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Department of Landscape Architecture

RICHARD S. HAWKS, Chair
331 Marshall Hall
315-470-6544; FAX 315-470-6540

Department of Landscape Architecture website

Participating Faculty

CARTER (Urban Design, City and Regional Planning, Development Process, Sustainable Communities, Planning and Design Theory), CURRY (Site Planning, Urban Analysis and Design, Historic Preservation), DEMING (Landscape Design, History and Theory, Urban Design, Design Research), DOBLE (Community Planning and Design, Citizen Partici-pation, Site Planning and Design, Graphics, Education), HAWKS, Chair (Community Planning and Design, Natural Factors in Design, University Campus Design and Planning), HOFFMAN (Design with Emphasis on Grading and Drainage, Visual Resources), MILLER (Graphic Communication, Urban Design, Plant Materials), POTTEIGER (Cultural Landscape History, History of Landscape Architecture, Design Theory and Methodology), REUTER (Ecology in Landscape Planning, Design and Management of Wetlands, Computer Applications in Environ-mental Planning and Design Simulation), SHANNON (Site Planning and Design, Urban Analysis and Design, Sustainable Design and Development, Rural Community Planning), STRIBLEY (Design and Behavior, Public Participation, Urban Design, Parks and Recreation, Site Planning and Design), TOLAND (Landscape and Urban Ecology, Site Design, Urban Infrastructure Planning, Land Planning, Urban Streetscape)

The alteration of the physical environment has been a product of human activity since the earliest human settlements. While environ-ments of enduring beauty and vitality occasionally resulted, the history of environmental manipulation more often demonstrated degradation and abuse of the landscape. As the knowledge of natural and human processes has expanded, environmental change has been transformed over the centuries from the casual efforts of many to an enterprise requiring skilled individual effort and often demanding multi-disciplinary attention.

Since 1911 the landscape architecture program at ESF has been educating practitioners and teachers, designers and planners, advocates and policy makers who have contributed their careers to a viable, sustainable integration of natural and cultural communities.

The program is one of the largest in the United States, with 12 full-time faculty supported by several adjunct professors and visiting instructors. Faculty interests range from design and history to landscape narratives, from materials and construction to regional planning, from ecological planning to urban design, from theoretical landscapes to historic preservation.

The Department of Landscape Architecture offers three degree programs designed to educate students to contribute in varied ways to 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.L.A. fast track option.

Support Facilities

Department of Landscape Architecture members believe that computer and video technologies are very important to the future of the profession. They are committed to exploring the application of digital technologies to the practice of landscape architecture, and encourage the use of these technologies by the students. Advanced students may choose to specialize in the application and integration of computer technologies.

Support facilities within landscape architecture include access to a wide variety of computing equipment and applications for graphics, image processing, CAD, GIS, 3-D modeling, desktop publishing, pre-sentations, and other Internet and professional applications. Advanced computing is supported through the Computer Aided Visualization Laboratory (CAV Lab).

The program also provides individual studio workspace for each student, and office space for special research and public service projects. In addition, the Department of Landscape Architecture maintains an extensive collection of more than 30 years of student projects completed abroad for the LA Off-Campus Program, as well as other archival materials dating to 1913.

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Bachelor of Landscape Architecture

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 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

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.

The undergraduate curriculum consists of two broad categories of courses. The first category, general education, provides students with knowledge and skills that are useful and important for all educated persons, regardless of their profession, as well as preparation for advanced courses leading to a specific profession. The second category, professional courses, provides students with direct preparation for a career through practice and application of the basic principles and skills of landscape architecture design, land manipulation and engineering, applied ecology, and communications. Studio instruc-tion holds a special place within the program because it mimics the professional environment where students will integrate these principles and skills in order to solve landscape architectural problems. The number of students in a studio section is limited to 15 because this type of problem-based learning relies on intensive interaction and mentoring relationships with studio faculty. The quality of a student's professional development is monitored in part by a requirement that a grade of C or higher be earned to progress to the next studio.

