The Major

The Bachelor of Science Program in Landscape Architecture focuses on visual, physical, ecological, cultural, and design issues encountered in the urbanizing landscape. The program’s objective is to educate and train professionals who are prepared to address future design problems and participate in a wide range of landscape design and planning projects. The BS in Landscape Architecture is a professional degree that is accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board.

Our fundamental concern is the sustainable design of land and natural resources. As the public becomes increasingly aware of and sophisticated about environmental issues, opportunities for professional landscape architects can be expected to increase rapidly.

The landscape architect’s planning and design decisions are of critical significance to both the immediate and long-term future. They design and plan parks, residential communities, university campuses, streetscapes, plazas, corporate headquarters, and regional open space networks. Landscape architects serve as mediators between humans and the landscape and they work to ensure that development serves the cultural context, is aesthetically pleasing, and fosters environmental health.

Opportunities exist in the BSLA program at UMass for study abroad. Students may go to a variety of locations including Copenhagen, Rome, and Dublin. Faculty-led field study classes are often offered with recent trips focusing on Belize, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Students who enroll in the program as freshmen can earn a B.S. degree in Landscape Architecture in four years. In addition to the University’s General Education requirements, the landscape architecture core curriculum consists of four interrelated areas or sequences.

Core Curriculum

Design Studio Sequence

The six semester studio sequence that runs through the second, third, and fourth years are the core of the landscape architecture program. Students learn the principles, methods, processes, and techniques of landscape architecture design. Each studio provides progressively more complex problems with studios divided into two half-semester segments. Each segment has a different instructor to ensure a diverse range of project types, scales, and points of view.

  • LandArch 297A Studio I: Fundamentals: Spaces & Landscape Media
  • LandArch 297B Studio II: Spaces/Places in Context
  • LandArch 297C Studio III: Designing with Plants
  • LandArch 297D Studio IV: Designing with Landform
  • LandArch 397A Studio V: Residential Garden Design
  • LandArch 397B Studio VI: Recreation and Open Space Design
  • LandArch 397C Studio VII: Sustainable Commercial/Institution Design
  • LandArch 397D Studio VIII: Towards Sustainable Multi-Family Housing & Open Space
  • LandArch 497A Studio IX: Urban Design: Sustainable Urban Systems
  • LandArch 497B Studio X: Urban Design: Design Development
  • LandArch 494LI Studio: Senior Capstone (14 weeks)

Natural and Cultural Factors Sequence

The courses include: plants in the landscape, city planning, and landscape ecology. They are intended to acquaint students with the natural and cultural processes that have shaped the landscape from past to present.

  • Sustcomm 225 Plants in the Landscape
  • Sustcomm 574 City Planning
  • LandArch 547 Landscape Patterns & Process
  • LandArch 547L Landscape Patterns & Process Lab

History Sequence

Courses provide students with an understanding of the historic forces that have shaped the man-made environment and the role that landscape architects have played in the design and management of landscapes.

  • Sustcomm 543 History I Ancient to Medieval World
  • Sustcomm544 History II Renaissance to the Present

Skills Sequence

The six courses in this sequence teach students the skills and knowledge required to implement landscape architectural projects. Included are courses in hand graphics, construction materials, site engineering, professional practice, writing in landscape architecture, and digital representation.

  • LandArch 191A Graphics
  • LandArch 294A/B Contruction Materials
  • LandArch 397E Site Engineering
  • LandArch 494A Professional Practice
  • Sustcomm 314 Writing in Landscape Architecture
  • Sustcomm 597A Computers in Environmental Design

Computer Requirement

All students are required to have a laptop computer, equal or greater to the specifications provided by the department. The department will also provide a list of required software. For more information regarding departmental computer requirements refer to our website: www.umass.edu/larp/resource/computing
University of Massachusetts Amherst
©2020 University of Massachusetts Amherst · Site Policies · Accessibility