New interdisciplinary transportation program launched

Teresa M. Adams (14K JPG)

Relieving the growing congestion on interstate highways and city streets will require more than simply building additional roads. Engineering is part of the solution, but economic, political, social and environmental considerations also determine what can and should be done.

That's the concept behind a new interdisciplinary graduate-level certificate program offered by the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison. The Transportation Management and Policy Program has begun accepting students.

Professor Teresa Adams, who spearheaded development of the program and is its first chair, says the idea arose in the Midwest Regional University Transportation Center, a federally funded research and education project based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

"We looked at educational needs in this area and discovered that they go beyond just civil engineering," she says. "Technical issues are part of it, but the context in which we deliver transportation systems has changed dramatically, so now we're concerned with the environment, social justice, political issues and the not-in-my-back-yard syndrome."

Adams says state and federal transportation agencies, as well as consulting firms, draw on a wide range of disciplines to attack these problems, but new employees have to learn on the job.

"The state agencies hire people from business and policy and environmental backgrounds, but they don't come in with a lot of understanding about transportation and associated issues. They learn it when they get there. We're trying to provide that education so they're more suitable for those jobs," she says.

The certificate program covers all modes of transportation, such as highways, mass transit, air, water and rail. Students must complete at least 18 credits of recommended courses, including a one-credit internship with a transportation agency or business.

"The internship is much more experience-based, where you work as part of a multidisciplinary team," Adams says. "The writing component of the certificate requirement focuses on short documents like management memos, policy statements and analysis summaries."

The certificate program is geared toward students with academic backgrounds in business, economics, engineering, environmental studies, land management, public affairs and/or urban and regional planning, but graduate students from any academic department at the university may apply. Those who complete the program will earn a certificate in transportation management and policy to supplement their graduate degree. In many cases, credits will be counted toward the requirements of both.

Several students have already enrolled in the program.

"We're attracting two types of people: Students who want an inter-disciplinary master's degree through the Nelson Institute and those who wish to stay in a more traditional discipline, but acquire expertise and experience in this team approach," Adams says. "One is just as important as the other."

Adams and her colleagues looked elsewhere for models upon which to base the Transportation Management and Policy Program but found none.

"We don't see another type of educational program like this anywhere in the country," she says.

A website for the program will be available soon.