The Department of Architecture and Urban Design aims to cultivate architects, architectural engineers, researchers and educators with a wide range of knowledge and highly specialized skills. The field of architecture in Japan is very diverse and includes such disciplines as land planning, regional planning, urban planning, architectural planning, architectural design, architectural environmental engineering, building equipment, building structures, building disaster prevention, building materials, building construction methods, building management, and architectural history. To sit for the national examinations for first-class architects and engineers, candidates are required to have knowledge of all aspects of architecture and the ability to design.

On the other hand, with the rapid improvement in the level of construction technology in recent years, society's demand for specialized engineers is strong, and technical education must also be provided for the more advanced technical specializations. The curriculum for education and research in the university's Department of Architecture and Urban Design is also organized with general architectural studies in mind.

Courses in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design are divided among mandatory and elective courses. The mandatory courses are designed to teach the general fundamentals of architecture, and the academic structure and sequence of study are designed to ensure that students take all the required courses. The elective courses are designed to allow students to study somewhat specialized fields of study, allowing them to select content suited to each of the aforementioned specialties and to acquire knowledge appropriate to their future career paths.

One feature of the university's Department of Architecture and Urban Design is that both "graduation design" and "graduation thesis" are required courses. Students complete the curriculum of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design by completing a "graduation design" as the culmination of their extensive architectural knowledge, and by completing a "graduation thesis" in which they set their own research theme and develop the advanced specialized skills they have acquired.

Graduates of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design also receive a Bachelor of Engineering degree. At the same time, they will be qualified to sit for the national examination for first-class architects. Examination subjects include planning, environment and equipment, laws and regulations, structure, construction, and design and drafting. It is the same regardless of the field of study in which each student is majoring. The curriculum of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design takes this into consideration as well. Note that two years of work experience is required to register for a license after passing the examination. However, at the Graduate Program in Architecture and Building Engineering at Utsunomiya University, work experience is recognized through the earning of the prescribed credits, internships, and research achievements.