Before designing the layout for gardens, landscape artchitects must complete the right educational program.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for landscape architects will increase by 20 percent through 2018, resulting in the creation of 5,300 new jobs in the field. Most states require that landscape architects complete a degree program approved by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). A number of schools offer landscape architecture degrees and carry the approval of the ASLA.
Oklahoma State University
With nearly 18,000 undergraduate and 4,600 graduate students, Oklahoma State University is located in the urban setting of Stillwater, about 65 miles from Oklahoma City. The university offers a master's of science degree in landscape architecture with an emphasis on water use and management elements of design. Assistantship and fellowship programs are available to students to help offset the cost of graduate education, and the school gives more than $15 million per year in such awards annually, according to its website.
Oklahoma State University
101 Whitehurst Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
(405) 744-5358
osu.okstate.edu
University of Maryland, College Park
Rated 53rd among national universities by U.S News and World Report's Best Colleges of 2010, the University of Maryland at College Park opened in 1856. The school has more than 26,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students. The Department of Landscape Architecture grants both bachelor's and master's degrees in the field. In addition to studio practice, students in both programs study architecture history, human behavior, plants and ecoystems.
University of Maryland, College Park
2102 Plant Sciences Building
College Park, MD 20742-5025
(301) 314-8385
maryland.edu
University of Washington
Located in Seattle, the University of Washington received the 42nd-place ranking among colleges and universities in the U.S. from U.S. News and World Report in 2010. Bachelor's and master's degrees in landscape architecture are among the program offerings available for the school's total of more than 41,000 students. Green architecture is a major focus of the Department of Landscape Architecture with courses including urban ecological design and green infrastructure.
University of Washington
348 Gould Hall
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 543-9240
washington.edu
University of Arkansas
Founded in 1851, the University of Arkansas is located in Fayetteville, about 190 miles northwest of Little Rock. The school's Fay Jones School of Architecture grants bachelor's degrees in the field, which require five years of study instead of the standard four. At the conclusion of the second year of study, students prepare a portfolio, which is reviewed and approved before they can proceed into the upper-level courses in the program. Focuses of the program include community development, wetland reclamation, public memorials, parks and gardens.
University of Arkansas
232 Silas Hunt Hall
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(800) 377-8632
uark.edu
California Polytechnic State University
Home to more than 19,000 undergraduate students, California Polytechnic State University is a public institution in Pomona. The university grants a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture with emphasis on community, urban and regional planning. Because computers are integral to study in the program, the department arranges for students to purchase personal laptop computers at discounted rates from Mac and Dell.
California Polytechnic State University
3801 W. Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768-2557
(909) 869-3210
landscape.calpoly.edu
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