MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Landscape Architecture + Environmental Planning
MLA Design
DEPARTMENT OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING (LAEP)
Welcome Letter
Thank you for your interest in our nationally ranked North Carolina State University Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program! Our fully LAAB* accredited program prepares graduate students for the rigors of professional practice, research, leadership, and community engagement. Students combine critical design thinking, technical and theoretical principles and apply their skills and knowledge to solve real-world spatial issues. Global communities and environmental impacts are explored through landscape architecture theory and professional practice.
As part of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP), faculty and students are advancing the discipline and addressing critical topics of the profession by exploring conditions of the built and natural environment. Design projects are considered through a range of scales, from site specific, parks and civic spaces, for instance, to community and regional planning that value the experiences and wellbeing of entire neighborhoods and regions. Resilient landscapes that address the conservation of natural resources and the impacts of environmental disasters are critical areas of the MLA program aimed at mitigating present environmental and social challenges. As department head, I envision expanding the lens for integrating natural and built systems by understanding broader geographies, territories, and the cultural values of the communities living there.
We are a STEM* designated MLA program, permitting international graduates to engage in Optional Practical Training (OPT) in the US for up to three years. This also means that landscape architects can seek project and research funding through STEM designated sources.
Please contact me directly at maria_bellalta@ncsu.edu, or Carla Delcambre cfdelcam@ncsu.edu or Kofi Boone at kmboone@ncsu.edu, Directors of the Graduate Program, if you have questions or wish to visit the College of Design to learn more.
Warmest regards,
María Bellalta, FASLA, IFLA
She/Her/Hers
Professor and Department Head
Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Director for Global Engagement
College of Design
North Carolina State University
*Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) *Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
DIFFERENT TRACKS TO COMPLIMENT YOUR BACKGROUND
We offer three Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program tracks to invite students with various educational backgrounds:
MLA Track III Curriculum
First Professional LAAB Accredited Degree
78 - 81 credit hours
The LAAB Accredited Track III curriculum is intended for graduate students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than landscape architecture, architecture or related design disciplines.
MLA Track II Curriculum
First Professional LAAB Accredited Degree, Advanced Placement Track 63-69 credit hours
This curriculum is designed for graduate students with prior degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, or related design programs that are not LAAB accredited; and/or for graduate students seeking concurrent degrees in Architecture, Urban Design or Urban Planning.
MLA Track I Curriculum
Post Professional Degree
30-48 credit hours
This curriculum is designed for graduate students with prior LAAB accredited undergraduate degrees in landscape architecture
Note: This is not an LAAB Accredited Degree program.
THE STUDENTS
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Student American Association of Landscape Architecture (SASLA)
SASLA plans several technical workshops, social events and brown bag seminars with practitioners, and provides important input and advice to the faculty about the curriculum, courses, and the overall quality of the program. SASLA also manages the Department’s Professional Development Mentor Program which pairs students with practitioners and the Peer-to-Peer Program which pairs incoming students with second and third-year students.
Women in Landscape Architecture (WxLA)
Women in Landscape Architecture (WxLA) is a student group in association with the SASLA that reaches out to the professional community to strengthen networking opportunities for women in the profession. WxLA hosts networking events regularly throughout the school year, attended by NCSU students and faculty, with local professionals.
National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA)
The National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA) is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in Los Angeles, California, in 2020. Its purpose is to increase minority representation at all levels of landscape architecture practice and academia by supporting and disseminating the landscape architecture knowledge, skills and creativity of minorities while challenging the longstanding status quo that has limited people of color from having decision-making roles on how U.S. landscapes are apportioned, designed, and taught.
Peer to Peer Program (P2P)
To help our new incoming students transition to the department, SASLA implemented a “buddy” system wherein each new student is paired with one of our continuing second or third-year students. This program is intended to connect you with someone who may be able to answer some of your questions and help you learn the “ropes” during your first semester in the department. You will receive an email message explaining this program to you and introducing you to your new peer buddy.
Professional Development Mentor Program
The Mentor Program connects LAEP students with practitioners having first-hand knowledge of and experience if the profession. Pairing new students with new mentors is planned for early October. If you are a returning student and have already been paired with a mentor, please continue communicating with your mentor. The co-chairs of the Professional Development Mentor Program will announce plans for the program at the beginning of the fall semester.
