Landscape Architecture MLA

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Prerequisites

Students are expected to have achieved a basic level of computer literacy and are required to have their own computer.

Program Requirements

The landscape architecture program offers professional and advanced professional graduate degree curricula leading to the degree master of landscape architecture (MLA).

The first-professional degree program, requiring a six-semester sequence of course work totaling 90 semester hours, is fully accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) and recognized by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).
Students completing a bachelor of environmental design degree at another institution may be given advanced standing in the three-year program. Advanced standing will be based on prior academic accomplishment.
The fully accredited advanced professional degree program is for qualified students who have already earned a first professional degree in landscape architecture (BLA) or related discipline. It requires a minimum of 48 semester hours. Advanced standing will be based on prior academic accomplishment.

Course Sequence (90-semester-hour)

Course Sequence

(90-semester-hour MLA for students without a professional degree in landscape architecture or related profession)

The curriculum consists of core and elective course work. Core courses are grouped into five components:

	Semester hours
Design Studios	36
History and Theory	12
Site Works	12
Media	6
Critical Practice	6
Total core courses	72

Electives	18
Total courses	90

Typical 90-semester-hour program of study in required courses for the first professional MLA degree

First Year

Fall

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

Total: 15 Hours

Second Year

Fall

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

LDAR 6604 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 4
LDAR 6605 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 5
LDAR 6620 - Landscape Architecture Theory and Criticism
Two electives. Semester hours: 6

Total: 15 Hours

Third Year

Fall

LDAR 6606 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 6
Three Electives. Semester hours: 9

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

LDAR 6607 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 7
LDAR 6608 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 8
LDAR 6750 - Professional Practice
Two Electives. Semester hours: 6

Total: 15 Hours

Course Sequence (48-semester-hour)

(48-semester-hour MLA for students with a professional degree in landscape architecture or related disciplines)

This route typically requires 48 semester hours and two years of full-time study. The core curriculum consists of two groups:

	Semester Hours
Design	24
History and Theory	12
Total core courses	36

Electives	12
Total courses	48

The department chair will advise each student engaged in this program of study.

Thesis

The graduate thesis in landscape architecture provides an opportunity for students to conduct independent research and design investigations that demonstrate their capacity for rigorous original thinking. The thesis is not required for graduation and not all students are approved to write a thesis. Choosing to pursue a thesis project constitutes a significant commitment to the endeavor; the topic must be chosen with care and thoughtfully and critically developed. Topics can explore material that has been previously unstudied, reinterpret existing material in a new light, or engage research and design practices in ways that strengthen and define the final project. For all theses, the research and products must meet the highest standards of academic excellence and contribute significantly to the discipline and/or profession.

Pursuing a thesis requires students to enroll in a three-course sequence for a maximum total of 12 semester hours. Students are required to formulate their research proposals two full semesters prior to their enrollment for the 6-semester-hour thesis, typically taken in lieu of the final studio. To proceed through the sequence, students must have completed and passed the research tools and methods class (LDAR 6940) and have secured departmental approval of the thesis proposal. The completion of the thesis is dependent on acceptance of the student’s work by the faculty member acting as the thesis chair and by the committee. For work to be accepted it must meet the standards established by the University of Colorado Denver for graduate thesis projects.

Dual Degree Options

Students may enroll in a dual degree program with architecture (MArch) or urban and regional planning (MURP), or with business (MBA).

They also may be selected through an application process to participate in a dual degree MLA with Tongji University in Shanghai, China. Read more about this program on the department website.