DESIGNING THE URBAN ECOLOGICAL FUTURE

Landscape architecture plays an essential role in connecting justice to environmental design and the ecological infrastructures of the urban realm. The mission of our MLA is to prepare students to be leaders in the field of landscape architecture through innovative research and practice in urban ecological design, planning, and policymaking. The program aims to reimagine and rethink the profession’s current and future challenges through the lens of social, environmental, and multi-species justice, including rapid urbanization, resource extraction and management, the interface of nature and technology, ongoing species extinctions, and the climate emergency. The curriculum engages critical thinking about complex and indeterminate systems, empowering students to implement actionable change across multiple scales of the urban landscape.

In our design studios, we harness the dynamic environment of New York City as a living laboratory to experiment with innovative landscape and urban strategies. These studios incorporate diverse and multidisciplinary frameworks into landscape design and planning, drawing from fields like environmental sciences, engineering, and the humanities. Students cultivate landscape expertise by exploring a wide range of topics, such as urban agriculture, coastal engineering, urban ecology, and robotics.

Our students are prepared to be leaders in the field of landscape architecture through innovative research and practice in urban ecological design, planning, and policymaking. We are a small program with high-touch teaching, mentoring, and advising. Graduates of our program go on to work at design firms and public agencies.

Applicants from all undergraduate backgrounds are welcome in the Master of Landscape Architecture program.

ACCREDITATION

The Master of Landscape Architecture Program at the City College of New York’s Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture is fully accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board. Click here for full accreditation details and other public information.

PREREQUISITES

The MLA program is open to students from all undergraduate backgrounds and has no formal prerequisites. Students will be expected to come in with an awareness of current versions of AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop; basic spatial representation skills such as orthographic drawing and 2D drafting; and basic graphic design knowledge. Students lacking these skills should take our late-summer, intensive digital “boot camp” — Spatial and Regional Representation — at the Spitzer School in order to gain proficiency prior to the fall semester.

STEM DESIGNATION

Landscape Architecture is listed within the U.S. government’s official STEM fields list, meaning graduates with F-1 visas may be eligible for U.S. work authorization for up to three years. See the STEM OPT Hub for more information.

CURRICULUM

Total program credits: 90. Per-semester courseload: 15 credits.

First Year
FALL TERM 1

LAAR 61100: Landscape Architecture Studio I
LAAR 61400: Digital and Traditional Representation
LAAR 61500: Introduction to Ecology/Plant Identification
LAAR 61300: Landscape Technology I

SPRING TERM 2

LAAR 62100: Landscape Architecture Studio II
LAAR 62200: Introduction to Landscape Architecture History
LAAR 62700: Urban Ecology
LAAR 62300: Landscape Technology II

Second Year
FALL TERM 3

LAAR 63100: Landscape Architecture Studio III
LAAR 64150: Design Research
LAAR 63300: Environmental Planning
LAAR 65160: Urban Plants

SPRING TERM 4

LAAR 64100: Landscape Architecture Studio IV
LAAR 00000: History Elective
LAAR 64400: Planting Design
LAAR 00000: Urbanism Elective

Third Year
FALL TERM 5

LAAR 65100: Landscape Architecture Studio V
LAAR 64150: Design Research
LAAR 64700: Landscape Restoration
LAAR 65300: Professional Practice

SPRING TERM 6

LAAR 66100: Landscape Architecture Studio VI
LAAR 00000: History Elective
LAAR 00000: Professional Elective
LAAR 00000: General Elective