Student Advisory Group
The Student Advisory Group plays an important role that influences the making of our high performing/high quality MLA program. The Department Head and DGP and 9-12 students typically meet 2-3 times during the semester (on Wednesdays during the lunch hour, lunch provided) to discuss range of topics of concern to students. This past year, for example, the Student Advisory Group raised and discussed concerns about courses required in the first year that led to the making of curriculum adjustments and improved course delivery coordination to be implemented this year. While there are about 12 people serving in this Group, (3-4 representing each year in the program), the meetings are open to all who want to participate. Please inform the Department Head or DGP if you would like to serve.
NCSU LIBRARIES
Harry B. Lyons Design Library
Harry B. Lyons Design Library, a branch of the NCSU Libraries, is located in Brooks Hall and houses a comprehensive collection of design-related books, periodicals, slides, videos and DVDs. The Design Library collection is especially strong in the areas of architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic and industrial design, although all Library of Congress classifications are represented.
D.H. Hill Library
The D. H. Hill Library, the main library at NC State University, is located within a 10 minute walk of the College. Patrons can use the main library reference service twenty-four hours a day, five days a week; reference service is also available through chat, text messaging, email, and instant messaging from early morning until midnight most days. The NCSU Libraries are ranked forty-first among research libraries in the nation. The Libraries’ collection comprises 4.3 million volumes and 69,223 print and electronic serial subscriptions.
James B. Hunt Library
The James B Hunt Library is located on Centennial Campus. “At the core of the vision for the Hunt Library is the ability for our students, faculty, and partners to immerse themselves in interactive computing, multimedia creation, and large-scale visualization— tools that are enabling revolutionary ways to see and use information. In bringing together a state-of-the-art research library with the Institute for Emerging Issues, the Hunt Library is an international destination for those who seek to explore how collaborative spaces and innovative applications of technology can inspire the next generation of engineers, designers, scientists, researchers, and humanists.” All electronic databases, e-journals, and e-books provided by the NCSU Libraries are available to Design students. Patrons can log into electronic resources from their studio workstations, from computers located in the library, or from remote locations. Patrons can also check their borrowing account and renew materials online.
• A number of collections in architecture, horticulture, and natural resources are available in the Special Collections Research Center at D.H. Hill Library. Landscape architecture students and faculty may also find materials of interest at the university’s Natural Resources Library. Students and faculty can request that material at other libraries on campus be delivered to the Design Library.
• The NCSU Libraries is a member of the Triangle Research Libraries Network, and NC State University students and faculty may use the libraries at Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina Central University. They may also have materials delivered from Triangle libraries or from libraries across the nation through interlibrary loan.
THE CURRICULUM
III Curriculum MLA
First Professional LAAB Accredited Degree
The LAAB Accredited Track III curriculum is intended for graduate students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than landscape architecture, architecture or related design areas.
Track II Curriculum MLA
60-69* Credit Hours
Placement Track, First Professional LAAB Accredited Degree
This curriculum is designed for graduate students with prior degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, or related design programs; also graduate students obtaining concurrent degrees in Architecture, Urban Design or Urban Planning.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a sample curriculum. The actual required courses, number of studios (either 4 or 5), and credit hours will be determined based on transcript review from the applicant’s undergraduate degree and a portfolio review after completion of the first semester in the NCSU MLA program.
*Sample Curriculum (60) + Additional Studio (6) + Free Elective (3) = 69 Credit Hours
ELECTIVE COURSES OFFERED
CODE COURSE NAME
LAR 445/582.601
LAR 520
LAR 582.611
LAR 546
LAR 552
LAR 582.009
LAR 582.004
LAR 582.602
LAR 554
LAR 582
LAR 582.XXX
LAR 607
LAR 535
LAR 543
LAR 545
LAR 630
LAR 650
LAR 697
LAR 582.XXX
LAR 221/582.601
Sustainable Design and Development
Environment and Culture
Computational Design and Parametrics
The Landscape Imperative
Survey of Natural Hazards & Disasters
Intro to Real Estate Development
Walking and Drawing
Smart and Healthy Cities
Disaster Resilient Policy, Engineering, and Design
Biophilic Design
Urban Planning Seminar
Natural Hazards, Disasters, and Climate Change Adaptation Lecture Series
Environmental Social Equity and Design
Landscape Performance and Metrics
City Planning, Landscape Architecture, and the Public Realm
Independent Study
LA Internship
Independent Study for Design Research Project
AutoCAD and Drafting Fundamentals
Intro to Environment and Behavior
*Note: This is a non-exhaustive list; subject to change.
