EC-US Program

Joint Masters Meta-University EC-US:
A Consortium for the Transatlantic Study of
Design, Planning and Urbanism, and Information Design

Six EC and US institutions will use a 3-year implementation grant to expand an existing European meta-university to include transatlantic exchange in architecture and urban design, planning, and information design. The project will involve 18 US and 18 EC graduate-level students in overseas study and web-based exchange, initially at the master’s and later at the doctoral level, with each institution sending one student to each of its overseas partners in the second and third years of the grant.

In addition to overseas study, the project will include: 1) a website, maintained by the Eindhoven project coordinator, to provide a virtual meeting site for day-to-day activities and interchange of the project participants, 2) annual workshops with faculty and students from the US and the EC, where project themes of design, planning, and infor¬mation design are discussed and debated, 3) 2-3 day meetings where partner faculty will gather to work out goals and logistics of ongoing collaboration, 4) attendance of US PhD students in PhD meeting of the European Cluster-Graduate School “USO-Built” to explore joint PhD education and research, and 5) the annual FIPSE/DG EAC conference, where the consortium will send 1 US and 1 EC representative.

The exchange will enhance appreciation of similarities and differences in issues and approaches. A meta-curriculum that addresses common concerns while taking full advantage of each participating university’s strengths will be structured. Participating programs will benefit from increased interaction with European and American partners, which will develop into ongoing exchanges and collaborative research.

United States Partners
University of Cincinnati, School of Planning (Lead)
North Carolina State University, College of Design (Partner)
University of Michigan, Urban and Regional Planning Program (Partner)

European Community Partners
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands (Lead)
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom (Partner)
Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst, St. Lucas, Brussel/Gent, Belgium (Partner)