Department of Landscape Architecture

Since 1911 the Landscape Architecture program at SUNY-ESF has been educating practitioners and teachers, designers and planners, advocates and policy makers who have devoted careers to a viable, sustainable integration of natural and cultural communities.

The Department of Landscape Architecture offers three degree programs designed to educate students to contribute in varied ways to society and the wise use of land and landscape. Each provides a basis for students to establish career directions in the profession of landscape architecture. The bachelor and master of landscape architecture, and master of science degrees are offered. Qualified undergraduate students may apply for the combined B.L.A./M.S. fast-track option.

The B.L.A. program is designed for those students desiring to enter the profession of landscape architecture either directly after completing the degree or after completing graduate school. This is a professional degree with an emphasis on the skills and knowledge required to qualify as a landscape architect.

The degree is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB).

The B.L.A. degree is granted at the end of five years of study and requires the successful completion of 150 credit hours. Students are accepted into the lower-division landscape architecture program as freshmen or as sophomore transfers and into the upper-division program as junior transfers.

This option is available to outstanding fourth-year bachelor of landscape architecture students and provides the opportunity to receive both the bachelor of landscape architecture and master of science degrees during a six-year period at the College. Students who apply must have a minimum 3.000 GPA and are accepted into the program during the fall semester of the fourth year of the bachelor of landscape architecture program. The transition between the bachelor of landscape architecture and master of science curriculum requirements begins in the fall of the fifth year. The B.L.A. degree is awarded on completion of all professional requirements and a minimum of 150 credit hours. The M.S. degree is awarded after the completion of 30 graduate credits and successful completion of a research thesis. Depending on the student’s needs and research interests, there are two options available for pursuing an off-campus semester or a field research component. The first option (option A) allows students to pursue the off-campus semester with their undergraduate peers. The second option (option B) links the off-campus semester to graduate field research for their theses.

Graduate studies in landscape architecture attract a broad range of people. Those with undergraduate degrees in landscape architecture may seek specialization within the profession, advanced exploration or an academic career. Others, with degrees in related fields such as architecture, city and regional planning, and environmental design, enter the program to broaden or redirect their design and planning skills. Some students with degrees in fields less closely related (such as humanities or arts and sciences) seek new career options or to focus prior interests through a licensed design and planning profession.

Three degree tracks address the needs of the students with these differing educational backgrounds. The Master of Science (M.S.) in Landscape Architecture is a two-year academic degree program for applicants who have completed a first professional degree in landscape architecture or a professional degree in environmental design, planning, or preservation. The degree may be earned through two years of full-time study or up to seven consecutive semesters (3-1/2 years) of full-time or part-time study. A three-year program for applicants who have no design or planning background leads to the fully accredited professional degree of Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.). This program is for students who intend to complete coursework full time. Applicants with a related design or planning degree may enter the three-year program with advanced standing. Finally, a fast-track option enables qualified candidates within the College’s B.L.A. program to proceed directly into the Master of Science program and work on both degrees. Refer to the previous section for information on the fast-track options.

The Master of Science program serves the advanced professional or the aspiring academic. It is highly flexible and can be customized to reflect the breadth and depth of a student’s interests. The Master of Landscape Architecture program, for the student seeking a first professional degree in landscape architecture, is a more tightly structured curriculum because it leads to the prerequisite work experience that qualifies the graduate for the Landscape Architecture Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.).

Students seeking a multidisciplinary education may choose to pursue a concurrent degree within the College of Environmental Science and Forestry or at Syracuse University.

The degree is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB).

A three-year program for applicants who have no design or planning background leads to the fully accredited professional degree of master of landscape architecture (M.L.A.). This program is for students who intend to complete coursework full time. Applicants with a related design or planning degree may enter the three-year program with advanced standing.

The M.L.A. program, for the student seeking a first professional degree in landscape architecture, is a more tightly structured curriculum because it leads to the prerequisite work experience that qualifies the graduate for the Landscape Architecture Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.).

M.L.A. students must complete an integrative experience. Students must participate in the capstone studio and complete a 6-credit independent design project during the final semester of the program. M.L.A. students must disseminate the results of their integrative studies through capstone seminars.

Because the M.S. program serves the advanced professional, course requirements do not address foundation professional courses in landscape architecture. However, the student, in consultation with the major professor and steering committee, has great flexibility in developing a program of study suited to career goals in the chosen area of study.

M.S. students must complete an integrative experience and must complete a thesis (6 credits). The thesis may be research in which new, original knowledge is generated, it may be a study that focuses on the application of existing knowledge to a new situation, or it may combine both elements. Students must disseminate the results of their integrative studies through capstone seminars.

The landscape architecture graduate degree programs provide a well-balanced curriculum in landscape architectural design and planning, coupled with opportunities to pursue individualized advanced study in a broad range of topics. The diversity of faculty interests and expertise offer both M.L.A. and M.S. students opportunities for in-depth exploration in three areas of study: community design and planning, cultural landscape conservation, and landscape and urban ecology.

The purpose of this area is to address design, planning and research with regard to human settlements including discrete traditional communities such as cities, towns, hamlets, and their hinterlands; regional and rural communities connected to agriculture, watersheds and forests; and specialized communities such as institutional and corporate campuses, co-housing and new towns.

This area addresses a range of issues germane to the developmental and interpretive history of the cultural landscape. At its most fundamental level, the study area prepares students to address preservation planning and management for a range of cultural landscape types including historic sites and settlements, designed landscapes and vernacular landscapes. There is also a growing set of interdisciplinary methods relevant to cultural landscape studies such as critical history, landscape representation, media, visual perception and reception of landscapes, interpretation, narrative and participatory design. Graduate students may explore and/or integrate these methods with design and preservation practices.

The purpose of this area of study is to address a range of theoretical and practical applications in landscape and urban ecosystems as they relate to the practice of landscape architecture and community design. In this contemporary interdisciplinary approach, students will learn about the structure, heterogeneity and ecological processes of a broad range of natural, modified and urban landscapes. People are recognized as an integral part of the landscape and are included as a major focus of research and practice.