Admission is competitive and application requirements differ by degree program. We encourage applications from students with solid academic backgrounds who have earned or will earn at least a bachelor's degree at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States, or the equivalent of this degree in another country. As a minimum admission standard, the University of Maryland expects candidates to have a "B" average, or 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, in a program of study resulting in a bachelor's degree. You may apply for admission to the University of Maryland during or after your final year of undergraduate study, but you must furnish proof of graduation before the end of your first term of enrollment at the university. Your application will be reviewed by two separate admissions committees.
It is important that you understand the admission requirements for both programs in the dual degree for which you are applying. You will need to meet the requirements for both programs in order to receive an offer of admission. To be admitted to a dual degree, your application must be accepted by both programs. In the event that your application is accepted by only one program, you may elect to register for graduate work in that program. If you wish to do so, you should contact the director of the program offering admission.
Application Requirements
Apply via the graduate application website.
Read the latest instructions. When prompted, put in the four-letter code that identifies the program for which you are applying.
Dual Degree Codes:
Master of Architecture + Master of Community Planning degree - ARCP
Master of Architecture + Master of Historic Preservation degree - ARHP
Master of Architecture + Master of Real Estate Development degree - ARDV
Master of Community Planning + Master of Historic Preservation - CPHP
Master of Community Planning + Master of Real Estate Development - CPDV
Master of Community Planning + Juris Doctor - LCPL
Master of Community Planning + Master of Landscape Architecture - LACP
Master of Historic Preservation + Master of Real Estate Development - HPDV
Master of Real Estate Development + Master of Business Administration - MBRE
Master of Applied Anthropology + Master of Historic Preservation - AAHP
Master of History + Master of Historic Preservation - HIHP
Master of Historic Preservation + Master of Landscape Architecture - HPLA
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Biostatistics)- CPBI
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Epidemiology)- CPEP
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Health Equity)- CPHL
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Health Policy Analysis & Evaluation)- CPAE
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Behavioral & Community Health)- CPMB
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Environmental Health Sciences)- CPMI
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Physical Activity)- CPPH
Master of Community Planning + Master of Public Health (Public Health Practice & Policy)- CPPP
Master of Community Planning + Master of Health Administration- CPHA
Master of Community Planning + Master of Information Management- CPIM
Fee
A non-refundable $75 fee is required for each program application. Payment of your application fee must be made on-line in order for your application to be submitted. Your application will not be processed until you pay your application fee and it is authorized.
Transcripts
Applicants must request transcripts be forwarded to the Graduate Admissions Office from each institution where undergraduate or prior graduate work was undertaken. Sealed envelopes of transcripts that meet the requirements below must be submitted; copies will not suffice. Transcripts of course work and degrees from the University of Maryland need not be submitted.
Transcripts must bear the signature of the registrar and the seal of the granting institution and should include the years of attendance, courses taken, grades received, class standing and any degree, certificate, or diploma received. If you anticipate a serious delay in official transcripts arriving, you may submit unofficial copies to the School (see submission addresses below) for review purposes only. Official admission (and registration for classes) cannot occur until all official transcripts have been received by the Graduate Admissions Office.
Letters of Recommendation
Three recommendations are required from professors or others who can assess the quality of the applicant’s potential to succeed in the graduate program they have selected.
The online application provides an electronic recommendation form, which in most cases facilitates submission and receipt. Applicants can also download the Recommendation Letter Forms and add the applicant’s full name, so that the Graduate School can attach the recommendation letter upon receipt. All recommendations must be submitted directly to the Graduate School by the person providing the recommendation (online or in a sealed envelope).
Statement of Goals, Experiences and Research Interests
(1000-2000 words)
All programs require applicants to prepare a statement of their goals and objectives in pursuing graduate study. This should be submitted using the ASF online.
Resume
All programs require applicants to provide an up-to-date resume via the online application.
