Sustainable Design

Sustainable Design Hero
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
HOW TO APPLY

The Graduate Program in Sustainable Design is an interdisciplinary and research-based degree path. Here, scholars are both part of a specialized, close-knit cohort of MSSD students as well as members of the larger Architecture program and UT Austin campus community. Students are encouraged to draw from the sizeable and wide-ranging knowledge of faculty within the school and across the university. The Master of Science in Sustanable Design degree's STEM designation from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also opens up new research and funding resources, and enables additional professional opportunities for international students.

The School of Architecture has several facilities and laboratories to allow for sustainable design research at various scales and scopes to complement students’ academic experiences. The Sustainable Design Program distinguishes itself from other programs in the school as its low faculty-student ratio allows for one-to-one interaction in addition to potential opportunities for Graduate Research Assistant work to support faculty research in conjunction with the Center for Sustainable Development.

Moreover, students are able to experience and contribute to the development of one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation—Austin, Texas. Together with faculty and professionals in practice students contribute to resolving Austin’s current density, equity, and environmental issues in the living laboratory of a dynamic and ever-changing city.

sustainable design 

DEGREES + PROGRAMS

The Sustainable Design Program at the University of Texas as Austin offers two graduate-level degree programs and a Ph.D. in Architecture with a concentration in sustainability. 

GRADUATE DOCTORAL

Master of Science in Sustainable Design [MSSD]

MSSD + Master of Science in Community & Regional Planning [MSCRP]

Ph.D in Architecture, Sustainability
  • Instagram Post
    Where thoughtful design meets campus legacy.<br><br>Interior Design undergrad Valerie Balderas is one of two students from a university-wide competition selected to reimagine the Cactus Yearbook bookshelf for the Office of the Dean of Students.<br>
    @utsoa

    Where thoughtful design meets campus legacy.

    Interior Design undergrad Valerie Balderas is one of two students from a university-wide competition selected to reimagine the Cactus Yearbook bookshelf for the Office of the Dean of Students.

  • Instagram Post
    Congratulations to @phoebelickwar’s @forgelandscape and Michael Averitt’s @_delineator for receiving 2025 Merit Awards from @texasasla!<br>
    @utsoa

    Congratulations to @phoebelickwar’s @forgelandscape and Michael Averitt’s @_delineator for receiving 2025 Merit Awards from @texasasla!

  • Instagram Post
    The Tren Maya is a monumental new passenger rail system traversing nearly a thousand miles of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
    @utsoa

    The Tren Maya is a monumental new passenger rail system traversing nearly a thousand miles of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

  • Instagram Post
    Faculty making headlines at the 2025 @AIAAustin Design Awards!<br>
    @utsoa

    Faculty making headlines at the 2025 @AIAAustin Design Awards!

  • Instagram Post
    In Associate Professor @nicholewiedemann ’s advanced studio “FUTURING: 'un-thought of architecture’ or architecture beyond what already exists,” students tackled the complicated role of design competitions in the profession. <br>
    @utsoa

    In Associate Professor @nicholewiedemann ’s advanced studio “FUTURING: 'un-thought of architecture’ or architecture beyond what already exists,” students tackled the complicated role of design competitions in the profession.

  • Instagram Post
    We're proud to celebrate Professor Bjørn Sletto’s induction into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers—one of the highest honors recognizing exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. 👏<br>
    @utsoa

    We're proud to celebrate Professor Bjørn Sletto’s induction into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers—one of the highest honors recognizing exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. 👏

  • Instagram Post
    Visiting faculty @eric.bunge challenged students to reimagine what an architecture school could be in his advanced studio “This is Not a School.” Tasked to envision a hypothetical interdisciplinary architecture school building as an off-campus annex to the UTSOA, students reframed usage of space for
    @utsoa

    Visiting faculty @eric.bunge challenged students to reimagine what an architecture school could be in his advanced studio “This is Not a School.” Tasked to envision a hypothetical interdisciplinary architecture school building as an off-campus annex to the UTSOA, students reframed usage of space for

  • Instagram Post
    Lecturer @paulgermaine ‘s advanced studio “Deep Plates: Layered Representations of the Alhambra” brought students to Granada, Spain, to explore how decorative systems, such as muqarnas and planar tiling, can evolve into hybrid structural elements. <br>
    @utsoa

    Lecturer @paulgermaine ‘s advanced studio “Deep Plates: Layered Representations of the Alhambra” brought students to Granada, Spain, to explore how decorative systems, such as muqarnas and planar tiling, can evolve into hybrid structural elements.

  • Instagram Post
    Presenting the next generation of designers and planners 🎓<br /><br />Congratulations again, Class of 2025! See more photos from Commencement in our link in bio<br /><br />@texas.landscape <br />@utaustin_urbandesign <br />@texasarch
    @utsoa

    Presenting the next generation of designers and planners 🎓

    Congratulations again, Class of 2025! See more photos from Commencement in our link in bio

    @texas.landscape
    @utaustin_urbandesign
    @texasarch