Undergraduate Programs

The undergraduate program in landscape architecture that leads to the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture emphasizes the making of outdoor spaces that are beautiful in their understanding of human need and their ecological context. Planning and design are seen as processes for understanding and resolving the complex interdependence of the biophysical and cultural landscape.

We are located in a liberal arts university and within a professional school with Departments of Architecture, Art History, Art, and Planning, Public Policy, and Management and programs in Historic Preservation, Interior Architecture and Arts and Administration. Students are encouraged to become aware of the wealth of university offerings as an important component of their education. Departmental requirements allow the individual flexibility and time to pursue interests in areas both inside and outside of the department. The departmental program, in content and spirit, relates 'professional' concerns and 'liberal' education. We strongly support a system of university 'group requirements' which expect that students get a fundamental exposure to courses in social sciences, arts and letters, and sciences.

Within the curriculum, careful attention is paid to the variety and breadth of design studio offerings. This is characterized by exposure to problems of varying scale, scope, issues, subject matter, topical interest, and locale. Students generally have options in studio choices among problems, faculty and methods. Students are encouraged to experience a range of problems, methods, and skill areas while developing abilities in their own interests.

Within the first professional degree program there is an emphasis on the breadth of the profession, exposing students to diverse problems and opportunities. Our approach to landscape architectural education is characterized by a concern for the connections between design and planning, theory and practice, teachers and practitioners, art and technology, school and the 'real world', head and hand, large scale and small scale.

The curriculum is conceived as a combination of required and elective courses and experiences. The program provides required and optional sequences in design studios; ecology; plants and planting design theory; landscape technologies and professional practice; landscape planning and analysis; landscape media; and history, literature and theory of landscape architecture. There are also courses available in allied disciplines including architecture, planning, geography, and the fine arts.

Towards these aims the education of landscape architects includes studies about the land and its processes -- ecology, plants, climate, geology, soils, hydrology; landscape technologies and construction practices; landscape history, theory, and literature. These areas are integrated in the study of design, a process of environmental understanding that gives order and form to environmental transformations.

During the past decade, digital tools have become increasingly prevalent within the profession of landscape architecture. Students and faculty within the Department of Landscape Architecture use the computer labs and facilities on campus; however, access to these facilities is sometimes limited. The Department of Landscape Architecture therefore requires that all students either purchase or have unlimited access to their own personal computer. Contact the department office for details.

Curriculum Structure

The undergraduate curriculum is organized along two types of courses:

Planning and Design Program: This is a series of design studio courses on the development and communication of solutions to site and other environmental problems, especially through specific physical design proposals. It is also concerned with the physical/spatial implications of planning policies and management policies and programs. Tutorially oriented studio work is the integrative heart of the curriculum. Students generally take a design studio each term.

Subjects Program: Five subject areas are included in our curriculum, each of which is considered an essential part of the foundation to undertake integrative work in the planning and design program. These areas include: Landscape architectural technology and professional practice; plants; history, literature and theory of landscape architecture; media and communications and landscape planning and analysis. Courses are offered in a core and option format which encourages students to participate in the structuring of their education program. Students are encouraged to explore other areas in elective coursework throughout the University.

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