The major objective of the B.L.A. program is to develop basic proficiency in design, engineering, and communication skills necessary for formal admission into the profession of landscape architecture. When the prerequisite period of work experience has been completed, a person holding a B.L.A. degree may apply to take the examination leading to a license to practice landscape architecture. At present, the State of New York requires those holding a five-year B.L.A. degree to complete a three-year period of internship in the field prior to applying for the licensing examination. Other states have varying requirements for obtaining licensure.

As in any area of professional study, students seeking the B.L.A. degree are expected to demonstrate a high level of commitment and scholarship in their studies. This professional commitment is demonstrated by a desire to serve society in an objective, rational, and ethical manner.

Students receiving a B.L.A. degree have entered the profession as employees in public agencies, not-for-profits, or in private offices offering landscape architectural services. Also, B.L.A. graduates have entered graduate schools in landscape architecture, planning, urban design, regional design, and specific specialties including historic preservation, environmental policy, public administration, recreation, management, and research.

Off-Campus Program

The off-campus program is the Department of Landscape Archi-tecture’s undergraduate centerpiece, and one of the most unique educational programs within the State University of New York. Since 1970, more than 1,300 students have studied in more than 50 different countries and throughout the United States.

The off-campus program is centered on the idea of an “experi-ential studio.” It is quite different, however, from most studio- or lab-oratory-based programs that teach using example and participation. Prior to the off-campus semester, students identify a particular design-related study topic, then develop plans to leave the traditional university setting and travel to locations that are uniquely suited to the topic. Students see and experience exemplary works of landscape architecture in the best locations in the world. At the same time, students learn from experiencing unfamiliar places, cultures and languages, and gain an insight into the natural and cultural environment—a sense of place that is unattainable in the campus classroom. Finally, students learn lessons about themselves and American culture that are equally valuable as landscape architects and as citizens in a larger society.

Studies may take any of several forms—they may be relatively independent, focusing on a particular student’s interests and aspirations (self-described study); they may be directed by a faculty member’s interests or research (faculty described study); or they may be more applied and directed by a local group or organization on site, similar to an internship arrangement (work study). Each off-campus group is coordinated and advised by a participating faculty member, and assisted by an on-site consultant (usually a local alumna or alumnus, landscape architect, or university professor). Each student spends a full, 15-week semester “off-campus” pursuing the study, earning 15 credit hours. Typically the off-campus study is undertaken during the fall semester of the fifth year.

Each student in the B.L.A. program is required to participate in an off-campus experience and students must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.000 or greater prior to participation. The off-campus program requires students to pay for tuition, books and materials, room and board, and travel costs to the location of study.

Program Expenses

In addition to the normal college expenses, students must plan for special expenses such as studio equipment and materials, field trips, and the off-campus semester.

Studio equipment and materials. In a design curriculum, students normally spend more for expendable supplies than they would on books for a lecture course. The cost of equipment, printing, and materials for studio courses is typically between $300 and $400 each semester. Upon submission, studio projects become the property of the Department of Landscape Architecture. While projects are normally returned, they may be retained temporarily for display or permanently kept as part of the archives.
Field trips. Landscape architecture students may be required to participate in a field trip as part of their studio courses. These trips are used to acquaint students with the exemplary works of landscape architecture found in Boston, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington, D.C., or other cities in the Northeast. The typical cost of transportation, meals and lodging for field trips range between $300 and $400.
Off-campus semester. This is a self-designed and student-budgeted program. If a student plans well, there is no need for this semester to cost any more than one spent in Syracuse. Typical expenses for the Off-Campus Semester during the previous academic year, including tuition and travel to and from the study site, were between $8,000 and $10,000. However, a few students had expenses as high as $12,000 because of the study location they chose and the extracurricular opportunities they enjoyed while abroad. Student financial aid is available to assist with a portion of the costs associated with the Off-Campus Semester program.
Computers. Proficiency with computers and associated design software are essential to the success of students in the landscape architecture curriculum. Students are required to purchase a laptop computer with appropriate software by the beginning of the spring semester for the sophomore year. Equipment guidelines are available from the Department of Landscape Architecture. Anticipated costs for computing equipment (hardware and software) may be between $2,500 and $3,500 over the course of the student’s tenure at ESF.

