Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Landscape Architecture is a profession focused on the design, planning, and protection of natural and built environments. The five-year program in landscape architecture is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board and recognized by the Landscape Architects Technical Committee under the purview of the California Architects Board and is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security STEM designated degree in landscape architecture under the umbrella of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
The program emphasizes a process-oriented approach to design and planning while developing an awareness and sensitivity to community and human values as they relate to environmental conditions. Students majoring in landscape architecture acquire technical competencies and creative design skills through a range of projects which represent the profession's breadth.
Graduates of the program are prepared for positions in private practice, consulting, governmental agencies at the national, state or local levels, industry and construction firms. Graduate study is encouraged for those students interested in pursuing advanced studies or academic positions.
Program Learning Objectives
- Integrate natural and cultural systems in projects at multiple scales.
- Incorporate sustainable practices throughout the design, planning and implementation process.
- Comprehend and demonstrate the relationships among analysis, concept development, design development, and implementation.
- Apply critical thinking and analytical problem solving throughout planning, design and implementation.
- Demonstrate knowledge of theory, history and contemporary practices of landscape architecture.
- Apply professional communication skills including written, oral, graphic and digital formats.
- Identify the role of landscape architects in professional interdisciplinary settings.
- Apply technical skills in site engineering, material explorations and detailing, construction documents, plant materials, and planting design.
- Apply professional standards, ethics and practices in the field of landscape architecture.
- Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into landscape architecture related projects.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| LA 1104 | History of Landscape Architecture (3A) 1 | 3 |
| LA 1110 | Landscape Representation I | 3 |
| LA 1112 | Landscape Representation II | 4 |
| LA 1120 | Studio I - Beginning Design | 3 |
| LA 2203 | Landscape Ecology: Concepts, Issues, and Interrelationships | 3 |
| LA 2210 | Materials and Techniques of Landscape Construction | 4 |
| LA 2212 | Introduction to Planting Design | 3 |
| LA 2214 | Site Engineering Techniques and Applications | 4 |
| LA 2220 | Studio II - Site Based Design | 3 |
| LA 2222 | Studio III - Design for Implementation | 3 |
| LA 3303 | Theory for Landscape Architects | 3 |
| LA 3304 | Contemporary Issues in Cultural Landscapes | 3 |
| LA 3306 | Professional Practice of Landscape Architecture | 3 |
| LA 3310 | Landscape Representation III | 3 |
| LA 3312 | Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications for Design Projects | 3 |
| LA 3320 | Studio IV - Landscape Performance and Design | 4 |
| LA 3322 | Studio V - Environmental Planning and Design | 4 |
| LA 4371 | Landscape Architecture Internship | 4 |
| LA 4410 | Sustainability, Resilience, and Climate Ecology in Design | 3 |
| LA 4413 | Social Equity and Design | 3 |
| LA 4420 | Studio VI - Community and Social Design | 4 |
| LA 4422 | Interdisciplinary Design Studio | 4 |
| or LA 4424 | Contemporary Issues in Landscape Architecture Design Studio | |
| LA 4461 | Senior Project Design Studio I | 4 |
| LA 4462 | Senior Project Design Studio II | 4 |
| Professional Topics/Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 3 | |
| Advanced Landscape Construction | ||
| Advanced Landscape Representation | ||
| Advanced Planting Design | ||
| Social and Behavioral Factors for Landscape Architecture | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Landscape Architecture | ||
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| Select from the following: (5B & 5C) 1 | 4 | |
| Plant Diversity and Ecology | ||
| General Botany | ||
| Select from the following: (1C) 1 | 3 | |
| Public Speaking | ||
| Public Speaking in Digital Spaces | ||
| Select from the following: (1B) 1 | 3 | |
| Argument and Advocacy | ||
| Reasoning, Argumentation, and Writing | ||
| Writing Arguments | ||
| Writing Arguments Across Cultures | ||
| Writing Arguments about STEM | ||
| Writing, Reasoning, and Argumentation | ||
| Logic and Argumentative Writing | ||
| Reasoning, Argumentation, and Writing on Gender and Sexuality | ||
| EDES 1123 | Place, People, and the Built Environment (4B) 1 | 3 |
| Select from the following: (1A) 1 | 3 | |
| Multilingual Writing and Rhetoric | ||
| Writing and Rhetoric | ||
| MATH 1007 | Precalculus (2) 1 | 3 |
| PLSC 2234 | Introduction to Plant Materials | 3 |
| Designated Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Equity, Social Justice, and Architecture | ||
| The Divided City: Urban Studies on Spatial Justice | ||
| Statistical and Data Literacy | ||
| Introductory Soil Science | ||
| Applied Statistical Concepts and Methods | ||
| Select from the following: | 3 | |
| Biodiversity of California | ||
| Wildlife Conservation Biology | ||
| Construction Surveying | ||
| Physical Geology | ||
| Select from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Plants, People and Civilization | ||
| Plant Ecology | ||
| Irrigation Water Management | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Indigeneity and the Land | ||
| Climate and Humanity | ||
| Global Climate Change | ||
| Water for a Sustainable Society | ||
| Advanced Plant Materials | ||
| CAED Designated Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 9 | |
| Design Theory/History | ||
| History of Structures | ||
| Housing and Communities | ||
| Smart Cities | ||
| Cities in a Global World | ||
| International Planning and Development | ||
| Latino Urbanism | ||
| Principles of Urban Design | ||
| Finance/Legal/Implementation | ||
| Topics in Architectural Technology and Practice | ||
| Construction Law | ||
| Real Property Development Principles | ||
| Public and Private Real Estate Development | ||
| Land Use Law | ||
| Development Review and Entitlement | ||
| Information Graphics for Landscape and Urban Studies | ||
| Advanced GIS Application to Projects | ||
| Sustainability | ||
| Sustainability and the Built Environment | ||
| Green Infrastructure | ||
| Planning for Bicycling and Walking | ||
| The Global Environment | ||
| Sustainable Environments | ||
| Urban Design with Cultural Landscapes | ||
| Ecological Urban Design | ||
| GENERAL EDUCATION | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 21 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives | 0 | |
| Total Units | 146-148 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 22 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 21 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 1C | Oral Communication (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences | 3 |
| 5B | Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences | 3 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 21 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.