The Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning Department’s long tradition of independent student projects in the final year of study continues. Now each student prepares a master’s report or thesis and since 2006 all are made available on the K-State Research Exchange, KREx, where you can search for work by author, major professor, key words and many other attributes. You’ll find a list of master’s theses and reports linked below by degree program. The titles lead you to pages where you can download the full document.
Landscape Architecture
Regional & Community Planning
Community Development
Examples of 2014 Graduates work:
Landscape Architecture Example- Elizabeth Decker’s, MLA ’14, report A city for Marc: an inclusive urban design approach to planning for adults with autism looked at creating urban environments that are inclusive of adults with autism. Her report was based around her desire to help create an environment that would by inclusive for her younger brother Marc. Decker’s major professor was Katie Kingery-Page (LA). Elizabeth’s report has been featured in several national publications including Austism Speaks, Science Daily and Daily Mail.
“Through this project, I really want to understand my brother,” Decker said. “I want to see him go out in the real world and be successful. This project was away for me to research more about autism and learn more about people like my brother. It helped me figure out how we can design for a group of adults that is getting bigger.”
Regional & Community Planning Example- Christopher Clanahan’s, MRCP ’14, thesis Ballot box conservation: a study of local U.S. conservation measures and its use by local governments and planners looks at a descriptive trend analysis on conservation measures conducted by local governments between 1996 and 2012, in order to identify any changes or consistencies in application. The inferences from this study can aid local governments and planners to consider or reconsider their stance on the use of ballot box conservation. Clanahan was the recipient of the 2014 RCP Outstanding Master’s Thesis award.
“Chris’ committee felt that he wrote an exemplary academic thesis. He had a clear problem statement, research question, and methodology; and as a result his findings directly answered his question as well as provided interesting fodder for further discussion,” said Huston Gibson (RCP), Clanahan’s major professor. “Chris certainly showcased his abilities to operate as an academic scholar through his thesis efforts. He is starting a PhD in Planning program this Fall, and through this experience he has demonstrated his abilities to be successful.”
Community Development Example- Maggie Stephen’s, MS CD ’14, master’s report Sustainable behavior change at Kansas State University: applying the Fogg Behavior Model as a community-based social marketing approach among faculty and staff, contributes to the KSU Office of Sustainability’s goals for campus engagement. Dr. Ben Champion, former Director of Sustainability for K-State, served on Maggie’s supervisory committee. Maggie’s study is designed to further efforts to promote behavior change across campus. She applied theories from psychology literature that many campuses have utilized in their sustainability efforts to the K-State sustainability effort.
“Maggie Stephen’s master’s report applies research to real problems,” Dr. Champion said. “Her work holds promise for informing implementation of K-State’s sustainability plans and gives the university a good starting point as they work to engage faculty, staff and students in more sustainable behaviors.”
To see other work, please see the below list of the 2014 class of MLA, MRCP and CD theses and reports. Click on the underlined title to reach a page that will allow you to download and review the projects. The committee members for our students’ projects include faculty from four colleges in addition to our own and more than a dozen departments. We’re thrilled about the range of our interdisciplinary explorations!
MLA Theses and Reports
MRCP Theses and Reports
CD Theses and Reports
| LAST NAME | FIRST NAME | REPORT/THESIS | TITLE | COMMITTEE |
| Atkinson | Lisa | Thesis | COMMUNITY NETWORKS: IDENTIFYING SOCIAL CAPITAL IN EMERADO, NORTH DAKOTA | Professors Rolley Gibson | Goreham |
| Stephens | Maggie | Report | SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOR CHANGE AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: APPLYING THE FOGG BEHAVIOR MODEL AS A COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL MARKETING APPROACH AMONG FACULTY AND STAFF | Professors Gibson Chamberlain | Champion |