Master of Urban Design
The Master of Urban Design (M.U.D.) is an advanced, interdisciplinary program of study that focuses on contemporary challenges of urbanism at local, regional and global scales. The program is geared toward students with previous professional degrees in architecture (BArch, MArch), landscape architecture (BLA, MLA) or planning (BSCRP, MCRP, MUP), and relevant professional experience. The program draws faculty from these and other related disciplines within the college and university.
In this three-semester (summer, spring, fall), 36-credit degree program, students integrate design into the understanding and framing of urbanized environments by engaging directly in a community of inquiry and practice--learning to create more adaptable, flexible and resilient cities and regions within the context of a changing world.
Through this program, students will:
- gain knowledge of new practices, technologies, and methods of urban design.
- learn advanced thinking skills and integrate concepts, ideas and approaches in a team-based, interdisciplinary design process, and
- acquire knowledge and skills that support professional leadership in research and design work focused on local, regional and global issues in the contemporary built environment.
Application information is available at
Courses
Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:
URB D 501. Urban Design Local Studio.
(3-6) Cr. 6.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission
Analysis and observation of urban morphology and culture with urban design projects set in local cities of the United States. Students with learn skills to observe and interpret urbanism as they develop processes for designing cities concerned for both physical form, ecological principles and human activity.
URB D 502. Urban Design Global Studio.
(1-10) Cr. 6.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
Students develop proposals for urban design interventions in an international context at multiple scales using investigation, analysis, observation, and interaction. Field trips.
URB D 511. History of Urban Design.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission
Exploration of key episodes, movements and pioneering figures in the history of urban design from antiquity to the present. Focus on continual transformation of spatial organization, built form, and public space in relation to changing political power, social structure, and technology. Course sessions develop chronologically and thematically with readings, discussions, student presentations, and research projects.
URB D 521. Foundations of Urban Design.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing, senior classification with instructor permission.
Introduction to the ways that urban designers think about the city with a focus on how history, theory, and a wide range of contextual factors inform urban design practice. Field trip.
URB D 522. Theory of Urban Design.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
Study of contemporary theoretical texts that address the process of urbanization and the challenges of urban design in a global context. Course will be conducted in a combination of lecture and seminar formats and requires graduate level readings, discussions and research.
URB D 531. Methods of Urban Design Workshop.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
An exploration of contemporary urban design methods derived from significant urban projects and (re)development initiatives. Selected case studies to articulate and evaluate methods for implementing urban design goals and objectives in a variety of urbanized contexts. Case studies will build on a combination of analytical research, lectures, student presentations, and field trips.
URB D 532. Urban Design Media Workshop.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
An introduction to visual representation tools and techniques for generating and communicating urban design concepts and analytical research. Projects and exercises will utilize traditional and contemporary approaches to drawing, modeling, and mapping, as well as desktop publishing tools for print, web, and presentation graphics. Field trip.
URB D 533. Urban Design Methods.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate standing or senior classification with instructor permission.
Alternative and competing urban design methods employed by the allied disciplines of planning, architecture, and landscape architecture. Introduction to the techniques for developing conceptual models and representational skills through all phases of the urban design process. Readings, lectures, group discussions, applied exercises, student presentations, and field trips.
