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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
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For the design leaders of tomorrow

Penn State Landscape Architecture is recognized for student-centric educational excellence and innovative research. Faculty represent a full range of interests from scientific to artistic and humanistic views of the world.

Design starts from day one, and in all programs – both undergraduate and graduate – students gain the skills and know-how to tackle design problems in our increasingly complex world. It’s a collaborative and supportive environment where new ideas and innovative approaches are encouraged – a place where the design leaders of tomorrow can thrive.

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Departmental Resources


Bracken Fellowship + Lectures

Departmental Awards

Stuckeman School Resources


Career Services

Lecture + Exhibit Series

Student Awards Gallery

Degree
Offerings

Two students sitting and one student standing around a table working on designing a landscape architecture model.

B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture

The B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture immerses students in cutting-edge sustainability strategies that produce responsible and creative design for the world around us.
Landscape architecture students discussing their projects pinned up on boards.

M.L.A. in Landscape Architecture

The professional M.L.A. program at Penn State equips students with the techniques, principles, histories, theories, and technologies to become leaders in the profession of landscape architecture.
MS in Landscape Architecture students working on stormwater draining project.

M.S. in Landscape Architecture (+Dual M.S. +IUG)

The research-focused M.S. in L.A. degree, with HDNRE, Geodesign, and IUG options, is framed to enhance the expertise of individuals who already hold a professionally-accredited degree in landscape architecture or architecture.
Collage image of base map with geodesign data overlays indicating land type, use, structure, and density information.

M.P.S. / Certificate in Geodesign

The M.P.S. and graduate certificate in Geodesign are online programs that prepare students to employ a unique combination of science and design to change the way we design for a sustainable future.
Close-up of Penn State Landscape Architecture student showing a camera to a group of smiling Tanzanian children

Landscape Architecture Minor

Landscape architecture is a design profession focused on natural and built environments and people’s experiences within them.

Alumni Spotlight

Demetrios Staurinos

Alumni Spotlight

Demetrios Staurinos

B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture 2002

Demetrios Staurinos, RLA, ASLA, is an associate at OLIN, a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with studios in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Demetrios has received awards from, among others, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association, and the American Institute of Architects and American Public Works Association. He is driven to improve the built environment by embellishing the “happy accidents” that occur when a thoughtful design meets the playful interactions of daily life.

Overhead view of people walking on pathway through landscape architecture design by Demetrios Staurinos.
Overhead view of riparian landscape architecture design by Demetrios Staurinos.
Large group of people enjoying a sunset gathering in an urban landscape architecture design by Demetrios Staurinos.

Our Facilities

An exhibit gallery, digital and textile labs, resource library, and workshops
See All Our Facilities
Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.
Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library

Located in 111 Stuckeman Family Building, the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library supports study and research in architecture and landscape architecture and their histories


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Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

Computational Textiles Lab

The Computational Textiles Lab, or SOFTLAB, in the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing is a research group in which faculty and students examine how


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Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

DigiFab

The digiFAB lab is the home for digital fabrication equipment that is used for design and research projects by faculty and students in Stuckeman


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Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

Remote Collaboration Lab

The Remote Collaboration Lab (CoLab) offers high-end large telecommunications facilities to support remote collaborative design and research.
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Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

Stuckeman Shop

The Stuckeman Shop – primarily supporting architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic design students – provides an excellent opportunity for motivated students to develop their ideas


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Architecture student using a metal cutter to edge a section of a structural wall.

Stuckeman Family Building

The Stuckeman Family Building was constructed in 2003-04 as the new home of the Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State.


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Faculty Spotlight

Stephen Mainzer points at a student's pinned up work while she watches at right.
Stephen Mainzer points at a student's pinned up work while she watches at right.

Stephen Mainzer

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

Stephen Mainzer’s research focuses on how human and natural systems intersect to inform how we govern, plan, and access natural resources, particualrly energy resources. As a key collaborator to the E+D (Ecology + Design) research initiative, he is leading the DDREAM (Deep Decarbonization and Renewable Energy in the Appalachian Mountains) project, which attempts to explore how the socio-ecological structure of Pennsylvania might inform a transition from fossil fuels to renewable solar energy, especially in post-coal Appalachian areas.

Portrait of Stephen Mainzer

News from A&A

Strategic city planning can help reduce urban heat island effect

New Penn State research suggests that certain urban factors can reduce the tendency of cities to trap heat — a phenomenon called the “urban heat island."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The tendency of cities to trap heat — a phenomenon called the “urban heat island,” often referred to as the UHI effect — can lead to


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Architecture graduate student's thesis on urban public spaces receives award

Aysan Jafarzadeh was named the 2023 winner of the Department of Architecture’s Jawaid Haider Award for Design Excellence in Graduate Studies for her thesis.
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Stuckeman School student named national equity, diversity, inclusion scholar

Alexandria Warren, an incoming second-year landscape architecture student has been named a recipient of the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s LandDesign Equity, Diversity, and
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