Master of Science in Urban Design Application Instructions

[  ] Follow the application instructions for all UTSOA graduate programs.
[  ] See below for MSUD application requirements.
[  ] DUAL DEGREE APPLICANTS: To apply for admission to the MSUD + MSCRP dual degree program, an applicant must select the correct dual degree program on the online application, follow the application instructions for each degree program, and meet all application deadlines for each degree program.

Applicants must have a previous professional degree in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or Community and Regional Planning.

[  ] Follow the Graduate School instructions to submit the application, application fee, transcripts and test scores. 

The GRE is **WAIVED** for Fall 2025 applications. 

[  ] Upload your statement through MyStatus.

+ A 1,000-1,500 word essay that addresses your interest in Urban Design with respect to your academic and professional objectives, the factors that led you to apply to the UTSOA, a situation or job that helped you define your interest, your most substantial professional contribution and why you view it as such, and/or any other factors related to your academic or professional experience that you wish to convey to the admissions committee.
+ You may submit your online application before finishing your statement of purpose. You can later upload your statement through MyStatus.

[  ] Manage and track your letters through MyStatus.
[  ] Provide recommenders' emails as part of the online application.

+ Recommenders may include former instructors and professional employers.
+ Letters should include comments on the applicant’s intellectual, communicative, and leadership abilities as well as their capacity for creativity and relevant personal characteristics.
+ After you submit your application and pay your application fee, notification emails will be sent to your recommenders. Any delay in submitting your application or application fee will delay the notifications to your recommenders.

[  ] Upload through MyStatus. 

[  ] Upload portfolio as a single pdf through the portfolio credential on MyStatus. 

The portfolio helps the reviewers determine your potential to perform successfully in a studio-based design curriculum. In order to review each application fairly and accurately, the reviewing committee requires evidence in one or more categories:

• The level of creative skill you possess in any medium.

• The extent of your interest in the proposed degree program, made evident through your abilities in composition, physical form-making, or perception of the environment.

• Your ability to translate ideas into physical form, even if in simple terms such as drawing.

FORMAT

Portfolios should be designed and formatted for on-screen viewing. Maximum file size is 25 MB.

ATTRIBUTION

For each project, list the applicant’s name, the project’s date, and an indication as to whether the project was academic, office-related, or personal. In the case of collaborative or professional work, the contribution by the applicant must be precisely described.

ORGANIZATION

The organization of the portfolio is a design exercise. It should be clear, succinct, and thoughtfully composed to best reflect your interests and skills. The quality of the work is of greater importance than quantity.

CONTENT

Applicants seeking a post-professional degree in Urban Design should submit examples of work demonstrating an ability to pursue study at an advanced level. The portfolio should be of high quality and provide evidence of well-developed graphic skills and a sense of design (including any relevant experience in the construction of urban form and public space or infrastructure). The committee assumes the portfolio represents the applicant’s best abilities in design.

DUAL DEGREE APPLICANTS

Applicants without a professional background in landscape architecture or architecture who are applying for the MSUD + MSCRP dual degree program are not expected to show advanced design skills but rather creative, artistic, or perceptive skills through graphic design, drawing, painting, or three-dimensional explorations (models). A portfolio helps the reviewers associate your desire to enter graduate school with your potential to perform successfully in a studio-based design curriculum.