About the Senior Sequence

Description: All students majoring in Urban Studies and Planning must complete the Senior Sequence during their senior year. The Sequence is made up of two classes including USP 186: Senior Sequence Research Proposal in the fall quarter, and USP 187: Senior Sequence Research Project in the winter quarter. These courses must be taken in order. Students will not be allowed to register for USP 187 without having first taken USP 186. Both courses must be taken for a letter grade.

The Sequence introduces students to the challenges and problems of social inquiry, field research and scholarly writing.  The objective is for students to learn how to: (1) critically review research literature, (2) formulate interesting, theoretically-informed research questions of their own, (3) write a research proposal with an original topic and investigative strategy , (4) conduct research, and (5) analyze, interpret, and write-up findings. The final requirement of the Sequence is a Senior Research Project (SRP). Students share the findings of their SRP in the form of a poster board presentation at USP's annual Urban Expo in March.

During the course of the Sequence each student must also complete an internship in a placement of their own choosing. Many students do their SRP on a topic related to their internship. While matching the subject matter of one's internship and SRP makes sense (and we encourage it), doing so is optional. In other words, students can do their SRP on a subject unrelated to their internship. The Urban and Studies Program assists students in arranging their internships. Each student is obligated to do at least 100 hours of service to meet the internship requirement. The USP office maintains scores of possible placements. For example, a wide range of internships are available in city and county offices, including departments of health, and planning. Other placements are available with state and county government, elected public officials, city council members, environmental consulting firms, real estate agencies, non-profit and grassroots organizations. Students select and then interview for their internship positions (some are paid placements, some are not). All students must have their internship placement lined up and the internship contract agreement signed by a specified date. Students generally begin their internship at the mid-point of USP 186 (i.e., week five of the fall quarter) and continue in the same internship until the mid-point of USP 187 (i.e., week five of winter quarter), but there is some flexibility in this regard.

The intent of the internship requirement is to give students work experience in a professional setting of their choice. Students also have the option of building on their internship experience to meet their SRP requirement (e.g., by doing a case study or policy analysis related to the internship placement). Beside basic instruction in research methods, the lecture component of USP 186 and USP 187 is designed to provide students with a framework in which they may critically examine ethical and professional aspects of scholarly research and service learning.