We Build Better
Connections / Partnerships / Downtowns / Street Culture / Futures
The University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation combines world-class resources, hands-on interdisciplinary opportunities and close-knit learning environments—all just minutes from the energy and opportunity of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis. We drive innovation in design, research and community engagement to build a better future.

Design Excellence
From stunning skylines to walkable neighborhoods, our students, faculty and alumni set the bar for creativity, impact and innovation.

World-Class Faculty
Learn from leaders. Our faculty are acclaimed scholars, award-winning practitioners and forward-thinkers shaping the future of the built environment.

Campus to Capitol
Just minutes from D.C., Baltimore and Annapolis, our students learn in a living laboratory of history, design and development—connecting them to the people and places shaping the future of the built environment.
Get to Know Us
By combining hands-on learning with groundbreaking research, we empower students and scholars to shape thriving, just and resilient places.

Undergraduate Programs
UMD’s undergraduate degrees in architecture and real estate development are interdisciplinary, engaging and give students the tools to shape the cities and communities of the future.

Graduate Programs
From designing city skylines to driving neighborhood revitalization, our competitive, professional graduate programs in architecture, planning, preservation and real estate prepare students for careers that shape vibrant, just places.

Research Centers & Institutes
Our research centers and institutes forward groundbreaking research within the built environment that advances dynamic, sustainable and just places.
Student Work
See our students’ ideas come to life—bold designs, thoughtful planning and creative solutions shaping our communities. From concept to creation, explore the innovative work of our students across architecture, planning, preservation and real estate.
News
UMD-State Partnership will Rehabilitate Historic Jail
The University of Maryland and statewide nonprofit Preservation Maryland are partnering to repurpose the historic Ellicott City Jail, a looming landmark in Howard County, Md. that has stood for more than 170 years. Preservation Maryland anticipates breaking ground on this project in Spring 2026.View Article Details for UMD-State Partnership will Rehabilitate Historic Jail MASS Design’s Alan Ricks Joins UMD as 68th Kea Professor
Alan Ricks, AIA, Int FRIBA, the founding principal and co-executive director of MASS design group, joins the University of Maryland this fall as the Architecture Program’s 2025-26 Kea Professor. A celebrated, socially minded, global designer, Ricks will work alongside Associate Clinical Professors Julie Gabrielli and Brittany Williams, Assistant Professor Deok-Oh Woo and Lecturer Dan Curry to teach the fall Integrated Design Studio.View Article Details for MASS Design’s Alan Ricks Joins UMD as 68th Kea Professor New Exhibit Uncovers a Buried History
In the summer of 2006, University of Maryland Professor Emeritus Lindley Vann and 19 architecture students traveled to the Bay of Naples to explore an ancient city, lost in ash. Over the next 20 years, factions of students returned each summer to participate in a global effort to excavate and document one of the last surviving Italian villas that once catered to the Roman elite.View Article Details for New Exhibit Uncovers a Buried History
Events
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Kibel Gallery Opening & Talk: STABIAE and the Visual Preservation of Architecture
Kibel Gallery Opening and TalkSTABIAE and the Visual Preservation of ArchitectureCurated by Joseph C. Williams, Lindsey May, and Lauren McNamaraOctober 3, 2025December 22, 2025View Event Details for Kibel Gallery Opening & Talk: STABIAE and the Visual Preservation of Architecture -
Using AI in the Proposal Development Process
We will explore how AI tools can support traditional proposal development process through: choosing tools by proposal stage optimal timing for using AI toolschecking results for mistakesediting and polishingOctober 14, 2025October 14, 2025View Event Details for Using AI in the Proposal Development Process -
TerraPlan Publication Launch Party
Join us for the launch of TerraPlan, the University of Maryland’s new student-run planning publication, celebrating the creativity and research of students in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.October 17, 2025October 17, 2025View Event Details for TerraPlan Publication Launch Party