Graduate students in urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs taking two additional courses in design and development will now receive certificates from UCLA to formally recognize their specialized training.
Each certificate is aimed at displaying to future employers that students have demonstrated expertise and abilities in urban design above that of the average graduate student because they took extra classes, said Chris Tilly, chair of the Curriculum Working Group in the department of urban planning.
“In the current job market, it’s not easy to get the job you want, even with a master’s degree,” Tilly said. “If our students can certify they have a particular skill set, it will help them.”
The Curriculum Working Group approved the distribution of certificates in June.
Between 10 and 15 urban planning students are expected to earn the certificate each year, said Vinit Mukhija, the vice chair of urban planning. More than half of those students are expected to be working toward their master’s degree with a concentration in design and development.
Any urban planning student can earn a certificate, but the program is mostly geared toward students who choose to concentrate in design and development, one of several concentration choices given to master’s students, Mukhija said.
The certificate requires students to take at least eight courses within the concentration, rather than the six courses required for graduation, he added. Classes within the concentration account for about one-third of classes needed for graduation.
“Our course offerings in the area (of design and development) have expanded in recent years,” Mukhija said. “The certificate is trying to leverage that expansion, to give students more reason to take such classes.”
The certificate program organizes its curriculum so students receive a broad and deep exposure to issues about urban design and development, said Lois Takahashi, former chair of urban planning.”
Takahashi said she thinks departmental certificates may become widespread at UCLA because they offer students additional evidence of their work.
“Now, instead of listing all the extra classes they took on their resume, a student only needs to say that they have the certificate in design and development,” she said. “(The certificate) becomes a more concise and efficient way of demonstrating their deep understanding.”
The department of urban planning will issue certificates to qualified graduates, though the students’ official diplomas will not recognize the achievement, Takahashi said.