New Master of Science in Computational Design Practices Program

The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University announces the launch of the Master of Science in Computational Design Practices program. This innovative postgraduate curriculum extends and integrates disciplines between architecture, data visualization, and urban planning—focusing specifically on computational design practices for the built environment at multiple scales. Laura Kurgan, Professor at GSAPP and Director of the Center for Spatial Research, directs the program. 

With both part- and full-time tracks, the M.S. in Computational Design Practices program prepares students and practitioners to pursue a range of design, research, creative, civic, activist, or entrepreneurial roles in the architecture, urban design, and urban planning fields as well as any spatial, design, and planning practice. It​​ serves as a glue between the disciplines of the built environment—and pioneers new concepts and pedagogies for an integrated multi-scalar and spatial approach to computational design at Columbia GSAPP.

The program consists of colloquium courses, foundation courses, and electives that span the curriculum at GSAPP, forming bridges, networks, and collaborations around shared concerns. Each student is asked to clarify an independent research problem throughout their study, culminating in a forward-looking capstone project for the final Design in Action colloquium. Three colloquium courses—Methods as Practices, Practices as Methods; Explore, Explain, Propose; and Design in Action—provide a critical, productive, and supportive structure for students to develop a clear position and methodology for their work, as well as a plan for its implementation. Students participate in the field discursively as well—reading and writing about current debates as well as historical approaches to technology and the built environment. They are guided through creative and iterative design processes as well as methods-oriented workshops to facilitate their work and capstone projects.

Applications for Summer 2022 entry are now open until January 15, 2022. For information about the program, tuition, and how to apply, please visit the M.S. in Computational Design Practices program website.