Master of Landscape Architecture
The Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning offers three Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.) degree programs that are structured to equip students with advanced design and planning skills.
The Programs
- The three-year M.L.A. degree is the first professional degree accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). This degree is for students with non-design backgrounds.
- The two-year M.L.A. degree is the second professional degree for those students with first degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, or environmental design.
- The department also offers a two-year environmental planning program leading to the M.L.A. degree for students with a strong background in the environmental sciences or management.
First and Second Professional Degrees
Students are required to select and complete one of two plans for the degree:
- Plan I — Thesis, or
- Plan II — Comprehensive Exam (professional project or designated studio.)
The thesis is for students who wish to do original research on a problem in landscape architecture or environmental planning. The thesis committee is composed of two faculty members from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and a third faculty member from another department at Berkeley. The comprehensive exam format can be either a professional project or a designated studio that demonstrates broad competence plus the concepts and skills necessary to the field of landscape architecture. The professional project consists of a report of not more than 40 pages of text with appropriate professional drawings. It should document a real-world project. The professional project committee is composed of two faculty members from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and a third member from outside the University community who usually is affiliated with the project.
Students may elect to fulfill the final degree requirement through the successful completion of a comprehensive exam studio taken in their final semester. Students who are in the Environmental Planning Concentration or in one of the concurrent degree programs are not eligible for the comprehensive exam studio option.
In addition, a summer internship (preferably taken the summer before the student's final year) is recommended. Previous professional experience may be substituted for this internship.
Normative time for the M.L.A. degree is either two years (design background and environmental planning students) or three years (non-design background). A student's normative time is determined when the student enters the M.L.A. program.
Environmental Planning
Environmental planning is the application of natural and social science to promote environmentally sound development and management of natural resources. It is a broad field, bridging the disciplines of geology, soils, hydrology, plant and wildlife ecology, law, and public policy. Many environmental planners are also specialists in these fields; what distinguishes them as planners is that they bring analytical, managerial, and policy-making skills to bear on decisions about the appropriate use of land and natural resources.
Underlying the process is the philosophy that better land-use decisions will result if the decision makers are better informed about the environmental effects of alternative actions. Thus, the environmental planner pulls information together from various disciplines and presents it in a form comprehensible to decision makers. This involves working closely with specialists in interactions that draw upon the planner’s background in these specializations.
The role of environmental planners has increased with mandates for environmental impact assessment at local, state, federal, and international levels. In these studies, the planner plays a pivotal role: providing a bridge between specialists and the decision makers. Similarly, restoration of degraded land and streams, an area of increasing interest, requires the skills of the environmental planner to ensure that the planning and design of restoration projects take ecological processes and constraints into account.
At the regional planning scale, environmental planners analyze the landscape to identify constraints on land use. From these analyses, guidelines and regulations are developed to reduce losses from landslides, earthquakes, floods, forest fires, and other natural hazards. Other goals are to maintain clean streams and groundwater supplies, to prevent erosion of soil or loss of agricultural lands to development, to maintain wildlife habitats, to retain significant scenic resources, and to enhance recreational resources.
At the site planning scale, environmental planners are called upon to create or review specific development proposals, acting as intermediaries between natural scientists and planning agencies. In this role, the traditional skills of the landscape architect in physical planning and site design are used to inspire more creative and ecologically informed plans and to help mitigate the detrimental effects of development.
Environmental planners work in a variety of professional settings, including the U.S. Forest Service, Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, state and regional agencies responsible for management of natural resources and protection of sensitive areas (e.g., the coastal zone). Some are employed in firms that undertake large-scale analyses and plans for public agencies, and the design of privately financed development projects. Others work with international development agencies or nongovernmental organizations concerned with preservation of environmental values.
- First Professional Degree - Course Requirements
- Second Professional Degree - Course Requirements
- Environmental Planning - Course Requirements
The three-year Master of Landscape Architecture degree program, for students with non-design backgrounds, requires 79 units and is organized around the core design studio, which is the setting for the synthesis and integration of technical, environmental, historical, and theoretical course offerings. Specialized modules introduced in the studio each semester may include: Planting design, grading and earthwork, computer-aided design, materials and detailing, and drawing.
