Tooting his horn

Tim volunteered the rider of the Dream Tour - See the April 27th entry - http://www.thedreamtour.org/

Way to go, Tim!

My brother Tim posing with his bike - He volunteered to help with the Dream Tour

The die is cast....

God willing and the creek don't rise, I'm headed to Athens GA for my MLA in the fall. It was a combination of a number of things, but the fact that the MLA is the 'official' terminal degree for LA's broke the tie. While a MURP degree would add some credentials, some portion of the academic advertisements state "MLA or other related terminal degree" - as the MURP is not the terminal planning degree, I technically would not meet the criteria.

Of course, the other things, like being closer to family, and the small-town atmosphere of Athens are just icing on the cake. Of course, my timing for the move will suck. Prientation will start Aug. 10th, and classes on the 16th. I'll have to leave Portland Mid-July to get down there and settled in time. THe 'nice' part is that I'll be leaving OR just as the weather turns nice, and arriving in Athens just in time for the worst part of the summer. Yeah, humidity!

3 months to go....

MLA vs MURP

Here’s what I see as the advantages & disadvantages ofeach program:

Georgia’s MLA Program:

Advantages:
* Potential for Teaching Assistantships due to the large undergraduate program.
* Potential for professional contacts / recognition /recommendations within the academic LA community.
* Name recognition of the program within the LA community.
* Recognition/understanding of my degree – the MLA isthe ‘typical’ degree of faculty, and specifically mentioned in the advertised criteria.
* Intimacy / environment of the program. With a smaller graduate program and studio environment (15-20students/year) I’d (probably) get to know my fellow students and the faculty better.
* Community Design Studio – GA has a strong community design studio that works throughout Georgia. I’m very interested in working with communities, so this wouldbe valuable.
* Small town / intimate nature of Athens, GA. I grew up in a smaller town, and miss the atmosphere.
* Proximity to family – I’d be 2 hours from myfather, and (only) 14 hours from my mother & brother.

Disadvantages:
* Tends to duplicate my base education – I’d get deeper understanding of landscape architecture, but not add as much breadth.
* My fellow students would generally be seeking their first professional degree, and I might not learn as much from them.
* Adds value only in an academic setting, not aprofessional setting. A BLA + CLA + MLA doesn’t seem to add up to much more value than BLA + CLA in the professional realm.
* I’d have to move cross-country (I live in Portland now). Only a slight disadvantage – most of my stuff is still in northern VA, and I’d have to move it out here.
* Athens has less of a market for part-time LA workat a rate consistent with my experience.

PSU’s MURP Program:

Advantages:
* Broadens my background, giving me credentials as both a LA and planner.
* Increases my understanding of the policy side ofthe built environment.
* In-state tuition in Oregon. Granted, this is less significant, given the potential for assistantships.
* Will be able to work part-time at my existing jobat a professional pay rate.
* PSU has a strong internship program withconnections throughout the Portland area, which couldpotentially give me exposure to a wide variety ofprofessional environments.

Disadvantages:
* Strong reputation within the Pacific Northwest, but limited (?) in the rest of the country.
* Larger ‘cohort’ of classmates (35-40) and no studio class means I might not know my classmates as well.
* Farther from family means less/more expensive visits.
* MURP degree is not typical terminal degree for LA faculty.
* Larger city may be more expensive place to live.

How much value would the teaching experience (as a TA) give? How important is the recommendations of my facultytowards getting a job? I’m assuming that recommendations from faculty within the LA community might count more that from those from the (unknown)planning community. Does the diversity of the MURP degree ad much value?