M.L.A. in Landscape Architecture
Nationally recognized professional education.
Our mission is to do inspired work grounded in environmental and social good. Are you ready to join us?
The M.L.A. at Penn State provides real professional skills that prepare our graduates for real professional practice from the first day. The combination of a professional education from one of the top programs in the country with experience in research at a Tier-1 research institution means that you will be ready to hit the ground running upon graduation. This dual curriculum approach provides a strong foundation whatever your career aspirations: traditional professional practice, conducting research in a professional office, or teaching at a college of university.
Our M.L.A. degree is accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) and graduates are eligible to sit for the professional license exam (Landscape Architecture Registration Exam).
For those who already hold a B.L.A., the M.L.A. offers a curricular opportunity to turbocharge your professional skills by earning a certificate in Geodesign. Learn more.
Is the M.L.A. right for you?
Our competitive, rewarding, and highly ranked program is designed for students seeking professional training in landscape architecture.
The M.L.A. is open to a diverse array of starting points, including:
- Change-of-career students, new to design, who seek an accredited, professional education that prepares them to enter the practice of landscape architecture; for these students, time to degree is typically three years.
- Students who already hold a non-accredited design degree and seek an accredited, professional education that prepares them to enter the field of landscape architecture; for these students, time to degree is typically two and one-half years.
- Students who already hold an accredited bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture and seek advanced breadth/depth of expertise; for these students, time to degree is typically two years.
Within our inspiring, LEED Gold-rated building, students have access to a specialized Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library, 24-hour access to our own cutting-edge computer studios, as well as a permanent studio desk for each student. All of this plus the additional benefits of attending a Tier 1 research institution.
Many U.S. states and territories require professional licensure/certification to be employed. If you plan to pursue employment in a licensed profession after completing this program, please visit the Professional Licensure/Certification Disclosures by State interactive map. (Available July 2020.)
Considering the M.L.A.? Consider this.
Our M.L.A. program is consistently ranked among the nation’s best by DesignIntelligence.
Our MLA develops creative insight and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed in practice.
You can customize your curriculum with geodesign, education abroad, and other opportunities.
Our 20 faculty are truly student-focused; you’ll get to know them well as mentors and colleagues.
Our collegial learning community fosters essential critical inquiry and confidence in our students.
Our close-knit community of 200 within a large university provides intimate yet vast opportunities.
Guides + Resources
Level Up
Enhance your education by getting involved.
Research Centers and Initiatives
A collaborative research and teaching studio-lab focused on developing and testing innovative computational design techniques.
The Hamer Center explores three key topical areas: design/build, community-based research, and public interest design.
A collaborative of designers and ecologists who undertake research activated design intervention that improves the ecological health of the designed world.
Assistantships and Fellowship Opportunities
Teaching Assistantships
Awarded as available on a competitive, semester-by-semester basis.
Research Assistantships
RAs are frequently available from our research centers or individual faculty on a competitive basis, as are grants-in-aid and graduate fellowships.
Fellowships
Fellowship opportunities exist both within Penn State and through external funding agencies.
Student Organizations
Focused on advancing the future of design within the community and the profession.
Student branch of the National Organization of Minority Architects.
Officially recognized by the University as the collective voice of the graduate and professional student body.
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Demetrios Staurinos
B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture 2002Demetrios 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.
M.L.A. national rank
7th
Become a steward of the environment. Earn your professional degree from the program that captured 7th overall in the 2019-20 DesignIntelligence Master of Landscape Architecture program rankings.
Faculty Spotlight
Hong Wu
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Stuckeman Career Development Assistant Professor in Design
Hong Wu is leading a team of interdisciplinary researchers in the development of a living laboratory for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) research, education, and innovation at Penn State thanks to funding through the University’s Strategic Plan Seed Grant program. With partners from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, Sustainability Institute, Office of the Physical Plant, Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Penn State Harrisburg, and the Borough of State College, it is Wu’s vision to position Penn State as a national leader in GSI by building a campus community with the capacity to implement long-term cost-effective solutions to water quality and quantity. She is key member of the E+D (Ecology + Design) emerging research center and an elected member of Penn State’s Water Council.
News from A&A
Arts and Architecture appoints interim head of landscape architecture
UNIVERSTY PARK, Pa. — Charles Andrew “Andy” Cole, associate professor of landscape architecture and ecology and the director of the E+D: Ecology plus Design research initiative, has been appointed the
Graphic design professor earns gold in Graphis photography competition