FIRST YEAR (29 UNITS)
- LD ARCH 110 (4) Ecological Analysis (Lecture)
- LD ARCH 110L (1) Ecological Analysis (Lab)
- LD ARCH 112 (4) Landscape Plants: Identification and Use
- LD ARCH 170 (3) History and Literature of Landscape Architecture
- LD ARCH 234A (3) Drawing the Landscape
- LD ARCH 234B (3) Landscape Processes through Drawing and Modeling
- LD ARCH 200A (5) Fundamentals of Landscape Design
- LD ARCH 200B (5) Case Studies in Landscape Design
- LD ARCH 254 (1) Topics in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
SECOND YEAR (26 UNITS)
- LD ARCH 121 (4) Design in Detail: Introduction to Landscape Materials
- LD ARCH 120 (3) Topographic Form and Design Technology
- LD ARCH 201 (5) Ecological Factors in Urban Landscape Design
- LD ARCH 202 (5) Cultural Factors in Urban Landscape Design
- LD ARCH 233 (3) Drawn from the Field
- Elective (3)
- One social factors course selected from departmental breadth list (3)
THIRD YEAR (24 UNITS)
- One studio requirement selected from LD ARCH 203, CY PLAN 248, or ARCH 201 (5), by petition
- LD ARCH 206 or Final Degree Studio selected from LD ARCH 204 or CY PLAN 248 (5)
- LD ARCH 252B (3) Thesis and Professional Project Research Seminar (required for Thesis/Professional Project Students only) or
- LD ARCH 260 (3) Professional Practice Seminar
- Elective (4)
- Elective (4)
TOTAL: 79 UNITS
The two-year Master of Landscape Architecture is the second professional degree for students with first degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, or environmental design. The degree program requires 55 units and provides the flexibility for specialization in advanced design and research.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
CORE (5 UNITS)
- LD ARCH 201 (5) Ecological Factors in Urban Landscape Design
OPTION (37–42 UNITS)
- One or two additional studios selected from LD ARCH 202, LD ARCH 203, LD ARCH 204, LD ARCH 205, CY PLAN 248, ARCH 201 (dependent on student’s background)* (5-10 units)
- LD ARCH 120 Topographic Form and Design Technology** (2 units)
- LD ARCH 135 Advanced Landscape Drawing** (3 units)
- LD ARCH 160 Professional Practice** (3 units)
- One course in landscape history selected from LD ARCH 170, ENV DES 169A, ENV DES 169B, or CY PLAN 240** (3 units)
- One course in landscape structures/infrastructures selected from LD ARCH 121, LD ARCH 226, CY PLAN 213, CY PLAN 214, CY PLAN 217* (3 units)
- One course in landscape plants and their applications selected from LD ARCH 111, LD ARCH 112, LD ARCH 224, LD ARCH 225* (3 units)
- One course in natural factors selected from the departmental breadth list* (3 units)
- One course in social factors selected from the departmental breadth list (3 units)
LD ARCH 252B Thesis/Professional Project Research Seminar (required for thesis/professional project students only) (3 units) - LD ARCH 206 or Final Degree Studio: LD ARCH 204, LD ARCH 205, or CY PLAN 248 (5 units)
ELECTIVES (7–12 UNITS)
TOTAL: 55 UNITS
Notes:
* Students with architecture backgrounds must enroll in LD ARCH 110, LD ARCH 112, LD ARCH 121, LD ARCH 170, LD ARCH 202, or LD ARCH 205.
** May be waived by petition.
CORE (27 UNITS)
- LD ARCH 134A (3) Introduction to Drawing for Landscape Architects
- LD ARCH 200A (5) Fundamentals of Landscape Design
- LD ARCH 254 (1) Topics in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
- LD ARCH 205 (5) Environmental Planning Studio
- LD ARCH C237/CY PLAN C257 (3) Process of Environmental Planning
- LD ARCH 252B (3) Thesis/Professional Project Research SeminarLD ARCH 206 (5)
- Thesis/Professional Project Studio
BREADTH (13 UNITS)
Four courses, one in each field:
- Field 1—Natural Factors (LD ARCH 220, LD ARCH 222, LD ARCH 224, LD ARCH 225)
- Field 2—Social Factors (LD ARCH 140 or equivalent)
- Field 3—Methods (LD ARCH 221)
- Field 4—Geographic Information Systems (LD ARCH C188)
ELECTIVES (13 UNITS)
TOTAL: 55 UNITS
Public Information Policy
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