Urban Design

Aerial shot of a landscape with rivers and urban areas
URBAN DESIGN
HOW TO APPLY

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.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Urban Agencies—Projections for the Contemporary City cover

Urban Agencies - Projections for the Contemporary City

The Stack

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE GERALD HINES STUDENT COMPETITION

TUF Lab Logo

TEXAS URBAN FUTURES LAB

URBAN DESIGN

DEGREES + PROGRAMS

The Urban Design Program at the University of Texas as Austin offers two graduate-level degree programs and a certificate in Urban Design.  

GRADUATE CERTIFICATES

Master of Science in Urban Design [MSUD] 

MSUD + Master of Science in Community & Regional Planning 

Housing & Urbanism Certificate

URBAN DESIGN STUDENT WORK

  • Instagram Post
    Students from the advanced UD studio toured the ongoing transformation of the waterfront, the work of Field Operations, and the connections back to the urban grid.
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Students from the advanced UD studio toured the ongoing transformation of the waterfront, the work of Field Operations, and the connections back to the urban grid.

  • Instagram Post
    Good morning Seattle! Students in Prof. Almy’s advanced urban design studio are meeting today in Seattle to study the transformation of public space along the waterfront. #utsoa #udtexas #utsoalandscape
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Good morning Seattle! Students in Prof. Almy’s advanced urban design studio are meeting today in Seattle to study the transformation of public space along the waterfront. #utsoa #udtexas #utsoalandscape

  • Instagram Post
    Professor Dean Almy, Director of the UTSOA Graduate Program in Urban Design and a founding member of the Urban Design Academic Council, opens the workshop session at the ACSA Annual Conference in Vancouver, CA.
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Professor Dean Almy, Director of the UTSOA Graduate Program in Urban Design and a founding member of the Urban Design Academic Council, opens the workshop session at the ACSA Annual Conference in Vancouver, CA.

  • Instagram Post
    The advanced urban design option studio taught by Prof. Dean Almy, is out prospecting in the “barbecue belt”, from Taylor to Lockhart, Texas. The studio, From Crescent to Archipelago, is investigating the future transformation of Austin into a poly-centric resilient city-region.
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    The advanced urban design option studio taught by Prof. Dean Almy, is out prospecting in the “barbecue belt”, from Taylor to Lockhart, Texas. The studio, From Crescent to Archipelago, is investigating the future transformation of Austin into a poly-centric resilient city-region.

  • Instagram Post
    The Graduate Program in Urban Design is pleased to present the spring digital lecture series. #udtexas #utsoa #urbandesign #utsoalandscape #utsoacrp
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    The Graduate Program in Urban Design is pleased to present the spring digital lecture series. #udtexas #utsoa #urbandesign #utsoalandscape #utsoacrp

  • Instagram Post
    Please join us tomorrow for “Radical Middle Grounds: New Agendas for Medium-Density Housing,” a day-long symposium that will bring together architects and scholars to discuss the transformative potential of medium-density housing.<br />
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Please join us tomorrow for “Radical Middle Grounds: New Agendas for Medium-Density Housing,” a day-long symposium that will bring together architects and scholars to discuss the transformative potential of medium-density housing.

  • Instagram Post
    Congratulations to the students in the Gehl Sinclair Black Visiting Critic Studio w/ UT urban design Professor Dean Almy - City Making in the Silicon Valley - for a successful semester. Thank you to the distinguished panel of critics for the insightful critiques and dialogue.
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Congratulations to the students in the Gehl Sinclair Black Visiting Critic Studio w/ UT urban design Professor Dean Almy - City Making in the Silicon Valley - for a successful semester. Thank you to the distinguished panel of critics for the insightful critiques and dialogue.

  • Instagram Post
    Once again the ULI Hines competition is underway. Thank you to Steven Spears @momarkdevelopment, Mandy Pope @texas_realestatecenter , and Rebecca Leonard @lionheart_places for their efforts managing this years competition and to all the mentors for their commitment to teaching students.
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Once again the ULI Hines competition is underway. Thank you to Steven Spears @momarkdevelopment, Mandy Pope @texas_realestatecenter , and Rebecca Leonard @lionheart_places for their efforts managing this years competition and to all the mentors for their commitment to teaching students.

  • Instagram Post
    Sunday in SF with students from the SF/Gehl advanced urban design studio. Views from Telegraph Hill. #udtexas #utsoa #gehl_citiesforpeople #utsoagrads
    @utaustin_urbandesign

    Sunday in SF with students from the SF/Gehl advanced urban design studio. Views from Telegraph Hill. #udtexas #utsoa #gehl_citiesforpeople #utsoagrads