Urban Design (MUD)

Thomas Jefferson University - INTO USA

The Master of Urban Design – Future Cities (MUD) educates the next generation of urban designers, architects and researchers in the development of sustainable, healthy and smart cities and communities. Focused on envisioning the future, the program spotlights pressing contemporary issues with far-reaching consequences, such as the need to develop urban resiliency and carbon neutral communities and to harness the potential of smart technologies to achieve environmental wellness on multiple scales in response to rapid urbanization and climate change.

Students have opportunities to acquire new and valuable skills and benefit from state-of-the-art research at national and international levels, thereby fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity through knowledge exchange and multidisciplinary learning.

Program Highlights

The Master of Urban Design – Future Cities (MUD) is a design research oriented post-professional program with a unique focus on contemporary urban issues such as urban resiliency, carbon neutral communities, wellness, and smart technologies.

The MUD students learn advanced methods and tools, integrated with computational design, urban analytics, geospatial technology, and climate design, to examine the environmental and social performance of cities.

The MUD program has strong partnerships with several world top universities, leading architectural and urban design firms, as well as local government and other non-profit organizations for collaborations on teaching and research.

Jefferson Institute for Smart and Healthy Cities serves as the hub and public face of the program and facilitates transdisciplinary research opportunities for students and faculty.

The MUD students may choose a concentration from areas within the college – Geodesign, Smart Cities and Urban Analytics, Urban Revitalization, or Resilient Cities – or focus on Public Health through our collaboration with Jefferson College of Population Health.

The MUD graduates have opportunity to receive advanced standing in the PhD in Architecture & Design Research in the college.

The MUD is a STEM designated program (CIP Code 15.1001), which allows international students to be eligible for a total of 3 years of employment within their discipline based on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program.