Program Overview

Master of Urban Planning in Urban Design

The Master of Urban Planning in Urban Design program at Spitzer is a three-semester, design lab-based, STEM-designated program that transforms cities and communities by shaping inclusive, resilient, and environmentally responsive solutions for a rapidly urbanizing world.

Program Overview

Through the integration of design, research, ecological thinking, and infrastructural planning, our interdisciplinary curriculum challenges outdated policies and urban paradigms. It equips students with the leadership, technical expertise, and innovative vision required to navigate and redefine complex urban systems. Through collaborative design research with other Spitzer programs and centers, as well as partnerships with public and private institutions, students tackle transformative projects that address environmental concerns, advance social and spatial equity, and embrace the evolving role of technology.

Program Details

• Duration: 1.5 years/3 semesters, full time, 45 credits in-person
• Eligibility: Open to students holding a professional degree in architecture or landscape architecture; exceptions possible.
• STEM Designation: This MUP in Urban Design program is listed within the U.S. government's official STEM fields list, meaning graduates with F-1 visas may be eligible for U.S. work authorization for up to three years.

Curriculum

The program is designed to be completed in three full-time, sequential semesters (fall, spring, fall). For students who desire a longer course of study, it is possible to distribute the credits over up to two academic years/four semesters.

Fall Term 1

• UD 61001: Urban Design Lab I - 6 credits This course constitutes the first half of a year-long design research lab. Organized around a series of lectures and design workshops, the course will develop research agendas to analyze and catalyze imaginative urban studies.
• UD 61100: Urban Design Seminar I - 3 credits This course constitutes the first half of a year-long design seminar. The seminar provides opportunities to develop in-depth competency in topics that support and broaden the design curriculum.
• UD 61510: Topics in Urban Histories and Theories - 3 credits Courses offered under this rubric will introduce students to the study of cities and built environments through time and across cultures.
• UD 61520: Topics in Urban Ecologies and Technologies - 3 credits Courses offered under this rubric productively tap into expertise such as infrastructural engineering, environmental planning, urban ecology, big data technology, and digital protocols.

Spring Term 2

• UD 62001: Urban Design Lab II - 6 credits This course constitutes the second half of a year-long design research lab. The course expands on the research agendas developed in Design Lab I while deepening the understanding of social, environmental, and technological concerns in design processes.
• UD 62100: Urban Design Seminar II - 3 credits This course constitutes the second half of a year-long design seminar. The seminar provides opportunities to develop in-depth competency in topics that support and broaden the design curriculum.
• UD 61530: Topics in Socially Situated Practices - 3 credits Courses offered under this rubric redefine the objectives and scope of urban design by foregrounding racial, social, and environmental justice as primary drivers and areas of enquiry.

Fall Term 3

• UD 73000: Urban Design Lab III / Capstone - 6 credits This course constitutes the third design research lab and will act as a capstone project for students to deploy agendas, competencies, strategies, and methods developed in the first year of the program.
• UD 73100: Urban Design Seminar III / Capstone - 3 credits This course constitutes the third design seminar. The seminar provides opportunities to develop in-depth competency in topics that support and broaden the design curriculum.
• Urbanism Elective - 3 credits Students will choose a relevant course from a list of electives curated by faculty, drawing from offerings within and beyond the Spitzer School.

Career Opportunities

Graduates emerge as leaders in urban design, planning agencies, architecture, and multidisciplinary firms, policy institutions, and academia, driving impactful solutions for the challenges of urbanization.