Prerequisites for Transfer Entry

The breadth of learning in the B.L.A. program makes it imperative that entering students prepare themselves with a broad range of foundation coursework. The environmental issues that students will engage require a strong background in the natural and social sciences, as well as in the arts and humanities. In addition, competency in graphics, written and oral communication, mathematics, and computer applications is required. Due to the specialized nature of much of this coursework, it is highly recommended that students wishing to transfer into the B.L.A. program consider doing so no later than the beginning of the sophomore year. Students wishing to transfer with greater than beginning sophomore standing are required to submit a portfolio of visually expressive design or graphic work for review. If students have met the sophomore transfer re-quirements, have completed 62 or more credit hours of coursework at another college or university, and submit portfolio work suggesting they have sufficiently advanced skills in design and graphic communication, they may be granted junior status and can enter into the core B.L.A. studio sequence.

Portfolios

Freshman applicants are not required, but are highly encouraged to submit a portfolio of their creative work for review; transfer applicants seeking greater than first semester sophomore standing are required to submit a portfolio as a part of their application for admission.

Faculty members embrace a broad conception of the term “creative work,” ranging from pencil sketching to poetry; however, for the purpose of indicating an aptitude for landscape architecture, portfolio work should focus on visually expressive examples, including both traditional and digital media. Submittals will be used to assess drawing and other graphic communication skills, as well as spatial awareness and the ability to visualize and convey design ideas. Portfolio items should be no larger than 11-by-17-inch, generally consisting of good-quality photographic or xerographic repro-ductions, or in Adobe PDF, PowerPoint, or JPEG digital format on standard CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD media. Color slides or prints of large or 3-D work, or digital HTML “Web page” portfolios are also acceptable. Applicants should not send original artwork or rolled materials. Portfolios can be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed, pre-posted return envelope.

Undergraduate Program Requirements

Lower Division Required Courses (41 credits)

Courses Credits

CLL	190	Writing and the Environment	G 1	3
CLL	290	Writing, Humanities and the Environment	G	3
CMN	220	Public Presentation Skills		3
EFB	226	General Botany	G	4
ESF	200	Information Literacy		1
LSA	132	Orientation Seminar: Landscape Architecture		1
LSA	182	Drawing Studio	G	3
LSA	205	Art, Culture, and Landscape I	G	3
LSA	206	Art, Culture, and Landscape II		3
LSA	220	Introduction to Landscape Architecture		3
LSA	226	Foundation Design Studio I		4
LSA	227	Foundation Design Studio II		4
LSA	300	Computer Graphics I		3
LSA	311	Natural Processes in Design and Planning		3

Electives (21 credits)

General Education: American History	G	3
General Education: Social Sciences	G	3
General Education: Other World Civilizations	G	3
General Education: Mathematics	G	3
Biological Science Elective		3
Natural/Physical Science Elective		3
Elective		3

Upper Division Required Courses (76 credits)

