Name change in store for LAUP’s
newest undergrad degree program

A new name for the newest undergraduate degree offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning was recently approved by the Texas A&M Faculty Senate.

Pending approval by Bowen Loftin, Texas A&M president, the department’s Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Sciences degree, which was established in fall 2007, will be renamed as the Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning. The name change is slated to take effect May 15, 2011.

Forster Ndubisi, head of the department, said the name change is needed to align the degree name with the mission and goals of the program, as well as with the skills and knowledge provided by the Texas A&M University experience. The name change, he said, also strengthens the program’s brand identity.

The BS-URS program emphasizes problem solving, communication skills and critical thinking to create communities that are healthy, efficient, accessible, and resilient. According to program coordinator Don Sweeney, associate professor of urban planning, the program is designed to enable students “to have the skills and knowledge to make a difference.”

“The BS-URS rounds out the department’s academic degree programs,” said Ndubisi, “taking advantage of the skills and expertise of its faculty while providing a broad-based, multidisciplinary education from which students can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to create livable, sustainable and safe communities.”

- Posted: Feb. 22, 2011 -

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.