Program Overview

Master of Urban Design Program

The Master of Urban Design (M.U.D.) program at the University of Michigan empowers the next generation of urban leaders to confront todays most urgent urban challenges through research and speculative design. The program brings together students with degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, urban technology, and urban & regional planning in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.

Program Structure

The program is structured around a sequence of three thematic semesters, exploring the future of cities and territories through the lenses of Justice, Technology, and Climate, and positioning urban design as the central discipline of urban transformation.

Environment

The program cultivates collaboration in a studio-based environment, where students advance critical questions about contemporary urban conditions through work in cross-disciplinary teams. Students and faculty from different areas of the world inform a multi-faceted dialogue about todays urban and territorial issues.

Place-Based Learning

The program engages with climate refuge geographies, considering strategies for resilience in access to water, energy, and resources. The proximity to the urban context of Detroit foregrounds questions of justice and equality. Travel components in courses expose students to a wide range of urban issues, practices, and schools of thought in the twenty-first century that inform critical design experimentation in the studio.

Core Curriculum

The curriculum combines core seminars on urban representation, economics, and development with courses on the history of urbanism, and the theories and research methods of urban design. In design studios, students learn to use XR, animation, and other contemporary visualization tools to communicate ideas to a wide range of audiences.

Choice of Trajectories

The program prepares students to become leaders in multi-disciplinary design practices. Our graduates also go on to careers in academia or start their own companies. The curriculum supports different career paths through a choice between independent research or a guided studio project in the final semester. Elective courses within and outside of Taubman College allow students to advance their specific interests.

Faculty

The programs strength is rooted in a collaborative culture of intellectual diversity. Faculty members have a wide variety of expertise and methodologies, including:

• DESIGN EARTH, a research practice co-led by Professor and Director of the Master of Urban Design, El Hadi Jazairy
• EXTENTS, an Ann Arbor-based design practice focusing on designing and cultivating urban imaginaries co-led by McLain Clutter and Cyrus Pe鎙rroyo
• Other faculty members with expertise in architecture, urban design, urban research, urban theory, and territorial planning

Community

Students are well-supported by a large and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff who are knowledgeable, curious, collegial, and excited about architecture. The community brings a variety of experiences and points of view, serving as a sounding board, support network, and friends.

Career Development

The program offers a dedicated full-time career and professional development team, providing various programs and resources to help students explore careers, secure positions, and continue skill development and management.

STEM Designation

The Master of Urban Design degree is an approved field of study within the U.S. governments official STEM fields list. Upon completing the degree, international students may be eligible for the 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension.

Resources and Opportunities

The program provides travel opportunities, allowing students to meet directly with communities and exercise critical thinking skills and cultural competency. Recent studio field trips have focused on national and international destinations, including enclaves in Mumbai, academic campuses in Rio, and archeology, ecology, and urbanization in Mexico City.

Tuition

The program offers various financial resources to help students manage tuition and living expenses.