Master’s degree
Master of Design
University of Massachusetts Amherst · Department of Architecture, College of Humanities & Fine Arts · Amherst, Massachusetts, United States
- Official award
- Master of DesignMDes
- Pathway
- Post-professionalStated for United States
- Format
- On campusfour semesters full time (36-credit minimum)
- Tuition
- Not published
About this program
Terminal advanced degree in architecture and design built around an individual research focus across UMass and the Five Colleges.
Intended audience: Mid-career professionals or new graduate students seeking advanced interdisciplinary study rather than a professional architecture degree.
- Subject
- Architecture
- Department
- Department of Architecture, College of Humanities & Fine Arts
- Awarding body
- Not stated on the pages we checked
Qualification and professional pathway
Pathway is classified only from a statement on an official page. A degree title such as B.Arch, BA, BSc, M.Arch or MSc does not decide it, and no degree by itself grants permission to practise as an architect.
- Degree level
- Master’s degreeA postgraduate degree. Entry requirements differ widely: some accept graduates of any subject, others require a prior architecture degree.
- Pathway
- Post-professional / specialistA specialist or advanced master’s that builds on a professional degree or does not by itself lead to registration.
- Why we classify it this way
- The college page lists the Master of Design among graduate post-professional degrees in the architecture department; the program page says it is for those not seeking a professional architecture degree.“graduate post-professional degrees (Master of Design and Master of Design in Historic Preservation)”Source
- Previous architecture degree required
- Not published
- Applicants without an architecture degree
- Not published
Accreditation, validation and recognition
Recorded for this program and campus, with the authority’s role. Institutional recognition, degree-awarding authority, program accreditation, professional validation and eligibility toward registration are different things; none of them is full professional registration.
No accreditation, validation or registration-pathway record for this program has been verified yet. That does not mean none exists; check the national authority and the institution.
Study structure
- Delivery
- On campusTaught at the listed campus.
- Study mode
- Not published
- Duration
- four semesters full time (36-credit minimum)
- Credits
- 36 credit hoursCredit systems differ between countries and institutions.
- Intakes
- Not published
- Campus
- Amherst campus (Olver Design Building)210 Olver Design Building, 551 North Pleasant Street
Source could not be re-checked automatically.
Teaching language
- Taught in
- English
- English
- English teaching not verifiedAn English-language website does not mean a program is taught in English.
Admissions
- Portfolio
- Not published
- Interview
- Not published
Fees and costs
Original currency is authoritative. Each price keeps its basis (per year, per credit, whole program), academic year and student category, and is never converted. Annual tuition and whole-program tuition are different figures.
The institution does not publish tuition for this program on the pages we checked. Ask for current fees, what they include and whether studio, materials, printing, software, equipment and field-trip costs are extra.
Sources and verification
Not published on the program’s source pages: tuition, full-time or part-time options, intakes, portfolio requirement, whether a previous architecture degree is required, accreditation or validation record.
Sources and how this was checked
Last checked 19 October 2026. Each fact carries a verbatim quote that is re-checked against the live page. Research methodology.
Sources (checked 19 October 2026)