Location:

Professional Faculties - 2182

Student Information:

(403) 220-6601

Fax number:

(403) 284-4399

Email address:

evdsinfo@ucalgary.ca

Web page URL:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/evds/

The Faculty of Environmental Design is currently redesigning the curriculum for the Master of Environmental Design degree. The new M.E.Des. program and curriculum will be in effect for Fall 2008 admissions. Please note these changes are to the Master of Environmental Design program and do not affect the Master of Architecture program. Students currently registered in the M.E.Des. will continue to complete their degree programs consistent with the current curriculum and their approved Program of Studies (POS) requirements. Environmental Design has a dual mandate to offer both professional practice competencies at the first professional degree level in Architecture and to offer advanced interdisciplinary design and research collaboration opportunities in the Master of Environmental Design and PhD degree programs.

The built, natural and social environments are becoming increasingly intertwined, interdependent and indeterminate and they require a new breed of professional to effectively design and manage change. The degree programs in the Faculty are intended for those wishing to meet this challenge by expanding their current professional or design related degree backgrounds and career experience with advanced interdisciplinary practice-based research and study in one or more of the following thematic areas of study: ecological design, urban systems design, technological systems design, and human and cultural systems design.

The outcomes of design intervention in complex problem solving may include plans, policies, environmental and ecosystem management strategies, new social or political institutions or institutional mechanisms, information systems, new technologies, new artifacts, new buildings and urban form, habitats and cultural landscapes. The Faculty explicitly recognizes that scholarship, creative activity, exhibitions, engagement in participatory research, scientific research, and innovative, critical practice are all valuable media for both inquiry and the communication of knowledge in environmental design.

Since the Faculty's founding thirty-seven years ago, the original environmental design focus on the design, planning and management of the interactions among human activities and the built and natural environments has only increased in importance. Sustainable development represents the importance of understanding these complex human-environment interrelationships and the importance of the quality of human life and the quality of built and natural environments. Environmental design education, research, and professional practice focuses on the appropriate ends, just and equitable modes of intervention, and the qualitative character of the environment to be achieved when design, management and planning projects are undertaken. The Faculty's research, educational programs, and international and community outreach address these concerns in a variety of social, cultural, built and natural environmental contexts.

Enquiries

Please refer to the Faculty of Environmental Design website (www.ucalgary.ca/evds) for current information on admission requirements, degree programs, courses and regulations and faculty profiles. For e-mail enquiries please contact info@evds.ucalgary.ca. Telephone and mail enquiries may be directed to:

Admissions Administrator

Faculty of Environmental Design

University of Calgary

Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 1N4

Telephone: (403) 220-3630/7286

Master's degrees are offered by the Faculty of Environmental Design. Please refer to the Faculty of Environmental Design website for further details.

For PhD studies, an area of specialization, submitted by the student and supervisor, must receive the approval of the PhD Coordinator prior to its submission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for their approval.

The Faculty does not offer undergraduate degree programs. A recognized four year undergraduate university degree is required for admission to the Master of Architecture and the Master of Environmental Design pursuant to Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations. Senior undergraduates in other Faculties may be eligible to take courses in the Faculty of Environmental Design. However, prior approvals of the instructor and the Faculty are required. The Faculty is engaged in research and graduate level professional education and communications, directed towards management, planning and design in the human and natural environments. An integral part of this mission is the Faculty's readiness to work cooperatively with local communities, governments, private corporations, associations and other Faculties.

Admission to graduate degree programs in the Faculty follows Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations and requirements and Degree Program admission requirements identified below. Current Graduate Studies and Faculty admission requirements are available on the University website.

Applicants to the degree program will normally possess a four-year baccalaureate degree from a recognized university with a grade point average (GPA) in the final two years of study of at least 3.00 (based on a four-point grading system). The Faculty will consider qualifications of equivalent standing, particularly in the case of mature students (usually in their mid-thirties or older) and individuals in mid-career.

Prior to admission to the Faculty of Environmental Design all applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency for purposes of admission in one of the following ways:

• Graduation from a degree program offered by an accredited university in a country which the University of Calgary recognizes as English language proficiency exempt; or
• By achieving a score of at least 550 (written test) or 213 (computer based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score of 80 on the Internet TOEFL Test; or
• By achieving a minimum score of 7.0 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); or
• By successful completion of Tier 3 of the Learning English for Academic Purposes (EAPP) program at the University of Calgary.

No exceptions will be made to these admission requirements.

Because of limitations on enrolment, all applicants meeting admission requirements are not necessarily admitted.

Master of Architecture

There are no prerequisite undergraduate degree requirements other than a recognized four year undergraduate university degree. However, prospective applicants are advised to use opportunities within their baccalaureate studies to develop knowledge in design, the humanities, social sciences, arts, engineering, biological and/or physical sciences - including, wherever possible, studio, laboratory, and collaborative learning experiences.

Applicants for the Master of Architecture must provide evidence of original and/or creative work in any field or medium and demonstrate in writing the relevance of the skills shown by this work to the study of Architecture. This work should be presented in a compact form (box, envelope or binder in A4 metric [81/2" x 11"] or 297 mm by 297 mm [11" x 11"] format). If any of the work involves collaboration with others, please clearly identify what aspects of the work belong to the applicant and what is the work of others.

Master of Environmental Design

Applications are encouraged from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds including interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees, first professional design or planning degrees, post professional degrees and a combination of undergraduate degree and work-related experience.

The Master of Environmental Design is a thesis research degree and it is very important for applicants to provide a clear statement of research interests as part of their application package. In addition to this statement of research interest, applicants must also provide selected examples of their own choosing that illustrate their academic or professional work including written work, project work or creative work in any media of choice. This material should be submitted in digital form on a DVD or CD. If this is not possible, the work should be presented in a box, envelope or binder in either A4 metric [81/2" x 11"] or 297 mm by 297 mm [11" x 11"] format. If any of the work involves collaboration with others, please clearly identify what aspects of the work belong to the applicant and what is the work of others.

Application Procedures

The deadline date for applications to the Master of Architecture is February 1 for admission to the following Fall Session. The deadline for applications to the Master of Environmental Design is also February 1 for admission to the following Fall Session, however late applications will be accepted until March 1. Degree Program Admission Committees for both the Master of Architecture and Master of Environmental Design evaluates the respective pool of eligible candidates and recommends admission to the most qualified applicants. New admissions to both Masters Degree Programs may be limited in number on an annual basis.