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 the college’s bachelor of environmental design on the Boulder campus—or completing an undergraduate 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 advanced professional degree program for qualified students having already earned a first professional degree in landscape architecture (BLA) or related discipline requires 48 semester hours. Advanced standing will be based on prior academic accomplishment.

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	15
Media	6
Ethics	3
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

LDAR 5501 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 1 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5501
LDAR 5510 - Graphic Media in Landscape Architecture Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5510
LDAR 5521 - History of Landscape Architecture Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5521
LDAR 5572 - Landscape Ecology Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5572

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

LDAR 5502 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 2 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5502
LDAR 5532 - Landform Manipulation Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5532
LDAR 6632 - Site Planning Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6632
LDAR 6641 - Computer Applications in Landscape Architecture Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6641

Total: 15 Hours

Second Year

Fall

LDAR 5503 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 3 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 5503
LDAR 6631 - Landscape Construction Materials and Methods Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6631
LDAR 6670 - Plants in Design Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6670
One Elective. Semester hours: 3

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

LDAR 6604 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 4 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6604
LDAR 6605 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 5 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6605
LDAR 6620 - Landscape Architecture Theory and Criticism Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6620
LDAR 6721 - Regionalism Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6721 or alternative approved by chair
One Elective. Semester hours: 3

Total: 15 Hours

Third Year

Fall

LDAR 6606 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 6 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6606
Three Electives. Semester hours: 9

Total: 15 Hours

Spring

LDAR 6607 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 7 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6607
LDAR 6608 - Landscape Architecture Design Studio 8 Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6608
LDAR 6750 - Professional Practice Summer 2010 Registration: L A 6750
Two Electives. Semester hours: 6

Total: 15 Hours

Course Sequence

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

This route requires 48 semester hours and typically 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 (LA6940) 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), with urban design (MUD) or with urban and regional planning (MURP).