The architecture major focuses on the design and development of the built environment. At ENVD, we encompass broad topics of sites, program, materiality, structural systems, modern technologies, human interconnectedness and social interaction. This major endeavors to teach our students to be responsible citizens and stewards of aesthetic, ethical, social, economic and environmental concerns.

Required Courses and Credits

The curriculum for the Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvD) is subdivided into two parts:  

  1. The first part consists of a core lasting one-and-a-half years which provides a balanced introduction to each of the majors offered. By the end of the core studies, students select or confirm their intended major.  

  2. The second part is focused on a selected major. Studies lead to the degree Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvD) with a major in either environmental products of design, architecture, landscape architecture and sustainable planning and urban design. Each area has specific requirements for completing the major. 

Credit Hours 

Students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours subject to the maximum outlined in this catalog, meet all specified university general education requirements, all major core requirements and maintain a GPA of 2.00 or better. Students must complete courses with a grade of C- or better to fulfill university and degree requirements.  

Students in the Department in Environmental Design are required to complete coursework meeting General Education requirements; each major may have differing totals. Students who take approved CU Boulder coursework to fulfill their General Education requirements must take those courses for a letter grade and receive a grade of C- or higher. Students may not use thesis hours, independent study, internship or practicum courses to fill any of the General Education requirements. All courses approved to fulfill specific General Education requirements are identified as such in this catalog and are searchable in CU Boulder Class Search.  

Environmental Design core37
Consists of a sequential core lasting one-and-a-half years which provides a balanced introduction to each of the majors offered. By the end of the core semesters, students select or confirm their intended major.
Environmental Design major54
The second part of the sequential Environmental Design core is focused on a selected major, which leads to the degree Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvD) with a major in either environmental products of design, architecture, landscape architecture, or sustainable planning and urban design. Each major has specific requirements and culminates into capstone requirements to complete the major.
Environmental Design electives (9 credits)
General Education Requirements
Lower-Division Writing requirement3
Choose one:
Writing in Arts and Sciences
First Year Writing for Environmental Design
First-Year Writing in Energy, Environment and Sustainability
Extended First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
Upper-Division Writing requirement 13
Lower-Division Social Science requirement 23
Lower-Division Arts & Humanities requirement 33
Upper-Division Art and Humanities or Social Science requirement 43
Math requirement3
Meet with Academic Advisor to determine requirement for specific major. Choose one:
Precalculus Mathematics
and Precalculus Supplemental Lab
Calculus 1
Introduction to Statistics
Statistics and Geographic Data
Introduction to Social Statistics
Natural Science requirement3
Meet with an Academic Advisor to determine requirements for specific major. Choose from the following:
General Physics 1
General Physics 1
General Biology 1
and General Biology Laboratory 1
General Biology 2
and General Biology Laboratory 2
Plants and Society
General Chemistry 1
and Laboratory in General Chemistry 1
Our Changing Planet: Climate and Vegetation
Our Changing Planet: Landscapes and Water
Global Change: An Earth Science Perspective
and Introduction to Geology Laboratory 1
Non-Environmental Design electives (6-9 credits) to meet 120 graduation credits.9
Total Credit Hours121

Plan(s) of Study 

Sample Four-Year Plans of Study

The first three semesters of the BEnvD curriculum are the core curriculum, which is prerequisite for each of the majors: Environmental Products of Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Sustainable Planning and Urban Design. There are corequisite ENVD core courses each semester and the core courses are typically sequential from semester to semester.

ENVD Core

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall SemesterCredit Hours
ENVD 1010 Studio 1: Introduction to Environmental Products of Design 3
ENVD 1020 Studio 1: Introduction to Architecture 3
ENVD 1002 Technology 1: Applications for Environmental Design 2
ENVD 1004 Introduction to Environmental Design 3
ENVD 1976 Colloquium - Exploring Careers, Research and Practice 1
Lower-Division Writing requirement (choose one: ARSC 1150, ENVD 1150, ENVS 1150, WRTG 1100 or WRTG 1150) 3
 Credit Hours15
Spring Semester
ENVD 1030 Studio 1: Introduction to Landscape Architecture 3
ENVD 1040 Studio 1: Introduction to Sustainable Planning and Urban Design 3
ENVD 1012 Technology 2: Visual Communications 2
ENVD 1024 History of the Built Environment 3
Lower-Division Arts & Humanities requirement 1 3
 Credit Hours14
Second Year
Fall Semester
 
ENVD 1110 Studio 2: Fundamentals of Environmental Design 1 3
ENVD 1120 Studio 2: Fundamentals of Design 2 3
ENVD 1022 Technology 3: Intermediate Applications for Environmental Design 2
ENVD 2003 Ecological Systems in Design 3
ENVD 2101 Context of Design: Planning and Implementation 3
Lower-Division Social Science requirement 2 3
 Credit Hours17
 Total Credit Hours46
Plan of Study Grid
Second Year
Spring SemesterCredit Hours
ARCH 2100 Studio 1: Foundations of Architecture 6
ARCH 2115 Architecture Materials and Methods 3
ENVD 2001 Human Behavior and Design 3
Math requirement (choose one: MATH 1150 & 1151 or MATH 1300) 5
 Credit Hours17
Third Year
Fall Semester
ARCH 3100 Studio 2: Intermediate Architecture 6
ARCH 3114 History and Theory of Architecture 1 3
PHYS 2010 General Physics 1 5
Design Elective 5 3
 Credit Hours17
Spring Semester
Professional development requirement (complete application for advisor approval) 4 6
ARCH 3214 History and Theory of Architecture 2 3
Upper-Division Writing or ENVD 3150 2 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
Elective Studio (choose one: ENVD 3100, ARCH 3100 or an approved Design study abroad) 6 6
ARCH 4115 Architecture Building Technology 3
Upper-Division Art and Humanities or Social Science requirement 3 3
Design elective 5 3
 Credit Hours15
Spring Semester
ARCH 4100 Studio 3: Capstone in Architecture 6
Design elective 5 3
Electives 6
 Credit Hours15
 Total Credit Hours79

Learning Outcomes

By the completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Use creative, critical and convergent thinking to address social and environmental issues, analyzing the need for and impact of design solutions by examining precedents, applying theoretical knowledge, conducting research and using problem-defining techniques.
  • Develop conceptual or material solutions to socio-environmental issues through iterative design processes, synthesizing critical feedback and collaborative findings with peers and communities they engage with.
  • Employ graphic, verbal, written, spatial and other communication strategies to organize, demonstrate and effectively argue for their design concepts and proposals.
  • Apply principles of social and environmental justice in their work, prioritizing design stewardship and sustainability to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all project constituents.
  • Demonstrate foundational technical skills and the ability to apply methodologies essential for entering academic and professional disciplines in environmental design.