PhD in Urban and Regional Planning - Transportation Planning in Tallahassee United States | Florida State University

Transportation is essential to the function of cities and the well-being of their residents. Transportation systems make the exchange of goods and services possible, and they help shape the form of the built urban environment. The ways we design and use the transportation system affect all other aspects of planning, from the environment to housing and community development to health and land use development. Transportation planners draw on insights and tools from a variety of academic disciplines, including planning, geography, economics, public administration, engineering, and the design disciplines to examine, design, plan, and manage the multimodal transportation system in a way that is safe, efficient, effective, equitable, and sustainable. Transportation planning students take courses that enable them to work as professionals in a variety of contexts at all geographic scales, domestically and internationally. The curriculum covers all surface urban transportation modes: highway/automobile, public transit, pedestrian, and bicycling.
The doctoral (Ph.D.) program in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning educates scholars to teach, conduct research, and carry out service that contributes to a better understanding and shaping of resilient communities and ecosystems in order to promote human capabilities, social justice, sustainable livelihoods, and community health and safety. Our faculty conduct research in the following areas: Planning for an Aging Population, Planning for Health and Resilient Communities, Transportation Land Use and Accessibility in the Modern City, Sustainable Communities, Collaborative Environmental Management, Community Neighborhood Change, and Human Settlements and Institutions in the Context of Global Change. Florida State University is an excellent place for doctoral study. Our energetic, internationally recognized faculty is committed to training and mentoring our doctoral students as they become future teachers, scholars, and leaders in their various fields. Our low student-faculty ratio and small doctoral class sizes (typically 3-5 students enter the doctoral program each year) enable close collaboration in teaching and research between students and faculty. Our doctoral program's alums include deans, department chairs, program directors, distinguished scholars, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows.