American University of Beirut

Graduate Programs

Master of Urban Design (MUD)

Master of Urban Planning and Policy (MUPP)

General Information

The MUPP and MUD programs offer graduate degrees to students interested in acquiring the necessary skills to tackle the challenges of contemporary urbanization while upholding the principles of livability, ecological sustainability and equity. The programs prepare students to be highly qualified, well-rounded professionals who are able to address the multi-faceted issues of today’s built environmentswhile; focusing on Lebanon and its region. The two-year curriculum combines theoretical and methodological seminar courses designed to secure a command of the tools of intellectual inquiry with hands-on studio courses articulated around real-life exercises. Through these courses, students learn to analyze urban contexts and formulate interventions in the form of projects and/or policies. At the end of the first semester of enrollment, students select a research-based or professional-based track in concertation with the Programs Coordinator.

The MUPP-MUD graduates work in a wide range of positions within the private, non-profit and, less frequently, public sector. Most occupy leading positions in the region where they have contributed to forwarding innovative and visionary ideas about the practices of planning and design.

Mission Statements​

Master of Urban Design

The Master of Urban Design program aims at preparing highly qualified, well-rounded professionals who are able to deal with the multifaceted design challenges in today’s urban environments in Lebanon and the region. The program emphasizes mastery of the design tools necessary for the effective practice of urban design. Students are exposed to a multidisciplinary understanding of contemporary urban challenges that trains them to position the design profession amidst other city professions. They learn to integrate design tools with policy strategies and institutional analysis. The Master of Urban Design has adopted the studio-based approach to professional education as the main context of learning. The program accepts university graduates and practitioners from design fields and prepares them to occupy leading professional roles in design and planning firms and in public and non-profit agencies.

Master of Urban Planning and Policy

The Master of Urban Planning and Policy program aims to prepare highly qualified, well-rounded professionals who are able to address the multifaceted issues of urban planning and policymaking in today’s urban environments in Lebanon and the region. The program is designed to provide a broad professional education in urban planning. Emphasis is placed on the development of multidisciplinary analytical skills necessary to address contemporary urbanization as well as mastery of the tools and approaches adopted in the contemporary practice of urban planning and policymaking. The program guides students in defining a specific area of expertise within the wider practice of urban planning and in locating their expertise in relation to other city professions. The program welcomes university graduates with professional degrees and/or degrees in the social sciences and prepares them to occupy leading professional roles in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Program Structure and Agenda

The two graduate programs span over two years of full-time enrollment. The MUPP program requires students to take a total of 30 credits of which 9 are to be taken in a sub- discipline of specialization where planning and policymaking skills are applied and at least 6 in applied studio format. The MUD track requires students to take a total of 33 credits of which at least 12 are to be taken in applied design studios. The two programs share a common core of 21 credits consisting of three core courses (Research Methods, Planning Theory and Policy, and Urbanism), and one planning/design workshop. In addition, all students enrolled in the MUPP/MUD programs are required to register for the 0-credit “City Debates” seminar at least twice during their university enrollment.

Following their first semester of enrollment, MUPP and MUD students will be admitted, into a research (thesis) or a professional (non-thesis) track. The track selection is made on the basis of the student’s interest in developing research or professional skills. Students enrolled in the research track develop a final thesis (6cr), through which they advance the understanding of urban and regional planning and design practices. Students on the professional track take an additional advanced planning and design workshop or urban and landscape studio (6cr.) where they expand their command of professional tools, including the write-up of a professional report.

Common Core MUPP/MUD

Core Courses​

Research Track​

Professional Track

MUPP Courses

MUPP students are required to take three courses (9 credits) in a field of applied social science or engineering (such as sociology, economics, public administration, civil or environmental engineering) leading toward a concentration area such as urban policy, community development, transportation, housing or environmental sustainability. Other options may be agreed upon with the MUPP/MUD academic advisor.​​​

​​MUD Courses

MUD students are required to take one additional core course, one design studio and two approved electives (12 credits).

​
Program Agenda

The typical course load for the Urban Planning and Policy and Urban Design programs is normally distributed over two years as shown below.​ Course distribution is subject to approval of the academic advisor.

Urban Planning and Policy

First Year​​​

Second Year​​​​

Urban Design

First Year​​​​

Second Year​

​Admission Qualifications

Applicants who meet all the AUB and MSFEA regulations governing admission to graduate study, including acceptable AUB Readiness for University Studies in English (refer to the Readiness for University Studies in English (RUSE) page 41), and who hold the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, urban or regional planning, engineering, public health, economics, public administration, sociology or other social science degree, may be admitted to the Master of Urban Planning and Policy Program as regular graduate students.

Applicants who meet all the AUB and MSFEA requirements governing admission to graduate study, including acceptable AUB Readiness for University Studies in English (RUSE) (refer to the Readiness for University Studies in English (RUSE) page 41), and who hold the equivalent of a professional Bachelor of Architecture or a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, may be admitted to the Master of Urban Design Program as graduate students.

The school of Architecture and Design may recommend waiving up to nine credits of course work for students who have completed a Bachelor of Architecture degree and are applying for admission to the Master of Urban Planning and Policy or the Master of Urban Design programs.

The school of Architecture and Design may further recommend waiving up to six credits of coursework for students who have completed a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree and are applying for admission to the Master of Urban Planning and Policy or the Master of Urban Design programs. The Department of Architecture and Design may also recommend waiving up to six credits of coursework for students who have completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree and are applying for admission to the Master of Urban Planning and Policy program.

Waiving of credits is subject to approval by the program coordinator, chairperson, and the MSFEA Graduate Studies Committee. To apply, the student must have completed the advanced courses with a grade of at least B+ or equivalent.​

Course Descriptions

Mandatory ​Courses

Each of the following courses is required for MUPP/MUD students. Non-majors must secure approval of the program advisor and the instructor concerned to enroll in any of the courses listed below.

• Mandatory Courses​​

Elective Courses

MUPP/MUD elective courses are open to graduates and senior undergraduates from all AUB departments.

• Electi​ve Courses​​