Background
The UCD School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy (GPEP) is a dynamic research and learning environment based at University College Dublin, Ireland's largest university. GPEP is the only University School in Ireland specialising in research and teaching in geography, spatial planning, environmental policy and economics. It brings together the skills and expertise of the former Departments of Geography, Regional and Urban Planning and Environmental Studies to address the multifaceted nature of geography, planning and environmental research and teaching in the 21st Century.
GPEP seeks to provide the knowledge and analytical tools to understand the dynamics of physical landscapes and environmental processes, and the interrelationship between people and places at all geographical scales. To address the pressing international, national and local challenges in implementing sustainable development and improving quality of life via environmental policy and spatial planning, GPEP endeavours to provide the very best in terms of multidisciplinary teaching and research offering our students, the policy process and the community at large, a resource unmatched in Ireland.
From Knowledge to Action - this is what the school of GPEP is about!
It is a community of scholars and students of human and physical geography and the applied fields of environmental policy and planning. We are an international community searching for greater understanding of our living environment and the natural, socio-economic and political processes that underpin it.
The intellectual span is global – from Ireland to the Americas, China, Middle East and back to Europe; and across scales – from international regions to local public spaces and places. Our interests are diverse including among others: sustainable urban and rural planning, development and conservation; geopolitics and governance; creativity, technology and innovation; regional growth, economics and policy; population migration; urban climate change; geomorphology and river catchment management; environmental hazards and risk; housing; transportation; and urban design.
The School operates from two locations: the Newman Building - centrally situated on the Belfield Campus and the Planning Building on the Richview Campus. The staff and students have access to prime and custom designed spaces, facilities and equipment including the Geospatial Analysis Lab, the ITRAX core scanning lab, studios and the Earth Sciences Institute.
The GPEP School combines academic with professional education and the creation of knowledge with its application in the real world. Each discipline draws on the approaches and techniques of the others and is enriched by this interaction while maintaining its own integrity. The programmes in the School are offered at all three levels: Undergraduate and postgraduate - taught and research masters and PhD. The Geography postgraduate taught masters offers three specialisations: Urban Studies; Geopolitics and Global Economy and Geography, while the Master of Regional and Urban Planning programme is professionally accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Irish Planning Institute.
Please visit our web pages to find out more about what these courses can offer you and explore the innovative and policy relevant research of our staff and postgraduate students.
WELCOME TO THE GPEP COMMUNITY!
