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.
Emily Wang and Valeria Castillo-Hernandez's project model for a camping ground and nature lodge designed for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Julio Miguel T. Alumbro won the Spring 2025 Thesis Prize Award for his project “The “Church” in the Diaspora.”
Deisy Valasquez's housing development for Antigua, Guatemala won the Fall 2024 Thesis Prize Award.
"The Jacquelynn Residences at Uptown Place," Master of Real Estate Development student, Jack Tintle's independent senior living development. Winner of the Fall 2024 Colvin capstone competition.
Historic preservation students designed a Zine for the sounds of Prince George’s County.
A model created by an ARCH403 Design Studio student for their final project, focusing on the design of an observatory at Monocacy Battlefield.
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
New Grant Brings Steel Appeal to UMD Design Studios
The University of Maryland’s architecture program has been awarded an inaugural grant from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) to integrate structural steel design methods into its undergraduate and graduate design studios. The four-year, $110,000 grant will help deliver new teaching and learning opportunities to all architecture students, from field trips and industry mentorship to modeling kits and hands-on workshops.View Article Details for New Grant Brings Steel Appeal to UMD Design Studios 
DC’s Sewage Spill is a Harbinger to Troubled Waters, Says Hendricks
In the history of U.S. sewage spills, none has evoked a region’s collective “ick” reflex like the massive outburst of effluent into the Potomac River when a 6-foot-wide pipe broke on Jan. 19 upstream from Washington, D.C. By the time the rupture was fixed, enough raw wastewater had gushed out to fill 360 Olympic-size swimming pools.View Article Details for DC’s Sewage Spill is a Harbinger to Troubled Waters, Says Hendricks
Events
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Architecture Lecture Series + Events: Spring 2026
Spring 2026 Architecture Lecture Series:February 25, 2026KEA DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR LECTURE 4 - 5:20 p.m. | AuditoriumAlan RicksFounding Principal + Co-Executive Director,MASS Design GroupFebruary 25, 2026April 22, 2026View Event Details for Architecture Lecture Series + Events: Spring 2026 -
Urban Lacunarity: Multiscale Analysis of Texture Patterns Through Satellite Images
This event is open to the UMD and MAPP community.Dr. Mauro Normando Macêdo Barros FilhoUrban Planner, Associate Professor at the Federal University of Campina Grande (Brazil)April 20, 2026April 20, 2026View Event Details for Urban Lacunarity: Multiscale Analysis of Texture Patterns Through Satellite Images -
Placemaking as an Essential Practice: Building Thriving Communities
This Guy Lombardo lecture is part of Spring 2026 Architecture Lecture series. In Partnership with the Neighborhood Design Center.April 22, 2026April 22, 2026View Event Details for Placemaking as an Essential Practice: Building Thriving Communities