The Dual Degree in Urban Design is an intensive program of study for architects, leading to the simultaneous award of the Master of Architecture and the Master of City and Regional Planning. This interdisciplinary program, concluding with professional degrees in two fields, creates expanded career options. These include traditional architecture, planning and landscape architecture firms, as well as design and planning positions in public agencies, real estate development organizations and non-profit organizations. The curriculum is comprised of the core requirements for each of the two professional programs and, in addition, a set of dual requirements that focus upon urban design as a common ground linking the theory and practice of the two disciplines. The dual curriculum builds upon four major bodies of material:
- Urban history and design theory as a way of understanding the formal and architectural order of the city
- Economics and development methods as a basis for formulating development projects
- Process and methods as a means of understanding professional practice and of designing policies and strategies that can be implemented in a private market regulated by public bodies
- Design studios as a basis for exploring architectural, urban design and development issues utilizing theory, method and professional practice paradigms
The Dual Degree Program is administered by a faculty committee composed of faculty in both the Architecture and City and Regional Planning Programs. The program advisors include:
Mike Dobbins, City and Regional Planning >
Perry Yang, Architecture and City or Regional Planning Advisor >
Richard Dagenhart, Architecture or City and Regional Planning Advisor >
Ellen Dunham-Jones, Architecture Advisor >
Admissions
All applicants must apply separately and be accepted by both the Architecture Program and the City and Regional Planning Program. It is strongly recommended that students apply to the dual degree program before beginning studies in either program, however, this is not required. In the case that the student matriculates into only one program, the student should apply to the other program no later than the end of their first year of study. Admission to one degree program does not mean automatic acceptance by the other.
The Dual Degree Program in Urban Design requires the Graduate Record Examination and requires a portfolio.
Information regarding financial assistance for graduate studies at Georgia Tech, including loans, scholarships, assistantships and the Graduate Co-Op Program, is available from the College of Architecture, the Architecture Program and the City and Regional Planning Program websites.
The application deadline is January 15 for admission the following fall semester.
Course Requirements
Students earning both the MCRP and M.Arch. degrees are expected to meet all requirements of each degree, including all core, specialization and studio requirements, with four modifications:
- up to eight (8) credit hours of Architecture courses may be used as electives toward the MCRP degree
- up to eight (8) credit hours of planning courses may be used as electives toward the M.Arch. degree
- students must complete at least twenty‐five (25) credit hours of approved concentration‐area courses offered in the College of Architecture
- students enrolled in the dual degree program must complete one of the following two capstone alternative: a) a thesis supervised by a committee comprised by faculty of both programs involving at least five (5) credit hours of CP7000: Master’s Thesis, and at least five (5) credit hours of ARCH7000: Master’s Thesis; or b) the combination of six (6) credit hours of an approved ARCH7090: Architecture Masters Project Studio, and at least four (4) hours of CP8990: Applied Research Paper.
All students must complete a minimum combined requirement of at least ninety‐nine (99) credit hours. Course credit required may be substantially greater if the Architecture faculty determines that the student does not have full advanced standing upon admission. In some cases, required Architecture credit hours may increase by as many as forty‐eight (48), with the result that the dual degree program requirements may total as many as one hundred forty‐seven (147) credit hours.
Urban Design Concentration Requirements
Three required courses and a minimum of eight credits of approved urban design electives are required for all students in the Urban Design Concentration. These courses are in addition to those required by the M.ARCH and MCRP Programs.
| ARCH 6154/CP6832: Introduction to Urban Design | 3 Credits |
| CP 6832: Urban Design Policy and Implementation | 3 Credits |
| ARCH/CRP: Urban Design Studio | 6 Credits |
| Urban Design Electives | 8 Credits |
| TOTAL | 25 Credits |
Notes: The required urban design studio is normally co-taught with COA 6011 – Urban Design Laboratory, offered in the fall semester in conjunction with the Master of Science in Urban Design Program.
The minimum of 8 credits of elective hours within the Urban Design Concentration are to be selected from a list of approved urban design electives.