MDSE Sustainable Environments at Iowa State University

Programme overview

An interdisciplinary master's degree focused on holistic design strategies for sustainable, resilient environments and artifacts. Students work on faculty-led research and develop individual sustainable design strategies, ending with a student-defined capstone project that may be located anywhere in the world. The degree is 35 credits.

Faculty: Graduate College | Duration: Typically three semesters (fall, spring, summer), extendable to four or five; median time to degree about 2.8 years | Study mode: full-time | Location: Ames, IA, United States

What you will study

Coursework covers modes of representation, theory, research methods and design interventions, followed by an integrated capstone. Example capstone themes include climate change impacts on communities, informal economies in urbanization, reinvigorating waterways, waste as a resource in infrastructure, and disaster mitigation and resilience.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Graduate College requirements: 4 year Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) Academic Records/Transcripts Minimum 3.0 GPA (Program may alter requirement.) Proof of English Proficiency. Programme-specific requirements: Three letters of recommendation Statement of purpose Resume/CV Program Requires GRE: No Program Requires GMAT: No

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Entry terms for first-year applicants include Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027. International undergraduate applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and may be submitted up to one year before the intended start date; applying at least six to eight weeks in advance is strongly recommended.

Graduate application fee: $60 for domestic applicants and $100 for international applicants (nonrefundable), a separate fee for each program applied to; some programs postpone fee collection until after review. Deadlines are set by each graduate program.

Apply through the official page: https://apps.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/online/

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