纽约州立大学水牛城分校

Why study Environmental Design BA at UB?

University at Buffalo Environmental Design addresses the arrangement, appearance, and functionality of neighborhoods, towns, and communities. In addition, environmental design is concerned with the way these places are experienced and used, as well as other aesthetic elements that contribute to the quality of community environments. Environmental design promotes the best use of a community's land and physical resources for residential, commercial, institutional, and recreational purposes.

Environmental Design provides students with the skills to understand, analyze, and solve development problems with a view toward community planning and the design of sustainable environments. The purpose of environmental design is to gain a better understanding of community environments, and then apply that knowledge to improve physical surroundings.

University at Buffalo Environmental Design addresses issues in the dynamic bi-national Buffalo-Niagara region as a laboratory for planning, design, and development.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge of:

• Fundamental Skills: Ability to effectively use basic planning and development principles in environmental design;
• Investigative Skills: Ability to gather, assess, record, apply, and comparatively evaluate information related to environmental design challenges;
• Communication Skills: Ability to effectively read, write, speak and listen, and visually communicate ideas;
• Critical Practice Skills: Ability to apply evidence-based design, development, and planning methods and precedents to environmental design processes and proposals; and,
• Graduate School & Entry Level Job Preparation Skills: Students will be well prepared to enter graduate school or an entry-level position in an environmental design related field of study.

Career Outlook

Career outlook information for Environmental Designers is available online.

Sample career activities include:

Participate in and support team planning, design, and development efforts.

Prepare reports, using statistics, charts, visual design, and graphs, to illustrate planning and development studies in areas such as population, land use, or zoning.

Research, compile, analyze and organize information from maps, reports, investigations, images, and books for use in reports and special projects.

Provide and process zoning and project permits and applications.

Inspect site plans and designs for development proposals.

Alumni in Environmental Design have found employment in the following fields:

City, county, township, or village planning

Community development

Construction management

Economic development

Educational administration

Environmental management

Environmental restoration planners

Geographic information systems

Historic preservation

Industrial development

Market research

Neighborhood development

Property management

Real estate development

Rural planning and development

Site planning and development

Transportation analysis

Urban development

Zoning and land use development