Digital Drawingboard: USU Launches New Planning & Design Technologies Degree

There is the digital world. There is the physical world. And with a new Planning and Design Technologies undergraduate degree at Utah State University, students can bridge the two.

The Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning recently introduced the new degree to offer a practical, hands-on pathway for technology-driven design and planning professions. While traditional programs emphasize theory and licensure, this one instead focuses on building expertise in 3D modeling, digital map-building and design projects built with emerging tools like artificial intelligence.

When Phoebe Pollock discovered her passion for the technical side of design, she pivoted to the new major. Now, using Unreal Engine (the game engine behind Fortnite), Pollock is working on a process to turn accurate map data into 3D models that you can see and explore — for a theoretical restoration of the Kennecott copper mine site, among other projects — and documenting the work for other professionals interested in her process. Seeing her designs come to life in 3D rendering was a major draw, she said.

“I can open up the planning process for people, making it so much more real than a flat drawing of roads and trees,” she said. “This kind of planning is more accessible to more kinds of people, and the process works better because they understand what a space is before it is under construction.”

Pollock’s technical proficiency and project management skills have already led to an offer for a full-time job following graduation.

Stuart Johnson, also in the first cohort, switched to the major when he realized the attractive balance it offered between his technical strengths and passion for design and creativity. His current projects include developing a Python-based tool to build predictive maps of elk habitat, and an AI model for automating the detection of trees in urban areas — needed for city planning and cumbersome to do by hand.

Johnson also parlayed the internship into employment after graduation.

"I’ve gotten a great foundation at USU — a broad understanding of how these tools serve modern design and the skills to pivot to whatever comes next as the field changes,” Johnson said.

The strong collaborative culture of the department helped both of these students build a suite of soft skills especially attractive to employers, they said — things like organizational skills, collaboration, big-picture planning and incorporating feedback with good grace.

The new program is an alternative academic entry point for students interested in the highly competitive field of landscape architecture, according to Keith Christensen, LAEP department head.

“Opening multiple pathways for students with diverse career goals makes us stronger as a department,” he said. “And meeting the growing demand for technical skills in this rapidly evolving field benefits the broader industry.”

That demand continues to grow as businesses adopt digital environments in a variety of fields. In the program, students learn to model everything from road networks to HVAC systems to land-use plans.

“Employers want graduates who can work confidently with these digital tools as soon as they start, to create accurate and useful products — and back them up with the work skills that allow them to be successful in a team,” Christensen said. “This degree delivers on those skills.”