Program Overview

Landscape Architecture - MLA

The Landscape Architecture - MLA program is offered by the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at Utah State University.

About This Degree

As future landscape architects and planners, students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning will learn to analyze the way people interact with the world around them and how natural environments interact with built environments.

What You Will Learn

These graduate programs emphasize traditional site scale planning and design, large scale planning and management, and advancing inquiry through research. Students will graduate with the creative and technical skills needed to design and protect the spaces that define a community and region.

At a Glance

• College: S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
• Department: Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department
• USU Locations:
  • Logan campus

Program Requirements

• Landscape Architecture - MLA
• Accelerated Master of Landscape Architecture - BLA, MLA

Career And Outcomes

Career Opportunities

Graduates with an MLA have a wide variety of career options available:

• Licensed landscape architect Arborist
• Federal employment with USFS, NPS, BLM and others
• Visual/scenic landscape analyst
• Transportation planner
• Community planning and residential design
• Land development
• State park design
• Design campgrounds and trail systems
• Golf course architect
• Work in consultation with civil engineering or architecture firms
• Design of resorts and theme parks
• Design green roofs/rooftop gardens
• Historic preservation
• Sustainability coordinator
• University campus planner/landscape architect
• Protection of endangered species through habitat preservation
• Assist with the survey of archeology sites
• Promote forest sustainability in domestic and tropical forests
• Extension landscape architect
• Stormwater manager
• Virtual media design (graphic design, designing virtual landscapes for computer games)
• Academic positions in landscape architecture and horticulture programs
• Artist or sculptor
• Gardener or grower of nursery stock
• Nursery operator

Many other career opportunities are available depending on the student's thesis emphasis, interests, and undergraduate degree.

Admission

Admission Requirements

Students with any undergraduate major may apply. Students admitted from a background in landscape architecture will be admitted to the advanced professional program, and students with other undergraduate degrees will be admitted to the first professional degree.

Application Requirements:

• Complete the online application
• Pay the application fee
• Score at or above the 40th percentile on the GRE
• Have a 3.0 or higher GPA on your last 60 semester or 90 quarter credits
• Provide transcripts of all college/university credits
• Provide three contacts for letters of recommendation
• Portfolios are recommended but not required of the First Professional degree; however, portfolios are required for the Advanced Professional degree. Advanced professionals should submit examples of most recent work. Team projects must clearly note your contribution to the project.

International students have additional admissions requirements.

Deadlines

The department has the following deadlines:

• Fall semester - March 15
• Applications submitted after March 15 will only be considered if there is space available in the program.

Plan Options

Students can receive the MLA by pursuing one of two options:

• In the Plan A option, students complete graduate-level coursework and must write a thesis.
• The Plan B option requires the production of a paper or creative work of design and is expected to reflect equivalent scholarship standards as a thesis.

Financial Aid

The majority of students in the department receive funding through faculty grants and contracts. The department also offers scholarships to students underway in the program.

A variety of additional funding opportunities are available through the School of Graduate Studies.