Description
The MSArch L+U program at Woodbury San Diego equips architects with the skills to lead through both the design of the built environment and the crafting of policy. A three-semester degree for individuals holding a professional degree in architecture or landscape architecture, the program rethinks the boundaries of architectural practice. Immersed in global issues critical to urban growth—contested territories, cultural differences, globalization, and social and environmental justice—students develop the skills required to assess, envision, and lead spatial change in both established and developing territories.
With classes in Los Angeles, San Diego, and across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, the program uses the three cities region as an urban laboratory for on-site research. The vast and varied terrain of Southern California exemplifies the geo-political state of contemporary urbanism. In this volatile landscape, faculty and students work closely with the case studies. Students are asked to evolve positions on the practical and theoretical methods of re-shaping the world. Interdisciplinary training in policymaking and geographic information system (GIS) mapping gives students the expertise needed to participate in public discourse, strategize community organizing, and visualize the future of our built environment.
The MSArch L+U curriculum promotes three areas of learning critical to makers of place: the refinement of investigative urban and rural site research and analysis perspectives–with an emphasis on describing the conflicting manifestations of globalization; the familiarization of design professionals with public policy processes – such that they are equipped to initiate urban projects for public benefit in any setting; and, the development of GIS mapping skills for communicating and disseminating urban visualizations and policy ideals to a wider audience.
