UPSD Student Engagement
UPSD Public Information & Accreditation
UPSD Quick Links
UPSD Materials
Western Urban Planners
The Western Urban Planners (WUP) Club is open to all UEPP students, meets weekly, and hosts various events for student collaboration, discussion, and exposure to professionals. Students can attend portfolio workshops, game nights, study sessions, and more to get to know their peers. Faculty also frequently host informational sessions for departmental engagement opportunities, like student feedback on the Strategic Plan update. WUP also hosts professionals from local agencies and employers, increasing opportunities for students to engage with their communities.
Western Urban Planners also bring nearly 20 students to conferences like the American Planning Association WA Chapter conferences. They also bring students to the American Planning Association National Planning Conference and conduct various fundraising, like t-shirt sales and crowdfunding through Viking Funder, to support their efforts.
Diversity and Student Outreach Committee
The Diversity and Student Outreach Committee (DSOC) was created by the UEPP Department in spring 2023. The committee’s faculty and student members revised the UPSD program’s 2016 diversity plan into a department-wide plan. A UEPP draft Diversity Plan was finalized in summer 2024. This committee has developed key goals including:
- Create purpose & excitement about accessibility, diversity, equity & inclusion (ADEI) in the Department
- Enhance diversity of student body, faculty, and the profession
- Ensure all feel welcomed & valued
DSOC hopes to continue their efforts into the future by engaging students to participate and feel more welcome in their department. Some of these include a Social Climate Survey, quarterly peer advising, departmental socials, and an annual diversity workshop, like DSOC hosted in spring 2024, where students can give feedback about their connections and relationships with the department. If interested in serving as a student member of DSOC, please contact Dr. Laninga.
You can learn more about the Diversity and Student Outreach Committee on the group's webpage.
State Conferences and Local Quarterly Forums
The American Planning Association WA Chapter hosts an annual conference each year in October, bringing together 500+ planners from across the state. Past locations have included Tacoma, Vancouver, Spokane, and Bellevue. The conference is a great opportunity for students to network with planning professionals in the state and to make connections for internships and learn about job openings. The Urban Planning program hosts a table in the exhibitor’s hall where students can showcase their work and meet conference attendees.
The Planning Association of Washington hosts an annual conference each year in April at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan, WA. The conference brings together a smaller group of planners from across the state for education and sharing best practices.
The board of the Northwest Section of the WA APA hosts quarterly forums for planners in Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties. Students are encouraged to attend the quarterly meetings. Each year the Northwest Section accepts applications for an intern to support the board’s work, which comes with a $500 stipend.
All three events provide great opportunities for students to connect with professional planners across the state of Washington. Students are encouraged to talk with faculty about proposing and co-presenting conference sessions.
Dr. Tammi Laninga speaks at a podium during a presentation on “Equity in Action,” at the Washington APA conference, along with panelists (from right to left) Jasmine Fast, Charlotte King, and Elizabeth Erickson.
UPSD students attended the 2024 National Planning Conference in Minneapolis.
UPSD students pose with APA President Angela Brooks at the 2024 National Planning Conference in Minneapolis.
Regional and National Conferences
The Western Planner organization supports planners working in the Western United States. They host an annual conference (for which they offer student scholarships), usually in late summer, and publish the Western Planner Journal. Their website posts jobs throughout the west, and a blog called “Western Matters.”
The American Planning Association (APA), the professional organization for urban planners, hosts an annual conference every year in the spring. The National Planning Conference brings together thousands of professionals from across the county. The conference exposes students to cutting edge planning practice and planners from many different sectors and experiences. Attending the NPC builds strong connections among the cohort, and helps students become more professional, and inspired about their chosen major and future career path.
The Associated Collegiate Schools of Planning is the academic arm of the profession and “connects educators, researchers, and students, to advance knowledge about planning education and research” (https://www.acsp.org/page/AboutACSP). The international ACSP Annual conference is held each fall, bringing together over 1,000 faculty, students, researchers, professional planners and more. While not as many students may attend this conference, if you are thinking of going on the earn a masters or PhD in planning, this is a conference you do not want to miss.
The Planners Network is “is the organization of progressive planning. Our members are professionals, activists, academics, and students involved in physical, social, economic, and environmental planning in urban and rural areas. We serve as a voice for social, economic, and environmental justice through planning” (https://www.plannersnetwork.org/about-planners-network/about/). The organization hosts biannual conferences, usually the day before the ACPS conference, publishes an online magazine, the Progressive City, and distributes a monthly newsletter. To learn more about the organization and/or start a local chapter, talk with Dr. Nabil Kamel, UEPP Department Chair and member.