URP 701

Epistemology and Reasoning for Planning Research — This course is one of the two required planning theory courses for the Doctoral Program in Urban and Regional Planning (along with UP 650).  The purpose of this course is to provide an advanced theoretical foundation for doctoral students as they make scholarly contributions to policy-oriented research on planning thought and practice.  It reviews and critically evaluates various epistemological, methodological, and normative foundations of planning thought and practice, focusing in particular on planning and public policy making from a social science perspective.  Students participate actively in the preparation of discussion materials for weekly discussion sessions and write a paper suitable for advancing the development of a dissertation topic and proposed research design.