Graduate Record Examination
A GRE score is only required for the HIHP and MBRE dual degrees. Scores are to be sent directly to the University by the testing Authority. The code for the GRE is 5814.
For more information visit: http://www.ets.org/gre
Portfolio
All applicants for the Master of Architecture degree (as well as any dual degree including the M ARCH) are required to submit a digital portfolio of design work. Applicants should think critically about the work they present and about how that work is presented in the portfolio. The portfolio serves as an illustration of the applicant’s interest in design. As such, the document should be graphically well composed and provide sufficient text* to clarify the subject matter.
In general, portfolios should contain examples of creative work including drawings, paintings, photographs, sculpture, sketches, and/or architectural designs. Applicants to the Master of Architecture Path A (Advanced Standing) program should consider illustrating both design process as well as the products of their design studio work. Applicants to the Path A program may also identify how their designs respond to any NAAB SPC required for advanced standing status (see: Advanced Standing). Applicants to the Master of Architecture Path B (3.5-year) program should give primary attention to drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Digital portfolios permit hyperlinks to animations and other dynamic media. These links should not substitute for static images presented in the portfolio; rather they should serve to complement the understanding of such content. Hyperlinks (if used) should be integrated into the design of the portfolio. No more than three links to external material are to be provided and no video shall be longer than 1.5 minutes in length.
Portfolios will be reviewed on-screen and will not be printed. We recommend that the portfolio be formatted so that it can be viewed in a mode compatible with the landscape (horizontal) orientation of a computer screen.
Portfolio Specifications:
Format: PDF (Portable Document Format)
Maximum Size: 15 MB (portfolios that exceed this size will not be uploaded)
Preferred Page Orientation: Landscape (horizontal)
Hyperlinks: 2-3 each no longer than 1.5 minutes in length
Upload to: Multimedia Uploads page of the online application
Descriptive text should not exceed 150 words in length. Provide information about the title of the work, the context in which it was produced (university, course number, project duration, faculty member, and media), and a brief narrative describing the solution (where applicable). Path A applicants are to list any NAAB SPC satisfied in the project.
Example:
Sketchbook Study of Villa Savoye
University of YYY France Program 2012
ARCH 455P / 1 day exercise
Professor X
Graphite on paper
Affordable Housing
Baltimore, Maryland 2011
ARCH 942 / 6 weeks
Professor Y
Digital and hand-crafted media
* Sample text describing a project in the portfolio: This six-week project explored the Mt. Vernon context of Baltimore, MD, examined contemporary housing prototypes, and focused on technical issues of sustainable dwellings in an urban context. This proposal provides 125 market-rate apartment units based in part on Le Corbusier’s Unite de Habitation, in Marseilles. The design responds to the largely commercial nature of Charles Street, by providing retail at the base of the building. Common spaces on the ground floor and mezzanine of the building are designed to offset compact unit sizes. Individual units are equipped with sustainable features such as sun-shading, through ventilation, and balconies that incorporate vertical plantings serving each unit as herb gardens. The building is a concrete frame structure sheathed in a double-skin system. The green rooftops feature an array of solar collectors, green roofs, and cisterns that collect rainwater to be used in the building’s grey water system. NAAB SPC: A.1, A.3, A.6, A.7, B.3, B.5, B.8, B.9
Deadline
The application deadline for most* dual degrees is January 12, 2024.
*Exceptions:
- Community Planning and Public Health dual degree application deadlines are April 7, 2023 (domestic applicants) and March 15, 2023 (international applicants)
- Community Planning and Information Management (CPIM) dual degree application deadlines are February 1, 2024 (domestic and international applicants)
- Historic Preservation and Applied Anthropology (AAHP) dual degree application deadlines are January 4, 2024
- Historic Preservation and History (HIHP) dual degree application deadlines are January 5, 2024
- Real Estate Development and Business Administration (MBRE) dual degree application deadlines are January 12, 2024 (domestic applications) and September 29, 2023 (international applicants)
See the Graduate Catalog for more information.