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MLA Curriculum

MLA Curriculum

The MLA curriculum consists of design studios, support courses, core landscape architecture classes and student-selected electives. Students are admitted into one- to three-year programs of study, depending on their educational and professional backgrounds. Students with a non-design undergraduate degree enter a three-year curriculum track, with possible exemptions based on their previous studies. Applicants with professional applied design degrees enter directly into the second year of study. Applicants with BLA or BSLA degrees and ten or more years of professional experience may enter in the third year, accelerating their studies with a one-year program focused on their specialization.

Year 1

(students with non-design degrees begin here)
Fall
  • LAND 6010: Landscape Studio
  • LAND 6210: Representation I
  • ECOL 6080: Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development
  • EDES 6550: History of the Built Environment I
Spring
  • LAND 6020: Garden Studio
  • LAND 6220: Representation II
  • LAND 6320: Plant Materials
  • LAND 6340: Landscape Engineering
  • EDES 6560: History of the Built Environment II

Year 2

(students with a BLA or applied design degree start here)
Fall
  • LAND 6030: Sustainability Studio
  • EDES 6530: Ideas of Nature
  • LAND 6330: Landscape Construction
  • Elective
Spring
  • LAND 6040: Community Studio
  • EDES 6540: Ideas of Community
  • LAND 6710: Professional Practice
  • EDES 6900: Research Strategies
  • Elective
Summer
  • Elective Internship

Year 3

(students with BLA or BSLA and ten years' experience start here)
Fall
  • LAND 7050: Signature Studio Series
  • EDES 7350: Landscape Management
  • EDES 7550: Values in Design
  • Elective
Spring
  • LAND 7300: Thesis
  • Elective

In addition to taking broad required courses, MLA students develop an individual track that focuses on their particular interests in the field. Although students are not expected to fall squarely into a single category, the focus areas they can consider in tailoring their studies are as follows:

  • Computer applications
  • Ecological restoration & natural resource management
  • Garden design & plant management
  • General landscape design
  • Golf course design
  • Historic landscape preservation
  • Human design & community participation
  • Land development
  • Landscape history and criticism
  • Recreational and open space design
  • Rural planning and preservation
  • Urban design and planning