NYIT's graduate Master of Architecture in Urban and Regional Design program (MAURD) is a three-semester, 36-credit, post-professional degree for those holding a Bachelor in Architecture or Landscape Architecture degree. The program's three advanced design studios address urban and regional design with focus on integrated strategies across urban sectors, sustainability, and resilient communities in the context of their region. These studios explore the relationship of design across spatial scales, from individual buildings to regional infrastructure in ways that consider the impact of such intervention on interdependent human settlements.

The contemporary field of urban design is fluid, fast-moving, and global. The graduate program is located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, a world capital, drawing from world-class faculty, public-private organizations, and active professionals leading global practices based in the New York City metropolitan area. NYIT's strategic campus setting encourages students to combine theory with experience by living and working in a variety of areas and conducting field study in and around New York City. A study abroad program investigates existing canonical urban design and has been integrated into the design studio sequence.

The program works to prepare graduates to succeed in this interdisciplinary field by providing opportunities for case studies to test and apply new insights, theory, and designs to contemporary and future challenges. The program provides a theoretical and historical understanding of the origin and the socio-political function of cities. Students learn to apply a range of design tools, including digital modeling for urban design, demographics, land-use, transportation, and ecological performance indicators. There is an emphasis on the consideration and critique of the historical, physical, social, political, and philosophical context shaping settlements and regions.

The full-time program entails 12 credits enrollment per semester, with limited exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Courses may be taught in a team format, depending on project type, intended product, and the relationship established with public agencies, civic organizations, and research funding. Some courses are organized as colloquia with noted experts providing a series of lectures with a course coordinator.