Landscape Architecture

The Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (B.L.A.) program at the University of Idaho, the only professional landscape architecture program in Idaho, prepares you to meet the high demand in one of the nation’s fastest growing professions. From designing residential and community landscapes, to restoring and preserving historical sites, to developing therapeutic gardens, a career in landscape architecture allows you to merge nature and design in order to improve the quality of life for people in a variety of settings.

The B.L.A. program is fully accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects – an important factor to consider when applying for the Landscape Architecture Registration Exam.

As a landscape architecture major at the University of Idaho, you'll have the opportunity to study in one of the most ecologically diverse settings in the nation. Using the region's great outdoors as your laboratory, you'll learn and gain hands-on practice in landscape architecture and planning, landscape graphics, sustainable design, construction, storm water design and irrigation and water conservation. You will also become proficient in field technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD).

More than 100 students from around the country and Canada are currently enrolled in the B.L.A. program. You will collaborate with classmates on design projects and work with students in the interior design, architecture, and art and design disciplines. The program also draws from other fields, such as art, natural resources and social sciences.

Prepare for Success

You may be drawn to landscape architecture because you like the idea of working outdoors. An interest in the natural environment is important, but to be successful in landscape architecture, you must also be creative with strong art, drawing and problem-solving skills. You also need special training in site design, sustainability, science and art. Potential students should prepare with courses in art and drawing, biology, ecology and geology, as well as 3D modeling and Computer-Aided Design.

The University of Idaho Department of Landscape Architecture has an articulation agreement with several community colleges that enables graduates of two-year landscape horticulture and landscape technology programs to transfer seamlessly into the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program. Other transfer students with a four-year degree in another discipline may apply for the three-year BLA/Master of Science in Landscape Architecture degree option.

Your First Year

Your first year in the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program will include introductory lecture courses and planting design studios. Many landscape architecture courses are divided into eight-week, half-semester sessions to provide more flexibility. Below is a list of classes we recommend in your first year:

• Intro to Landscape Architecture I & II
• Plant Materials I & II
• Visual Communications
• Advanced Algebra / Pre-Calculus
• Drawing
• Intro to College Writing
• College Writing and Rhetoric
• Core Discovery I & II: Environment and the New Wild West

What You Can Do

With a professional degree in landscape architecture, you may pursue a career specializing in a variety of areas, including:

• Residential design
• Golf course design
• Storm water design and management
• Landscape preservation
• Community design
• Eco-resort design
• National and international planning
• Habitat preservation and restoration
• Urban design
• Landscape interpretation and cultural preservation
• Campus design
• Garden design
• Zoo design
• Landscape art
• Therapeutic gardens for health care and education
• Computer-assisted landscape modeling and visualization

Qualified undergraduate students may take graduate electives in their fourth year to use toward a one-year, 30-credit Master of Science in Landscape Architecture offered at the University of Idaho.

Opportunities

There are currently not enough graduates to fill open positions in landscape architecture. With a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, you will be in extremely high demand with an average starting salary of approximately $40,000, and the long-term potential to earn more than $100,000 per year.

Depending on your personal interests and goals, you can pursue careers in the following areas:

• Traditional landscape architecture firm
• Design/build industry
• Interdisciplinary planning
• Engineering or architecture firms
• Urban, regional and national public agencies
• Non-governmental organizations, such as land and watershed trusts

Current Research

The Department of Landscape Architecture is partnering with the Departments of Conservation Social Sciences on the Building Sustainable Communities Initiative, a $1.6 million, 5-year grant to establish an academic program in bioregional planning and community design, provide community outreach and develop professional training to promote sustainable futures. The significant collaborative project creates many opportunities for students and faculty to engage in research in bioregional planning and community design. Other landscape architecture faculty research interests include:

• GIS applications in land planning
• Storm water design standards
• Bioregionalism and site design
• Water conservation and harvesting
• Sustainable sites best practices
• Standards for open space planning in community development

Activities

American Society of Landscape Architecture, University of Idaho Student Chapter

Hands-On Experience

From collaborative studios addressing real design problems, to field trips to large design firms, to international study in Italy, the landscape architecture program provides many outstanding hands-on learning opportunities, including:

• Design Studios/Service-Learning: The majority of studio projects serve as the core of the department’s outreach mission with students collaborating with professionals, governmental agencies and University of Idaho architecture students on design and planning projects for communities in the state and region. Past projects include mixed-use land and park planning for the City of Moscow, master plan and 3D visualization of a botanical garden, a river restoration and site planning for state and national parks.
• Summer Study Abroad: A six-week, 11-credit hour study abroad program in Casa Wallace, Cremolinlo, Italy. The program may be used as a substitute for one of the third year studios and a required urban theory course.
• Field Trips: Landscape architecture majors are required to take part in two field trips in the third and fourth year of the program. These three to five day trips are usually to Northwest cities such as Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. Students tour nationally significant landscape architectural sites and visit the offices of some of the finest landscape architecture firms in the world. Often, one of these trips is substituted by a visit to the American Society of Landscape Architects national conference when the meeting is held in the Western region of the country.
• Senior Thesis: You'll develop case studies of significant regional landscape architecture, and use these case studies as the basis for your senior thesis. Your work will contribute to the establishment of a digital archive of historically important landscape architecture projects in the Northwest.
• Internships: Faculty members work with students to help them find quality summer internships with public agencies and private firms.