Master of Urban Design Admissions

The Master of Urban Design program seeks exceptional, engaged applicants who are passionate about urban design, are excited to study in Downtown Denver and experience life in Colorado, and who can enrich the program through their diverse perspectives and experiences.

Application Information


The Master of Urban Design at CU Denver is a graduate degree program for individuals with an educational/professional foundation in architecture, urban planning, or landscape architecture who seek interdisciplinary professional training in urban design.

To be admitted to the program, you must hold (or will hold by program start) an accredited professional master’s or bachelor’s degree in architecture, urban planning, or landscape architecture (minimum GPA 3.00) or a pre-professional, studio-based bachelor’s degree in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, or environmental design (minimum GPA 3.30).

A qualifying pre-professional, studio-based bachelor’s degree in one of these fields must have a clear emphasis on the application of the discipline that incorporates planning/design studios as part of the program’s core curriculum. These studios must mirror a professional planning/design studio environment by requiring students to manually sketch, draw, and diagram; conceptualize and iterate future plans and designs for real-world places; and produce scaled graphical plans, designs, perspectives, and other visualizations using digital tools such as AutoCAD, ArcGIS, SketchUp, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

If you are already a CU Denver M.Arch, MLA, or MURP student and you want to apply to MUD, or you intend to apply to either the M.Arch, MLA, or MURP program and the MUD program concurrently, please visit the Urban Design Dual Degrees section on our main program page for admission requirements and other details.

Minimum Academic Requirements - Prerequisite Degree

Application Deadline


Fall 2027

Applications for Fall 2027 open September 8 and will remain open through May 15. 


Application Requirements


  • Application fee ($50 for domestic applicants, $75 for international applicants)
  • Transcript(s): see also the qualifying degree information section above.
    • Domestic transcripts:Transcripts from each institution you have attended, except for study abroad courses, should be sent to the following:
      • Electronic Transcripts: [email protected]
      • Mailing Address:
        University of Colorado Denver 
        Office of Admissions 
        Campus Box 167
        PO Box 173364 
        Denver CO 80217-3364
    • International transcripts: An International Credential Evaluation Report is required for any applicant who attended one or more academic institution(s) located outside the United States. All international credentials from the academic institution(s) located outside the United States will need to be verified for authenticity and evaluated by CU Denver or an external evaluation provider (ECE or WES). If you have questions about international transcript reviews, please contact our International Admissions office at [email protected] or visit their website for more information: CU Denver International Admissions Office.
      • Applicants for the Fall 2026 term will have the option of choosing: CU Denver to authenticate and evaluate your credentials in-house. ECE or WES to authenticate and provide a credential evaluation report directly to CU Denver. (Applicant will pay the cost of the evaluation fee. 
      • Students who are admitted and enrolled in the program will be required to subsequently submit official college transcripts to the International Admissions office at [email protected].
  • International applicants must submit proof of English language proficiency. For more information regarding English Language Proficiency and international transcripts at the International Admissions website.
  • A minimum 3.00 GPA is required to apply to the MUD program except for applicants with a pre-professional studio based undergraduate degree in a planning/design field, which requires a minimum of 3.3.
  • A portfolio that includes examples of student or professional projects that show your planning/design-related knowledge and skills, ability to graphically express planning/design and spatial concepts and processes, organizational and communication (written and graphical) capabilities, and competency in various planning/design computer applications.
  • A statement of purpose that includes your educational and professional goals and a thoughtful explanation of how a MUD degree will allow you to achieve your goals
  • Resume describing your educational and professional background
  • Three letters of recommendation, at least one from an academic reference if your most recent academic degree was earned within the last five years. You will enter their contact information into your application and they will receive an email from CU Denver with a link to upload their letter directly to your application.
  • If you are a resident of any of the 15 western states (except Colorado) in the WICHE-WRGP region, please complete the WICHE-WRGP section of the online application.
  • In order for your application to be considered on time, all application materials, including letters of recommendation and transcripts must be received by the application deadline.
  • Students admitted into this program must have completed a Bachelor’s degree before they will be able to begin this program. An official conferred degree transcript is required by the university.

Did You Know?

In-State Tuition is available to Western state residents.

CAP has WICHE-WRGP (Western Regional Graduate Program) status. This means that students who are residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States are granted in-state tuition.

Learn more about WICHE-WRGP for Graduate Students >>

Contact Us!

Want to learn more about our Master of Urban Design program, have questions about applying, and/or want to visit us on campus? Meet Advising and Admissions team.
Ken Schroeppel headshot

Ken Schroeppel

Urban Design Program Director
  • Urban and Regional Planning Department

Email Address:[email protected]

Ken Schroeppel has been immersed in urban planning/design professional practice, education, and advocacy for over 25 years and has served as the Director of CU Denver’s Master of Urban Design (MUD) program since 2019. For over a decade, Ken worked as an urban planning/design consultant and project manager on numerous projects throughout Colorado and the US involving land use and transportation, urban redevelopment master planning, and urban revitalization, while also teaching at CAP as a part-time lecturer. In 2012, Ken joined the full-time CAP faculty as a professor, teaching in both the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) and Master of Urban Design programs and leading those programs’ study-abroad trips in Barcelona, Mexico City, and Santiago through 2025. Now semi-retired, he remains the instructor of CAP’s most interdisciplinary course, City Design Fundamentals, in addition to directing the MUD program.

Ken has been a prominent leader and activist in Denver’s urbanist community for decades, having served on the boards of directors and leadership councils of numerous organizations including the Denver Architecture Foundation, Downtown Denver Partnership, Urban Land Institute, YIMBY Denver, Streetsblog Denver, and Union Station Advocates, and volunteering for countless committees related to a wide range of urbanist and civic initiatives. Ken is also well known as the founder and chief editor of the award-winning DenverInfill and DenverUrbanism blogs, which have offered news, ideas, and commentary on urban infill development and sustainable urbanism in the Mile High City since 2005. As a frequent public speaker, Ken has given over 300 presentations and walking tours on Denver’s urban design past, present, and future for community groups, professional organizations, conference attendees, visiting delegations from other cities and countries, and the general public. Ken earned his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree with an Urban Design concentration from CU Denver in 2000.

Courses

MOST RECENT COURSES

  • City Design Fundamentals
  • Urban Design Global Studio
  • Planning Methods
  • Planning Project Studio

Areas of Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Land use and transportation planning, urban design, urban development, planning methods and data management, data visualization and graphic design, downtowns, Denver's planning and development history.

Education, Licensure & Certifications

DEGREES HELD

  • Bachelor's degree in Business/Marketing, Ferris State University (Michigan)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Colorado Denver

College of Architecture and Planning

CU Denver

CU Denver Building

1250 14th Street

2000

Denver, CO 80202


303-315-1000

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