B.S.,
Regional Planning,
Environmental Planner Track
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
What You'll Do
While some planners design cities, others design natural areas or seek out ways to protect and restore the ones already established on our planet. As a Regional Planning major pursuing the Environmental Planner track at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, you’ll study the laws, policies, and design concepts of regional planning, as well as environmental issues, from a geographic perspective.
Some of the courses you may choose to take in this major are Geography of Energy, Climatology, Physiography, Geography of Fresh Water Resources, Map and Photograph Interpretation, Biogeography for Environmental Managers, and Remote Sensing. You’ll also have opportunities to acquire hands-on experience through the Department of Geography and Regional Planning’s labs and weather station.
The skills you’ll gain in this track will help you to assess the causes, consequences, and solutions that pertain to a wide variety of environmental issues such as water pollution, acid rain, or tropical deforestation.
What You'll Become
The Bachelor of Science degree in Regional Planning achieved in pursuit of the Environmental Planner track prepares you for a career or graduate study in environmental fields. More than 95 percent of IUP Department of Geography and Regional Planning graduates in a recent, five-year span were placed in graduate programs or found jobs in business and industry as environmental professionals, as municipal planners, with regional and state agencies, in federal government, as social science educators, and with engineering firms.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment of urban and regional planners is expected to grow by 15 percent from 2006 to 2016. Environmental issues are among the concerns that must be addressed in planning.