In this intensive studio, students are given a relatively small site, typically less than one acre, on which to develop a design for an urban open space functions. Upon completion of this course students will be able to refine their respective design proposals to a level sufficient to generate construction documents including grading, layout, and planting plans and an array of construction details. A teaching team consisting of registered landscape architecture practitioners and faculty deliver this studio.
Image Credit: Anna Desmone, Fall 2023
LAR 503
LA Advanced Topics
Design Studios are inquiry focused.
Upon completion of this course students will be able to apply important professional practices, venture into emerging areas, test and evaluate known practices, and literally experiment with evolving design theories or technologies that advance knowledge and capability of the profession.
The LA Advanced Topics Design Studio requires rigorous thinking to identify, clearly define, and engage more complex sets of questions or issues that influence or become influenced by situations of increasing complexity at multiple scales of resolution.
Image Credit: Ryan Anderson and Hannah
LAR 630
630: Independent Study
Campeau, Spring 2023
The work derived from an independent study should be of the quality suitable for scholarly publication, dissemination at a scholarly/professional conference, or submission to an awards competition venue.
Students who pursue this option are motivated by a research question requiring research and a design application, an extension-based project situation requiring research and a design application, or another project situation requiring research and a design application.
Image Credit: Britt Davis, Fall 2022
CONCURRENT DEGREES
Master of Architecture (NCSU)
Landscape architecture students have the opportunity to earn a dual degree in both landscape architecture and architecture. DGP and Department Head review of academic work plans are required.
Master of City and Regional Planning (UNC Chapel Hill)
NC State’s landscape architecture students can combine their landscape architecture education with studies at UNC Chapel Hill to pursue a dual degree in city and regional planning. You must apply and be admitted separately to each program. Students may apply to both programs at once or may choose to apply to a second program during the fall of their first semester. Consult your DGP or Department Head.
CERTIFICATES
Disaster Resilient Policy, Engineering, and Design Certificate
The imperative motivating the Graduate Certificate in Disaster Resilient Policy, Engineering and Design is to educate the next generation of practitioners and scholars to apply knowledge gained in the classroom and in the field to reduce the rise in disaster losses and assist communities to adapt to a changing climate.
City Design Certificate
The Graduate Certificate in City Design focuses on design at the scale of the city, and within neighborhoods and urban districts. Studios and seminars focus on the, challenges, and opportunities facing communities and cities in the 21st century, with a particular emphasis upon principles of sustainability and urban ecology.
Public Interest Design Certificate
Public Interest Design (PID) is a participatory and issue-based design practice that places emphasis on the “triple bottom line” of sustainable design that includes environmental, economic, and social challenges across the world. PID seeks to broaden access to the benefits of sustainable design to all.
Real Estate Development Certificate
The Real Estate Certificate Program, students and industry professionals enroll in classes that emphasize building resilient and sustainable communities, with a focus on architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, financing, and environmental sciences. To do this we’ve built our program in collaboration with 4 colleges while maintaining independence at every level of our structure.
Please visit the Graduate School website for more information: https://grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/program-development/graduate-certificate-programs/
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum 3.0 GPA from all previous study at the college level. Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of less than 3.0 will be considered and conditional acceptance must be approved by the Graduate School.
All applicants must use the online system and provide the following:
þ Personal Statement stating career objectives, prior experience, intention of graduate study, and their relevance to the selected program at NC State University.
þ A portfolio of work. Portfolio should demonstrate applicant’s intelligence, creative potential, passion for landscape architecture and design, and breadth of experience through a collection of graphic, photographic, and written material. Portfolio should be no larger than 10 mb.
þ Uploaded unofficial transcripts for each institution attended (official transcripts will be required if admitted).
þ Three uploaded letters of recommendation from people who know your academic record.
þ TOEFL or IELTS scores for international students only (TOEFL institution code for NC State is 5496).
þ Residency statement for US citizens only (http://go.ncsu.edu/NCRes).
þ Personal résumé (include under “PDF Documents” in the online system).
No admissions decisions will be made on the basis of email correspondence.
For International Students
Acceptable minimum online TOEFL score (combined score of 80 and at least 18 on each individual component); OR minimum IELTS score for international students (overall band score of at least 6.5 in each individual component). International students with at least one year of full-time study at a fouryear US College or university do not have to submit TOEFL and/or IELTs scores.GRE Scores are not required.
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