In the December 2009 issue of "Architect Magazine," its architecture school guide highlights University of Detroit Mercy as one of "Six Schools Committed to Social Justice". The other schools listed are Auburn, Ball State, Mississippi State, Tulane and the University of California Berkley.

UDM has partnered with the University of Windsor (UW) to create a new program combining the study of visual arts and architecture.  The program, Visual Arts and the Built Environment, or VABE, brings together students from UW's School of Visual Arts and UDM's School of Architecture to study the design of the built environment from the position of both artist and architect.

Architecture's Detroit Collaborative Design Center was the first university-based design center in metropolitan Detroit to provide design services to non-profit community and civic organizations, such as Mercy Education Project, Harmonie Park, Paradise Valley Cultural & Entertainment District, and Detroit neighborhoods.

UDM's Master's in Community Development offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to the theory and practice of community development. This unique, interdisciplinary program provides a broad foundation for individuals who are new to community development as well as professionals in the field.

The School of Architecture and the Cranbrook Educational Community are collaborating on a multi-year effort to design, implement and develop a robust CAD-based system that would render Cranbrook, one of America's greatest architectural complexes, into a 3-D computer model to be used for educational, planning and management purposes.

The School of Architecture now offers a graduate-level health care concentration for Architecture and Health Professions students.