Urban Design Certificate

The Department offers a graduate certificate in urban design that prepares planning professionals to be conversant in both design and planning languages and to be able to devise, implement and communicate physical plans and policy to a diverse group of stakeholders.  The certificate provides students with instruction in the history and theory of urban design, visualization techniques, and physical planning skills and application.  The certificate is not a substitute for professional design education or for people seeking licensure.

The certificate program is open to both FSU graduate matriculates and to non-matriculates studying under special graduate student status. Applicants may be, but are not required to be, currently pursuing the master’s or Ph.D. degrees in urban and regional planning.  Those pursuing the MSP or Ph.D. degrees --or other graduate degrees at FSU-- must be in good academic standing to be admitted.  There are no requirements for current FSU graduate degree students other than good academic standing. 

Non-matriculated applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

• Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States or the equivalent from an institution abroad. No specific major is required. 

•  The minimum criterion to be considered for admission is a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for previous study or a combined verbal and quantitative score for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) of 1000. The GRE is optional for applicants who meet the minimum GPA requirement.

• Applicants whose native language is not English and who have not received a degree from a college or university in an English-speaking nation also must submit an official transcript of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum TOEFL score of 213 (computer-based), 550 (paper-based), or 80 (internet-based) is required for an applicant to be considered for admission.

To complete the certificate, students are required to complete 18 hours of class work in required courses in urban design and visualization methods for urban design, as well as electives selected from a set of courses that includes site design and land use analysis land use planning, pedestrian oriented communities, transportation and land use, neighborhood planning, historic preservation, and other courses in urban and regional planning, landscape architecture, and geography.  Students must also satisfy a capstone requirement by taking URP 5342 when done as an urban design studio, completing a directed independent research project in URP 5910 on an urban design topic, or completing the LAA 6658 studio in combination with one credit hour of URP 5910.  More specific information on coursework and specific requirements may be obtained by contacting the Department. 

Program of Studies

Students are required to complete 18 credit hours.  The required classes are:

• URP 5881 Urban Design                                                 3 credits

• URP 5885 Visualization Methods for Urban Design             3 credits

Additionally students must complete any three of the following classes:

• URP 5272 Urban and Regional Information Systems          3 credits

• URP 5316 Land Use Planning                                           3 credits

• URP 5350 Pedestrian Oriented Communities                     3 credits

• URP 5716 Transportation and Land Use                            3 credits

• URP 5743 Neighborhood Planning                                    3 credits

• URP 5873 Site Design and Land Use Analysis                    3 credits

• LAA 6423 Site Engineering   (FAMU SOA)                          3 credits

• LAA 6370 Landscape Graphics  (FAMU SOA)                      3 credits

• LAA 6371 Landscape Computer Graphics   (FAMU SOA)      3 credits

• GEO 5934 Place, Movement, Identity                                3 credits

•  HIS 5083 Historic Sites Identification and Preservation       3 credits

Finally, students must satisfy a capstone requirement integrating theory and practice either by participating in an urban design studio or completing directed independent research in Urban Design.  To do so involves enrolling in one of the following:

• URP 5342 Advanced Planning Problems                             3 credits

• URP 5910 Directed Individual Research                              3 credits

          OR

• LAA 6658 Advanced Landscape Architecture Design 2          6 credits

Certificate Requirements

Students are required to complete 15 credit hours of course work plus a minimum of three credit hours to satisfy the capstone requirement as detailed above. The course of study may be completed simultaneously with the MSP degrees.  Transfer credits will not be accepted.  Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in certificate classes in order to receive the certificate.

Updated May 1^st 2008

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