Biography
Dr. Meaghan McSorley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University. Her research focuses on three interconnected areas: planning education and professional development, the theory and professional practice of urban planning, and the advancement of healthy and livable communities. Dr. McSorley’s scholarship is theory-driven and grounded in qualitative methods, sometimes in collaboration on interdisciplinary, mixed-methods projects.
Her work investigates how planners are trained and socialized, how they exercise professional judgment, and how planning practices can better promote human flourishing. She engages directly with both academic and practitioner audiences, contributing to scholarly literature as well as applied outputs for the American Planning Association on topics such as empathy and participatory practice. Across her academic and applied work, Dr. McSorley is committed to bridging research and practice to support a more reflective and responsive planning profession.
She has published in leading journals such as Planning Theory & Practice and Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Education
PhD, City and Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023
MPH, Public Health, University of Minnesota, 2019
MURP, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Minnesota, 2019
BA, Anthropology and French, Cornell University, 2013
Selected Publications
McSorley, M., Webb, D., Williams, K., Lyles, L.W., Botchwey, N. (Accepted). Can self-understanding foster feelings of professional responsibility among planning students? Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Milz, D., McSorley, M., Thayer, S., Gervich, C. (2025). On the cognitive mechanics of planning judgment. Planning Theory and Practice, 26(1), 47–65.
McSorley, M., Akhurst, B.K., Hall, M., et al. (2023). For graduate students to become leaders in sustainability, we must transcend disciplinary boundaries. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 11(1).