CLL	410	Writing for Environmental Professionals	3
EFB	334	Woody Plants in the Natural and Built Landscape	2
LSA	312	Social and Cultural Factors in Design and Planning	3
LSA	326	Landscape Architectural Design Studio I	5
LSA	327	Landscape Architectural Design Studio II	5
LSA	342	Landscape Architecture Construction Technology	4
LSA	343	Landscape Materials and Structures	3
LSA	405	History of Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	422	Landscape Architectural Design Studio III	5
LSA	423	Planting Design and Practice	5
LSA	424	Preparation for Off-Campus Design Thesis Studio	1
LSA	425	Orientation for Off-Campus Design Thesis Studio	3
LSA	433	Planting Design and Practice	3
LSA	451	Comprehensive Land Planning	3
LSA	455	Professional Practice in Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	460	Off-Campus Design Thesis Studio	15
LSA	461	Off-Campus Final Presentation Seminar	1
LSA	470	Thematic Landscape Design Studio	6
		Ecology Course	3
		Structures and Materials Course	3

Electives (12 credits)

Electives

Total minimum credits for the degree 150 credits

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B.L.A./M.S. Fast Track

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 mini-mum 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.

Program Requirements

Fast-Track Option A – Summer start

Fourth Year, Summer

LSA

460

Off-Campus Design Studio Thesis Studio (summer option only)

Fifth Year (25-28 credits)

LSA	455	Professional Practice in Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	461	Off Campus Final Presentation Seminar	1
LSA	470/670	Thematic Landscape Studio	6
LSA	596	Special Topics in Landscape Architecture or equivalent	3
LSA	640	Research Methodology	3
LSA	697	Topics and Issues of Landscape Architecture	Audit
LSA	799	Thesis Proposal Development	3
		Directed Electives	6-9

B.L.A. program completed with a minimum of 150 credits earned

Sixth Year (12-24 credits)

LSA	343	Master’s Thesis Research	6-12
		Directed Elective(s)	6-12

Students may register for LSA 899 Master’s Thesis Research as necessary for completion up to the time limit of the M.S. program.

M.S. program completed with a minimum of 180 credits (minimum 30 graduate credits)

Fast-Track Option B – Fall start

Fifth Year (24-27 credits)

LSA	455	Professional Practice in Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	470/670	Thematic Landscape Design Studio	6
LSA	596	Special Topics in Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	625	Orientation for Off-Campus Experiential Studio	Audit
LSA	640	Research Methodology	3
LSA	697	Topics and Issues of Landscape Architecture	Audit
		Directed Electives	6-9

Fifth Year, Summer (6-12 credits)

LSA

LSA

760

798

Off-Campus Experiential Studio (must be linked to thesis)
OR
Research Problem (must be linked to thesis)

12

6

B.L.A. program completed with a minimum of 150 credits

Sixth Year (18-24 credits)

LSA	899	Master’s Thesis Research 2	6-12
		Graduate-level Directed Elective(s)	6-12

Students may register for LSA 899 Master’s Thesis Research as necessary for completion up to the time limit of the M.S. program.

M.S. program completed with a minimum of 180 credits (minimum 30 graduate credits)

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Graduate Programs

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 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 M.S. program and work on both degrees. Refer to the previous section for information on the fast-track options.

The M.S. 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 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.).

Students seeking a multidisciplinary education may choose to pursue a concurrent degree within the College of Environmental Science and Forestry or at Syracuse University. For additional information about concurrent degree programs, see page 16.

Doctoral level studies in landscape architecture may be tailored in connection with the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in the Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES). Please see The Department of Environmental Studies section of this catalog.

M.L.A. Program Requirements

M.L.A. Required Courses (minimum of 66 credits)

LSA	220	Introduction to Landscape Architecture	Audit
LSA	500	Computer Graphics for Design Communications	3
LSA	552	Graphic Communication	3
LSA	600	Design Studio I	4
LSA	601	Design Studio II	4
LSA	605	History of Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	611	Natural Processes in Planning and Design	3
LSA	615	Site Construction, Grading, Drainage, Road Layout	3
LSA	620	Design Studio III—Advanced Site Design	4
LSA	625	Off-Campus Orientation Seminar	2
LSA	633	Planting Design and Practice	3
LSA	640	Research Methodology	3
LSA	645	Construction Documentation Studio	3
LSA	650	Behavioral Factors of Community Design	3
LSA	652	Community Development and Planning Process	3
LSA	655	Professional Practice in Landscape Architecture	3
LSA	670	Thematic Landscape Design Studio	6
LSA	697	Topics and Issues of Landscape Architecture	1
LSA LSA	760 898	Off-Campus Experiential Studio OR Professional Experience	6-12
LSA	799	Capstone or Thesis Proposal Development	3
LSA	800	Capstone Studio	6
Electives	(as determined in consultation with major professor)

