Urban Design

The Bachelor of Urban Design Program The Bachelor of Urban Design (BUD) degree program provides a broad knowledge of the principles and practices of urban design. It is ideal for students who are interested in design of the built environment at the neighborhood, community, and city scale, with an emphasis on sustainable development. The program offers an interdisciplinary approach for students who plan to pursue a professional career in an urban discipline, such as urban and regional planning, urban development policy, real estate development, municipal and planning law, as well as design disciplines, including architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level. The program utilizes the South Florida metropolitan region as an "urban living laboratory" for the students to exercise their urban design creativity, but also covers national and global context. Students’ experience will also benefit from partnerships forged between the BUD program and practitioners and private design and consulting firms, with both local and international experience, in the South Florida Metropolitan area, with both local and international experience. Why Do You Want To Be an Urban Designer? More than 50% of the global population and more than 80% of the U.S. population live in urban areas. The quality of the urban environment that enhances human experience by constructing and/or preserving meaningful places is crucial for urban regions to better livability, social justice, economic activity, and the natural environment. There is an increasing need for urban design professionals (in private companies, public agencies at all levels of government, as well as within non-governmental organizations) to tackle various challenges in urban development. These challenges include the following: guiding higher density infill developments in traditional urban centers retrofitting obsolescent suburban developments suggesting sustainable development at sprawling metropolitan fringes designing basic transportation and mobility infrastructure to promote local economic development and support social justice. Accelerated Graduate Program Are you interested in completing a master's degree after your bachelor's degree? FAU offers an accelerated Master of Urban and Regional Planning program that gives advanced standing to qualified students who take graduate courses during their undergraduate Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Urban Design, or Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning programs. For more information see MURP Advanced Standing Programs and the Graduate College's Pathways to Graduate Education. Resources FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS For any questions regarding the Bachelor of Urban Design degree program, please contact Dr. John Renne (Faculty Advisor) at jrenne@fau.edu. For questions about advising, please contact the College Advising Center at 561-297-3700. To make an appointment with your advisor, please log on to the Success Network/Starfish.