Nov 16, 2024  
Graduate Catalog | 2024-2025 
    
Graduate Catalog | 2024-2025

Architecture (Critical Heritage Studies Concentration), M.S., and Urban Design, M.U.D., Dual Degree


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The Critical Heritage / Urban Design dual degree builds upon these two complimentary programs. 

The Urban Design program foregrounds Charlotte’s social, economic, environmental, and ethical design challenges and prioritizes tactical insertions within urban ecosystems through active engagement with community stakeholders. 

The Critical Heritage program challenges authorized heritage discourse, diversifies approaches and practices of engaging with the past; and sees preservation and interpretation of the built environment as interconnected with interdisciplinary discourses surrounding other tangible and intangible heritages.

Together, the faculty and students participating in the dual degree engage in a curriculum and research that seeks local solutions while engaging in global conversations and that emphasize hands-on engagement with communities and organizations to create places, save spaces, and share stories that foreground the heritage of underrepresented communities. 

This dual degree seeks to diversify the field of heritage and urban design professionals through an exploration of the intersection between the approaches and practices of these fields and through the promotion of experiential learning, community engagement, and social and environmental sustainability.

Admission Requirements


Students must apply to each program separately and be admitted to both programs by the published census date of the third semester (including Summer). No admission requirements established by the Graduate School or by either individual program may be waived. See the Architecture, M.S.  and Urban Design, M.U.D.  sections of this catalog for individual program admission requirements.

Dual Degree Requirements


Dual degree students must satisfy all individual degree requirements (Architecture, M.S. - Critical Heritage concentration and Urban Design, M.U.D.) with the added benefit of sharing a limited number of credits between the two programs. See the Shared Courses section below for permissible course sharing.

Students enrolled in the Dual Degree M.S. Arch. - Critical Heritage Studies / Urban Design, M.U.D. program are required to complete the capstones for each program, including the ARCH 6600 - Heritage Colloquium  (for the M.S.) and MUDD 7102 - Urban Design Studio III  (for the M.U.D.).

Upon successful completion of all requirements, students receive both the Master of Science in Architecture degree and the Master of Science in Urban Design.

Shared Courses


Architecture, M.S., Arch.

The Architecture, M.S. program - Critical Heritage Studies concentration allows 9 credits to be shared from Urban Design, M.U.D. program as follows:

Degree Requirement(s) MSIT Course(s) Allowed Credits
 Elective (choose from list)  MUDD 5601 - Community Planning Workshop     3
 Elective (choose from list)  MUDD 7120 - Graduate Summer International Study    6
Urban Design, M.U.D.

The Urban Design, M.U.D. program allows 6 credits to be shared from Architecture, M.S. - Critical Heritage concentration as follows:

Degree Requirement(s) ARC2 Course(s) Allowed Credits
 MUDD 6205  ARCH 5600 - Critical Approaches to Heritage     3
 MUDD 6050  HIST 6320 - Historic Preservation     3

Dual Degree Total = 51 Credit Hours


Grade Requirements


Students in the M.S. in Architecture - Critical Heritage Studies and Urban Design, M.U.D. dual degree program are expected to earn a grade of A or B in all courses included in the curriculum and must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).  As per UNC Charlotte Graduate School Master’s Degree Requirements, students must maintain “an overall GPA of 3.0 or above in courses on the degree plan of study.”  An accumulation of three C letter grades will result in the suspension of a student’s enrollment in the program.

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