M.S. Program Requirements

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. Required Courses and Thesis Credits (minimum of 13 credits)

1

LSA	640	Research Methodology	3
LSA	697	Topics and Issues in Landscape Architecture	1
LSA	799	Capstone or Thesis Proposal Development	3
LSA	899	Masters Thesis Research: minimum of 6 credits	6
M.S. Elective Courses (minimum of 17 credits)			17

Total minimum credits for the degree: 30 credits

Areas of Study

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.

Community Design and Planning (M.L.A., M.S.)

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 agri-culture, watersheds and forests; and specialized communities such as institutional and corporate campuses, co-housing and new towns.

The studios, seminars and lecture courses provide introductory and advanced exploration into the theories, principles and practices of design, planning, preservation, and revitalization, as well as the search for new paradigms. The courses are supported by a wide range of electives in departments at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University. There are also a significant number of opportunities for public service and research in the communities of New York state and beyond.

This area of study is especially appropriate in an era that calls for the redefinition of the American city, the retrofitting of the post-WWII suburb, the conservation and rejuvenation of rural and regional landscapes, and the exploration of traditional and new design paradigms that create sustainable symbiosis of community and place. The courses explore how to design and plan the socially interactive, environmentally sound, aesthetically pleasing settlement patterns that engender a strong sense of place and of citizenship.

There are abundant opportunities for careers in urban design, rural preservation and development, city and regional planning and corporate facilities planning. This focus is for graduate students interested in design, planning and research at the community scale via public, private, academic or nontraditional practice.

Cultural Landscape Studies and Conservation (M.L.A., M.S.)

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 conservation practices.

Required courses and directed electives provide the student with introductory and advanced investigations into the history, theory, and practices of cultural landscape design and stewardship, in the context of broader cultural and environmental concerns. Core courses are supported by a wide range of elective offerings both in the College and at Syracuse University.

The study of cultural landscapes is of vital concern in this era of globalization and rapid urban and suburban transformations. Not only are cultural landscapes important places in which we stage our lives, but they are also part of a larger system of cultural and social heritage which affects our identities as individuals, communities and nations. Areas of expertise associated with the study of cultural landscapes include preserving relationships between natural and cultural resources; developing policies and techniques for preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction of cultural landscapes; mediating alternative ideas of stewardship and balancing them within a collective sense of place; using cultural landscapes as the basis for contemporary design and development; and understanding the variety and history of human experience through patterns, forms and stories in the landscape.

There are a growing number of domestic and international career opportunities that address cultural landscapes in public, private and academic practices. Graduates might work in fields such as preservation planning, sustainable tourism, land use planning, urban design, interpretive design, or cultural history and theory.

Landscape and Urban Ecology (M.L.A., M.S.)

The purpose of this area of study is to address a range of theoretical and practical applications in landscape and urban ecology as they relate to the practice of landscape architecture. 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.

Students will have an opportunity to develop a theoretical and analytical framework for describing different landscapes and their ecological components from different levels: the individual organism perspective, a population and community point of view, and ultimately at the ecosystem level.

Landscape ecology includes an integration of landscape issues: disturbance, fragmentation, landscape manipulation, fundamental ecological processes, composition and structure, and environmental influences. Urban ecology includes integration of climatology, geomorphology and soils, hydrology, plant and animal communities, and ecological engineering and restoration. Both landscape and urban ecology are affected by human landscape perceptions, attitudes toward the environment or landscape types, patterns of settlement, and socio-economic issues and behavior. All these elements will be used to develop an understanding of the ecological essence of landscapes in order to design ecologically sustainable settlements that promote human quality of life.

