The Phillip D. Peters Regional Planning Fellowship Program

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and an advisory committee offer the annual Phillip D. Peters Regional Planning Fellowship. As one of the only fellowships of its kind across the country, the Peters Fellowship provides a graduate student with a paid work and enrichment experience at a major regional planning agency in one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

The fellowship was established in 1999 to honor the late Phil Peters, the former executive director of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) — one of CMAP's predecessor agencies. Phil retired in 1999 after completing more than thirty years of extraordinary service to NIPC, during which time he played a major role in the development and implementation of the agency's innovative, comprehensive, and highly-regarded planning program for the Chicago metropolitan area. The fellowship reflects Phil's dedication to NIPC and his personal interest in promoting careers in regional planning.

The fellowship is awarded each year to a qualified master's degree graduate student in urban and regional planning or a related field. The objective is to open the fellowship to a broad range of applicants representative of the full scope of regional planning. A 400 hour work experience at CMAP is provided under the guidance and mentoring of a senior staff member. The fellowship is scheduled for a mutually convenient, consecutive period between May and December of each year, with the fellow compensated at the rate of $21.00 per hour.

Selection is based upon a combination of educational attainment, relationship of past coursework and employment to the current work and needs of CMAP, and an indication of a career interest in regional planning. Priority is given to those students who are midway through their graduate program.

Fellowship projects may include work in any of the following areas of planning: land use, transportation, environment and natural resources, housing, and/or economic development, and involve local planning, community engagement, policy analysis, communications, and/or data research and analysis. Many past Peters Fellows have worked on projects within CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program or on development of the comprehensive regional plan. Every effort is made to match up the education and interest of the fellow with the agency's work program activities, including participation in networking and enrichment opportunities.