Degree Programs

Design necessarily engages the most urgent and complex conditions of our time, and the Master in Design Studies (MDes) program empowers students to address those conditions head on.

The program leading to the Master of Architecture is an accredited professional degree intended for individuals who have completed the bachelor's degree with a major other than one of the design professions or with a pre-professional undergraduate major in one of the design professions.

The program stream leading to the Master in Landscape Architecture, an accredited professional degree, is intended for individuals who have completed a bachelor's degree with a major other than one of the design professions.

Individuals who hold an accredited professional degree in architecture, or a pre-professional undergraduate degree in landscape architecture or architecture, and a strong design portfolio, may be granted advanced standing of up to two semesters, completing the MLA I in two years.

Accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and open to students with an undergraduate degree, the two-year professional Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree program engages with critical issues facing cities and regions in coming decades.

The Master in Real Estate (MRE) is a 12-month degree program for individuals seeking to acquire or sharpen traditional real estate skills while learning how well-designed real estate can advance beneficial spatial, social, and environmental outcomes in cities and metropolitan areas worldwide.

The program leading to the Master of Architecture II is a post-professional degree intended for individuals who have completed a five-year undergraduate professional program in architecture or its equivalent.

Individuals who hold an accredited undergraduate professional bachelor of landscape architecture, or its equivalent as judged by the admissions committee, may enroll in the MLA II program stream, completing the accredited MLA in two years.

The program leading to the Master of Architecture in Urban Design and the Master of Landscape in Urban Design is intended for individuals who have completed a professional program in Architecture or Landscape Architecture and who have a strong interest in engaging the practice and theory of contemporary urbanism.

The Doctor of Design program is a leading doctoral degree program for highly creative and motivated professionals who wish to conduct rigorous, intensive design research. The three-year program is geared towards applied research that advances design related knowledge in a broad range of scales from product design to buildings and landscapes to urban design and regional planning.

The Doctor of Philosophy is intended for persons who wish to enter teaching and advanced research careers in the History and Theory of Architecture, Architectural Technology, Landscape Architecture and Urban Form from Antiquity to the Present; or The Analysis and Development of Buildings, Cities, Landscapes, and Regions with an emphasis on social, economic, technological, ecological and infrastructural systems.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) offer a joint degree program in public policy and urban planning.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) offer a joint degree program in public administration and urban planning.

Harvard Law School and the Graduate School of Design offer a joint degree program in law and urban planning permitting students to pursue a Juris Doctor (JD) degree at HLS and a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree at the GSD.

This joint degree program is designed to support students seeking a transdisciplinary education in urban planning and public health, and prepare them for leadership positions at the intersection of these fields.

The Master in Design Engineering (MDE) program prepares the next generation of leaders to create transformative solutions that positively improve society. The integrated fields of design and engineering are uniquely positioned to address the world’s toughest challenges.

The study of architecture integrates technical and humanistic methods of inquiry with written and visual modes of representation, in traditional classroom venues and “making”-based studios designed especially for Harvard College undergraduate students within this track.