Urban Design

The Graduate Program in Urban Design at The University of Texas at Austin offers students the opportunity to develop skills working at the urban scale while engaging in applied research on the culture of cities. As the world becomes more urbanized and the dilemmas more complex, urban designers will play a critical role in manifesting an ethical agenda for urban life, directing urban development outcomes, aspiring to improve the human condition, and leading the way toward a healthy future. Urban design's agency, reconciling the spatial implications of multiple disciplinary perspectives, brings qualitative value to the places we inhabit. 

The program is designed for post-professional students with an educational background in architecture or landscape architecture and leads to a Master of Science in Urban Design (MSUD). Students without a professional design degree, or those who wish to expand their professional expertise, may follow the dual-degree curriculum shared between the Master of Science in Urban Design and the Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning (MSCRP).

The program brings together an international cohort of faculty and students working globally on issues ranging from climate change to fair housing. Students in the program come from countries ranging from Peru, Spain, India, Russia, China, and South Korea. The program's STEM designation from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board enables additional professional opportunities for international students.

The program is fortunate to have received generous support from The Sinclair Black Endowed Excellence Fund for Urban Design. This endowment enhances the research opportunities available to students and faculty in the program by funding travel studios, sponsoring visiting critics and lecturers, and providing individual research and publication opportunities for students.