Our master of urban design (MUD) degree focuses on an integrative studio experience at the core of the one-year program. The studio experience provides mentorships, interdisciplinary teaching, and immersive and service learning.
Mentoring Experience
Each student is required to have a practitioner as studio advisor and mentor. This provides students a local professional who can act as a sounding board for their studio efforts and career opportunities. Mentors also will provide a connection to the professional communities in Indianapolis and added perspectives in studio jury events.
Interdisciplinary Teaching
Urban design requires a broad understanding of environmental issues, history, landscape design, building types design, real estate, infrastructure, and community engagement. Instructors from urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and historic preservation in the College of Architecture and Planning serve as the faculty for the MUD program. Studios also welcome visiting experts, community representatives, and agency leaders.
Community-Based Projects
Students participate in multidisciplinary charrettes—community design workshops—as part of Ball State’s Community-Based Projects program and through the efforts of the College of Architecture and Planning Indianapolis Center (CAP:IC). For more than 45 years, CAP students and faculty have been part of the service-learning tradition in Indianapolis and hundreds of other communities. This nationally recognized program provides students with a 360-degree view of living, learning, and serving in a growing and diverse metropolitan center.
Curriculum
Required Courses (11 Credits)
UD 501: Urban Design Studio 1: Urban Design Analysis, 2
UD 602: Urban Design Capstone, 4
UD 690: Practice Based Synthesis, 2
CAP 651: Research Methods, 3
UD 640: History of Urban Form, 3
Design Modules (Choose 4 Credits)
UD 502: Urban Design Studio 2: Transportation System, 2
UD 503: Urban Design Studio 3: Community Based Design, 2
UD 504: Urban Design Studio 4: Public Open Space Design, 2
Design Communication Modules (Choose 5 Credits)
UD 561: Urban Design Communications 1, 2
UD 562: Urban Design Communications 2, 2
UD 569: Topical Computer Graphics Workshop, 1
UD 663: Computer Visualization, 2
PLAN 512: Geographic Information Systems, 3
Urban Design Theory Modules (Choose 3 Credits)
PLAN 585: Introduction to Community Development and Enterprise Planning, 3
PLAN 625: Planning Law, 3
Elective, 3
Urban Design Colloquia (Choose 4 Credits)
UD 637: Urban Design Topics, 1