Forming the Teams

A university, college, department, or school can form as many teams as it likes. However, each team must have the following characteristics:

1. Teams must be composed of five students.

2. The team members must represent a minimum of three disciplines that grant three different degrees, one of which must be a non-design-related discipline.

For example, a team could consist of the following:
2 architecture (M.Arch.) students
2 landscape architecture (M.L.A.) students
1 business (M.B.A.) student

1 architecture (M.Arch.) student
1 planning (M.C.P.) student
1 historic preservation (M.H.P.) student
1 real estate finance (M.S.) student
1 real estate development (M.R.E.D.) student

1 urban design (M.U.D.) student
2 landscape architecture (M.L.A.) students
1 planning (M.C.P.) student
1 real estate development (M.R.E.D.) student.

3. Each student team member must be a currently enrolled full-time graduate student in a degree-granting program. Exception: A part-time student may participate if the student is enrolled in a program that is offered only as a part-time or work-study program.

4. Students from different institutions may form a team, as long as all other individual and team requirements are satisfied.

5. Students enrolled in dual degree programs must designate which degree program they represent on the team.

6. The only exceptions to the above formulas for team formation are at universities where the graduate degree itself is considered a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary degree. If your entire team is enrolled in a recognized multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary degree, you must meet the following criteria:

a. Submit printed material from the university that describes the graduate degree and its multidisciplinary curriculum.

b. Team composition must meet the same criteria as that listed in #3 above, however, the degree types may be undergraduate degrees. If that's the case, the team members must provide proof from their undergraduate institutions of the degrees earned. ULI will accept as proof a copy of your official undergraduate transcript that explicitly states the degree earned. (A copy will suffice—it will not be returned.) Here is an example of the kind of team that could be formed within an interdisciplinary graduate real estate development program:

1 architecture (B.Arch) student
1 landscape architecture (B.L.A) student
2 business (B.B.A) students
1 engineering (B.C.E) student

If you have any questions on forming these teams, please contact udcompetition@uli.org before the December 7, 2007 deadline.

7. Each team must designate one student member ("team leader") who will act as a contact person with ULI.

8. Each team must establish a team email address which ULI will use to communicate with teams. Password access to the team email address should be shared with all team members and advisers.

9. Each team must create a four-digit code that will be its identifier throughout the competition. This competition is judged anonymously; thus, this four-digit code must be the only identifying mark on any materials submitted (except during the application stage).

10. Each team must have a faculty adviser from its university. The faculty adviser can be either from the design program(s) or from the real estate/business program(s). The adviser is expected to be just that—an adviser and not an active team participant or a direct participant in the production of any competition materials and will be required to sign a statement to that effect when materials are submitted to ULI.

11. Each team must have its application signed by the program head, e.g., the program director, the department chair, the dean, etc. The individual who signs the application does not have to be the faculty adviser. By signing the application, the program head confirms that all team members are full-time graduate students enrolled for spring 2008 and that the university is committed to supporting the team's efforts.

12. Each team has the option of using one outside professional who agrees to act as a secondary adviser. The purpose of this adviser is to provide a different area of expertise than the faculty adviser. For example, if the faculty adviser is an architecture professor, the secondary adviser should be a real estate professional. If the faculty adviser is a real estate professor, the secondary professional adviser should be a practicing architect or landscape architect or other design professional.

In the case of the real estate professional—although ULI prefers that it be a local ULI member, it is not a requirement. If you have a local real estate contact you want to work with, feel free to contact him or her directly.

If you need help finding a local real estate professional, you may contact your local ULI District Council to see if they can help you. Click on My District Council and you will find links to all local Web sites. Click on the one nearest you, click on "Contact Us," and send an E-mail with your question. If you need any further assistance in finding a real estate adviser, please send an E-mail to udcompetition@uli.org.

If outside design professionals are sought and not available through the local ULI District Council, we recommend you contact your local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association, etc.

The secondary adviser, like the faculty adviser, must function as an adviser and not as an active team participant and will be required to sign a statement to that effect when materials are submitted to ULI.

13. Once the team has been registered with ULI, that team must remain intact throughout the whole process. Replacements among students or advisers are allowed only in the case of extraordinary circumstances as adjudged by ULI and then by written approval from ULI. Thus, if a member of a registered team decides not to continue, the team must replace the departing member while satisfying the requirements for team composition (see numbers 1-6 above).

14. Team members—students, faculty, outside professionals—are not required to be members of ULI.