There are growing numbers of domestic and international opportunities that address landscape and urban ecology issues in academic, public, private and nontraditional practice. Graduates might be involved in research and consultancy in urban forestry, ecological design, and urban planning. Employment opportunities for landscape ecologists are most frequently with public agencies, while urban ecologists are more often employed in the private sector.

This study area is supported by a wide range of electives in other departments at ESF and Syracuse University as well as an urban forestry research program of the U.S. Forest Service based at ESF.

Final Integrative Experience

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

The M.L.A. program requires 66 credit hours. At least 42 of those credit hours must be at the graduate level. The M.S. program requires between 30 and 42 credit hours (depending on background and experience), at least 30 of which must be at the graduate level.

Prerequisites and Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission to the M.L.A. program may apply to enter based on education and experience. Admission requires:

An undergraduate degree
Graduate Record Examination scores
A minimum 3.000 (4.000=A) cumulative grade point average is generally required for admission. However, other circumstances may be considered (e.g., work experience) for those below this standard.
Three letters of recommendation
A completed course is recommended in each of the following six areas:
- botany, biology, or ecology
- geology, geomorphology, or earth science
- anthropology, psychology, or sociology
- computer applications
- drawing, drafting
- art or architecture history

A portfolio of creative work, which may include samples of photography, writing, drawing, digital designs or other related artistic expressions. Portfolios can be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed, pre-posted return envelope.

Students seeking admission to the M.S. program or admission to the M.L.A. program with advanced standing must additionally provide:

Transcripts from an accredited or recognized design or planning degree with a minimum 3.000 (4.000=A) cumulative grade point average. However, other circumstances may be considered (e.g., work experience) for those whose credentials are below this standard.
A portfolio of design work (required for M.L.A. program applicants and strongly encouraged for M.S. applicants)

Applicants may be assessed as deficient in one or more areas deemed important to their admission to graduate study in the program. Courses taken to make up deficiencies (e.g., English for international students) may not count toward the credit hours required for the graduate degree.

Applications should be completed prior to February 15 for fall admission. Visits to the college are highly recommended.

Graduate Assistantships

Students with associated professional degrees may be considered for a graduate assistantship (stipend and tuition scholarship) upon admission, depending upon qualifications and portfolio. Other students may apply for landscape architecture graduate assistantships after the first year of the first professional degree track. Assistantships may also be available with community service or research projects, and are awarded by individual faculty to students with the necessary qualifications.

A limited number of teaching assistantships is awarded each year to highly qualified candidates seeking an academic career. Individuals with prior landscape architectural work experience who intend to pursue a career in teaching at the university level are encouraged to discuss their options with the graduate program coordinator in the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Research and Community Service

Research and community service are important aspects of the graduate experience in landscape architecture. Students may participate in the funded studies directed by individual faculty, or in unique studies of their own design. Furthermore, many community service projects are performed in the context of a design studio, thereby bringing real world problems into the studio as a learning experience. In this way, the on-going efforts of students and faculty help to further develop the body of knowledge of the field, while providing a challenging academic environment for the students.

Some of the vehicles currently available for research and com-munity service include Your Town—The Citizens Institute for Rural Design, an award-winning program that provides rural planning/design workshops and technical assistance to rural communities throughout the United States; the Center for Community Design Research, a research and public service vehicle for in-depth explor-ation of community and place, and for imparting design literacy through community education; the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, the technical center of the Northeast Region of the National Park Service, that provides assistance in cultural landscape research, planning, stewardship and education; and the Center for Brownfield Studies, an educational initiative focused on environ-mental management and the redevelopment of brownfield properties.

