Urban Planning and Sustainability Project – UPSP
The Urban Planning and Sustainability Project (UPSP) consists of an international partnership between California State University, Northridge (CSUN/US), University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass/US), and the Brazilian Federal University of Goiás (UFG/BR), and Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU/BR).
Under the supervision of U.S. and Brazilian project directors and faculty the selected students will focus their study abroad in urban planning and sustainability by examining various subject areas including transportation, environmental policy, comprehensive planning, energy and technology, climate change, housing and urban life quality, and urban migration. The project will offer CSUN students the opportunity to advance language learning while experiencing Brazilian culture. Additionally, students will engage in a network of U.S. and Brazilian academics, students, and public and private agencies as they have first hand experience of urban planning and practices of sustainability in Brazil.
CSUN students will receive a stipend of US$4,000 to spend a semester studying urban planning related topics in the Federal University of Goiás or in the Federal University of Uberlândia. Since CSUN does not offer courses in Portuguese language an additional US$1,000 will be awarded to selected CSUN students to cover language preparation. The first cohort of three CSUN students attended the Brazilian universities in fall 2010 and the subsequent cohort was selected and is scheduled for spring 2012. Professor Euripedes (Euri) De Oliveira, Project Director, will assist students in pre-trip travel planning and in preparing for arrival and adjustment to living and studying in Brazil. The Brazilian universities will provide orientation for the students as well.
The selection criteria to participate in the UPSP will be held on an equal opportunity basis, and it will consider (1) minimum Portuguese language proficiency by departure to Brazil, (2) major or minor and junior or senior status in Urban Studies and Planning, though other majors and concentrations related to cities, urban planning, sustainability, climate change, and or urban development are encouraged to apply, and (3) the student’s ability to meet the academic standards of CSUN and the Brazilian universities.
Please note that prospective participant students that are considering attending the Brazilian universities have one year or less to acquire minimum proficiency in Portuguese, a basic requirement for participation in the program. Thus, when applying to the UPSP s/he should indicate her/his interest and engagement in learning or improve Portuguese proficiency (e.g. via language learning plan).