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.

2020-21 MLA Graduate Program Guide

2021-22 MLA Graduate Program Guide

Students are required to select and complete one of two plans for the degree:

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 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.

Public Information Policy Programs accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) are required to provide reliable information to the public. Programs must report on accreditation status and its performance. This information is to help potential students make informed application decisions. To review this information, click here.