Program Overview

Urban Design - M.U.D.

Overview

The Master of Urban Design degree expands on traditional architectural, landscape architecture, and planning education with an understanding of the processes of urban development, and with the skills required to physically shape urban places. The program is aimed at students with a prior background in either design or urban-related studies. The degree seeks to develop knowledgeable specialists who possess significant ability to identify opportunities in the urban environment and the sensibility to provide design solutions to the most complex problems encountered.

Admissions

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university (starting with the fall 2026 admission term, a bachelor's degree in either design or urban-related studies is required)
• Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Official transcript(s)
• GRE scores (starting with the fall 2026 admission term, GRE scores will no longer be required)
• Goal statement (include intent and background information)
• Portfolio (design work should clearly indicate role in group projects)
• Three letters of recommendation, with one letter from a non-academic source
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

Coursework

• ARCH 65001: Professional Practice: Real Estate and Development (2 credit hours)
• UD 55705: Forces That Shape Cities (3 credit hours)
• UD 60701: Urban Design Studio I (6 credit hours)
• UD 60702: Urban Design Studio II (6 credit hours)
• UD 65101: Community Development Process (1 credit hour)
• UD 65102: Urban Systems (3 credit hours)
• UD 65632: Urban Ecological Systems (3 credit hours)
• UD 66995: Special Topics in Urban Design (1 credit hour)
• Culminating Requirement:
  • Choose from the following:
    • Research Track 1:
      • UD 60705: Master Project in Urban Design Preparation
      • UD 60798: Masters Project in Urban Design
    • Practicum Track:
      • UD 66896: Urban Design Practicum Project
      • UD 66995: Special Topics in Urban Design
    • Practicum Track Electives, choose from the following (6 credit hours):
      • ARCH 60301: Theories of Architecture
      • GEOG 51066: Global Climate Change
      • GEOG 52052: Health Geography
      • GEOG 54010: Geographies of Global Development
      • GEOG 55085: Urban Transportation
      • GEOG 56070: Urban and Regional Planning
      • GEOG 59070: Geographic Information Science
      • GEOG 59076: Spatial Programming
      • GEOG 59080: Advanced Geographic Information Science
      • GEOG 59162: Cartography
      • GEOG 59230: Remote Sensing
      • GEOG 60191: Seminar in Topical Geography
      • GEOG 60800: Seminar in the Development of Geographic Thought
      • LARC 50095: Special Topics in Landscape Architecture
      • LARC 50100: Design Visualization
      • LARC 60111: Landscape History and Theory
      • UD 66995: Special Topics in Urban Design
      • Other course as approved

Graduation Requirements

• Minimum Major GPA: 3.000
• Minimum Overall GPA: 3.000
• No more than one-half of a graduate student’s coursework may be taken in 50000-level courses.
• Grades below C are not counted toward completion of requirements for the degree.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability to build abstract relationships and understand the impact of ideas based on research and analysis of multiple theoretical, social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts.
2. Develop an ability to utilize the technical instruments of the urban design field, including legal instruments, urban systems, and their organization; and the role of these varied elements in the implementation of design and their impact on the environment.
3. Manage, advocate, and act legally, ethically, and critically for the good of society and the public.

Dual Degree with M.Arch. in Architecture

Students have the opportunity to complete a dual degree program with the M.U.D. degree in Urban Design and the M.Arch. degree in Architecture. A separate application must be submitted for each program. Students can view admission requirements for each program on their respective catalog page. Students in the M.Arch. degree must be declared in the Accelerated Track concentration to be admitted to the dual degree.

Full Description

The Master of Urban Design degree expands on traditional architectural, landscape architecture, and planning education with an understanding of the processes of urban development, and with the skills required to physically shape urban places. The program is aimed at students with a prior background in either design or urban-related studies. The degree seeks to develop knowledgeable specialists who possess significant ability to identify opportunities in the urban environment and the sensibility to provide design solutions to the most complex problems encountered.

Faculty work in close collaboration with students through rigorous curricula focused on the application of research in the design of layered and mutually reinforcing systems and public spaces. The degree culminates with either a final hands-on practicum component or a final independent design research project for eligible students.

Projects range from neighborhood plans to large-scale urban and regional initiatives engaging cultural and environmental concerns. Project locations are often in Cleveland and similar regional cities, but they address far-reaching global concerns. Students can engage in applied research in the re-design of “Cities Growing Smaller” systemic approaches to the development of urban environments, considerations of place and identity, and the place-making potential of infrastructure. Further directions include the design of cities and neighborhoods that promote physical and mental health; studies of sustainable infrastructures that support sustainable ecological systems; the adaptation of traditional models of urbanism to changing conditions; and the future of urban economies as it relates to physical place-making.