Environmental Design - Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvD)

The Bachelor of Environmental Design curriculum is comprised of a shared core (lasting three semesters) followed by five semesters of coursework focused on one of four majors: architecture, landscape architecture, sustainable planning and urban design, and environmental product of design.  

The shared core provides an intensive and balanced introduction to the traditional professions contained within the broad field of environmental design. The core provides students the information and flexibility to hone their career direction and major area. It allows opportunities for hands-on problem solving that features eight-week design studios as the primary teaching pedagogy. Anchored through a combination of lecture courses and studio instruction, the core curriculum builds upon studios where students solve design problems at three important scales of the built environment: buildings, landscapes and urban systems.  

The major coursework in the final five semesters allows students to pursue in-depth projects and gain more specialized skills necessary for entering the design fields or further graduate study. Students can also pursue approved education abroad options as part of the curriculum as well. The final academic year culminates into capstone requirements for the chosen major. 

The Program in Environmental Design provides a balanced introduction to environmental design. ENVD’s emphasis on both the breadth and depth of design allows students to gain the appreciation, information, skills and experiences needed to make an informed decision about their career direction.  

For the past 50 years, ENVD has retained a focus on studio instruction in small class sizes. From a student's first semester, they learn to work both in small groups and individually to solve design problems. Unlike most majors across the university, by the end of a student’s first year, the small classes and unique teaching relationships will build relationships with several faculty and a cohort of their peers.  

ENVD’s curriculum stresses both critical thinking and applied project work. Experiential learning is a core component of design education with students engaging in hands-on activities. Student satisfaction within higher education has been directly linked to teaching that incorporates projects where small student groups work together to solve problems that they know are important. 

The pedagogy of the program celebrates an interdisciplinary culture for both students and faculty. Mirroring emerging workplace trends in industry, students work within teams. Sometimes students work within multi-disciplinary teams where each profession shares its expertise and coordinates with others and sometimes within inter-disciplinary teams where the separate expertise is not as important as the ability to mutually and collaboratively define and solve a problem. Increasingly, in environmental design, at the end of each project, the list of participants is as long as the endless list of credits we watch at the end of a motion picture. 

The Program in Environmental Design has, in partnership with the office of Education Abroad, developed an exciting selection of study abroad options. Studying abroad gives students an array of unique experiences, and it can often make students more competitive for graduate study and for employment. Summer programs and faculty-led programs (global seminars and global intensives) are available to students at various stages of their academic coursework. Full-semester programs are available to students starting in their third year. The study abroad program provides an academically challenging experience with extensive local support. 

Education Abroad course offerings are open to students of all ENVD majors—architecture, environmental product design, landscape architecture and sustainable planning and urban design. Students may pursue studio courses as well as other electives. These courses offer students an opportunity to study in another culture and to examine their own perceptions and attitudes toward design. Environmental design programs, of varying lengths, are currently offered in Auckland, Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Medellin, Rome, Sydney and Wellington.  

Students can find out more about these options through the Ed Abroad ENVD major guide. In addition, the Office of Education Abroad offers more programs with courses appropriate to design students. Programs outside of the pre-approved listing may be considered for approval. Please meet with an ENVD academic advisor for details.  

For more information about the study abroad programs, contact:  

Education Abroad (Located in C4C S355)  
Advisors available via walk-in or appointment  
abroad@colorado.edu  
303-492-7741 

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 Program 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.