, business, and academic institutions, and is a great place to raise families. DFW also has many award-winning school districts for people with young children.
2. Location of the school also provides immense opportunities for research collaboration with local governments, access to grants and networking opportunities with area agencies, research collaborations with faculty/ researchers from other educational institutions in the metroplex.
3. The school provides excellent teaching and research support in the form of grants, workshops, and graduate student assistance.
4. The school provides mentoring support to tenure-track faculty.
5. The school provides opportunities for in-person as well as online teaching to all faculty depending on their needs and preferences.
What is your teaching/research divide?
Most faculty are 50% research, 40% teaching, and 10% service with two classes per Fall and Spring terms.
What is your undergraduate/graduate divide?
There are no undergraduate programs within the public administration and policy department but overall the college is approximately 66% undergraduate, 33% graduate.
Is there any other information you'd like us to include in your Spotlight?
- 15th largest accredited MPA program in U.S. (249 students) with highest median 10-year post-graduation salary among UT-System schools
- #1 Online MPA (intelligent.com, 2019)
- #7 Master of Architecture (gradreports.com, 2020)
- College was formed in 2015 from existing School of Architecture and School of Urban and Public Affairs, both existing for over fifty years
- US DOT’s Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions, and Dollars (ctedd.uta.edu) is headed by a CAPPA faculty member.
What is an interesting, unique, or fun fact about your school?
- One of the few public administration programs with STEM designation
- One of the very few colleges where design, planning, and policy/administration are integrated towards urban issues