Alexander Jacobson

Urban studies coursework translates into the professional/subsequent academic environment beautifully, and the faculty was extremely helpful in guiding me towards fruitful investigations. For example, in my 300 fieldwork seminar, I wrote the seminal “theory-practice” paper on the discrepancy between professional systems for quantifying sustainability, (i.e. LEED, Green Globes, etc) and the theoretical definition of what is actually sustainable. Discussing that paper in an interview got me my first job working for PIDC in the Navy Yard because they were seeking to benchmark their electric consumption patterns, but had no theoretical means or “report card” for doing so.

In another example, writing my thesis on the power of control over the design process has given me a powerful argument for applying to graduate school in urban planning/architecture because it straddles both disciplines and truly weaves them together into a concrete area of research. My thesis advisor, Domenic Vitiello asked many important questions that highlighted the greater significance of the research, very much to the benefit of my thesis and to my ability to draw upon it later during graduate school applications as a piece of experience.