The School of Urban Design was formed by combination of the architecture, urban planning, art design and graphic centers of the original Wuhan University (WHU), Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electric Engineering and Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping (WTUSM) in December 2000. The industrial design major was included into the School of Urban Design after major adjustment in 2003 and the School hence formed a complete design system containing planning design, architectural design, industrial design and art design. Relying on the foundations of multiple disciplines of literature, history, philosophy, economy, law, management, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine and education and by virtue of the profound academic atmosphere and cultural heritage of WHU, the School has gradually formed the culture-based, digitalized, international and creative industry-based school-running characteristics.

The School now has such five scientific research and teaching units as Department of Urban and Rural Planning, Department of Architecture, Department of Design, Department of Graphics and Digital Technology and Art and Design Experimental Center and the auxiliary units like Office of the Party and Administration Office, Office of Teaching Management, Office of Expansion and Library. The School now has 120 teachers, including 22 professors, 59 associate professors and 16 supervisors of doctoral candidates. More than 20 teachers have obtained master degree and doctor degree from overseas famous universities. It has postdoctoral research institute on urban and rural planning, doctor station of two first-level disciplines: architecture and urban and rural planning and six programs for master degree of architecture, urban and rural planning, design science, digitalized design and simulation, industrial design project and construction and civil engineering. Architecture and urban and rural planning are key disciplines of Hubei Province. The undergraduate programs and graduate programs of urban and rural planning and architecture passed the professional evaluation of the country again in 2012 and 2016 respectively. The architecture is a major in "A Plan for Educating and Training Outstanding Engineers" of the country. Urban and rural planning is a discipline of "985 project". The comprehensive application of GIS, remote sensing technology and computer aid urban planning are deemed by the domestic peers as having opened up a new direction for school running. The art and design experimental center is demonstration center of Hubei province for teaching experiment.

The School engages in extensive exchange activities and develops Sino-USA Joint-design workshop in summer every year. Teachers of the School and foreign teachers offer joint design lessons. The School has cooperated with International Institute of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, the Netherlands (ITC) for more than 20 years and has developed joint teaching, cooperative scientific research and exchange with universities, organizations and scientific research institutions of UK, France, USA, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Australia and New Zealand as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan. The School was granted by the Ministry of Education to develop a five-year Sino-foreign cooperative education project from 2013 and cooperates with University of Dundee, UK to offer undergraduate architecture programs. Such project was extended for another five years in May 2017.

The School now has more than 940 undergraduate students and nearly 300 postgraduates. In addition, the School offers continuing education of various levels, such as adult diploma education, seminars and short-term training classes. Focusing on the objective of cultivating high-level talents with profound knowledge bases, of broad calibers and with strong abilities, the School continues deepening the education and teaching reform and cultivates international digitalized innovative talents who have profound knowledge in human culture by virtue of the complete discipline system and deep cultural background, achieving great success. Students of the School have participated in many domestic and international contests and won prizes. The prizes include "UNESCO Award" of International Union of Architects (IUA) which is the highest award of IUA, Red Dot Award, German IF Design Award and Excellent Work Prize of LITE-ON Award.