Regional, National and Global Opportunities

Major areas of recent research activity include cultural landscape preservation, visual analysis, rural town planning, ecotourism and wetland impact mitigation. Recent public service activities include neighborhood urban design, campus design, arboretum and botanical garden design and environmental management. Research and public service activities have been funded or sponsored by the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, the New York State Council on the Arts, the State University of New York Construction Fund, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, private corpor-ations and such communities as the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Syracuse and Utica. Students participate in these projects through funded assistantships, coursework, and independent studies.

Graduate students may take advantage of extensive opportunities to conduct research or do internships abroad. The Department of Landscape Architecture requires all B.L.A. candidates to spend a semester off campus and most of the faculty annually travels abroad to visit and work with those students. As a result, the faculty can also offer graduate students a rich network of contacts and sponsors for graduate exploration in Europe, Latin America, the Far East and elsewhere. These opportunities support the expanding role of landscape architecture in addressing such globally important issues as metropolitan development, environmental conservation and symbiosis between community and place. Graduate research projects abroad have taken place in Italy (urban design), Mexico (ecotourism), Czechoslovakia (urban plazas), Wales (cultural landscape preservation), Northern Ireland (cultural landscapes), Indonesia (sense of place), Canada (rehabilitation of urban parks), Costa Rica (sustainable futures), Brazil (community design) and Spain (historic Moorish landscapes, and sustainable cities).

Graduate students may also participate in the Ibero-American Con-sortium on Sustainable Communities. The consortium includes the Department of Landscape Architecture at ESF, the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of Chile, the Department of Forest Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Center for Environmental Studies in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The agenda for this new consortium includes biennial international conferences on sustainable community planning and design, design competitions, community design charettes, exchanges of students, faculty and staff, parallel and combined research and public service projects, and the founding of landscape architecture programs in Santiago, Chile and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Graduate students will find opportunities for independent research, classroom/studio studies abroad and for intern-ships, conferences and design charettes. The activities of the con-sortium are particularly (but not exclusively) geared to the interests of students seeking preparation in landscape and urban ecology.

The sustainable futures studio is an off-campus program offered during the summer in cooperation with the Monteverde Institute in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Students who have completed at least their junior year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better may apply to participate in the program as a means to satisfy the off-campus program requirement. Sustainable futuresis a studio internship through which participating students undertake a range of service learning community design and planning projects for existing rural communities and non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the Monteverde region. The internship work focuses on sustainable design and development and includes a multidisciplinary design studio with architects, landscape architects and urban planners; lecture and seminar components in sustainable design, ecotourism, and local culture and ecology; and intensive Spanish language training. The studio is co-sponsored by SUNY-ESF, SUNY Buffalo, the University of Maryland, and the University of Illinois.

Opportunities to participate in the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) sponsored U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program are also available. The FIPSE part-nership, with Universidade de Brasilia and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, adds an international curriculum and cultural dimension to students’ studies through a combination of bilateral curricular innovation and study abroad.

College and Regional Context

Students in the graduate program in landscape architecture have an excellent opportunity to draw upon the extensive college expertise in ecology, natural sciences, resources management, engineering, forestry, and many other environmental disciplines. Add to this the resources available through Syracuse University, such as architecture, geography, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and the breadth of academic choices offered to a student at ESF becomes very significant.

The city of Syracuse has the largest concentration of professional landscape architectural offices in the Central New York region. This centralized location also provides easy access to major metropolitan centers such as Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston, and Buffalo, and to unique rural and natural landscapes, such as Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, the Catskills, and the Adirondacks. Basic geography, therefore, provides the student with a wide diversity of natural and cultural contexts in which to pursue academic and career goals.

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Meets the requirements for general education skills and knowledge area. A complete listing of ESF or Syracuse University courses that meet general education standards established by SUNY is listed on page 8 and on the Internet at www.esf.edu/catalog/GenEd.pdf
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Additional semesters of LSA 899 may be completed as necessary.