STEM Designation:
This program has been recognized by the National Center for Education Statistics as a STEM program under the category of 30.3301 - Sustainability Studies.
Letter from the Director:
Green Infrastructure, Ecological Urbanism, and Urban Agriculture: what do these topics have in common? These and more are all topics that we are exploring at University of Maryland Landscape Architecture.
Welcome to University of Maryland Landscape Architecture, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. We offer an accredited undergraduate four-year curriculum leading to the professional Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) degree and both a two-year and a three-year Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) accredited degree. Both BLA and MLA degrees meet the academic requirements for licensure. We are housed in the Plant Sciences Building located in the heart of the College Park campus just a thirty-minute metro ride from Washington, D.C. And what a location - we have ready access to award-winning landscapes, professional offices, and close proximity to landscapes and waterways that need stewardship and ecological restoration.
Come join our community to put your passion into practice! We are committed to a vision of a sustainable and resilient future for natural and cultural landscapes.
The faculty, involved in teaching, research, and outreach, advise each student every semester with course scheduling, curriculum requirements, and career planning. Our resources are cutting edge, from the computers and plotters of the Digital Studio, to the laser cutter for building models. We offer study abroad programs, and connections to professional internships that broaden the students' experiences beyond the classroom. Community outreach is central to the student's learning experience at Maryland. Check out our NEWS - from winning competitions, such as the National EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge, to hosting award winning landscape architects - our students, staff, and faculty are engaged in experiences that connect teaching with learning and research. We are committed to a vision of a sustainable and resilient future for the natural and cultural landscapes of Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the world. We invite individuals who aspire to be innovative designers and leaders in our discipline to join us.
Our BLA studio classes are approximately 16-18 students. Our MLA studio classes are approximately 10 - 12 students. At the University of Maryland, we offer the 2-Year Post Professional and the 3-Year First-Professional Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) degree. Our 2-Year students come to us with prior design education in landscape architecture or related disciplines. The 3-Year students often have no prior design training but bring to the program-and to each other-the richness of diverse undergraduate education and work experiences. MLA students have backgrounds in a variety of disciplines.
If you are interested in helping solve some of society's most complex environmental and ecological problems through design, planning, and stewardship, then check us out. Contact us if you would like to visit the University of Maryland campus. For BLA information, please contact Diana Cortez, Lecturer & Academic Advisor, at 301.405.4359 or dcortez@umd.edu.
For any questions you may have, please contact us.
Go Green!
David N. Myers, Ph.D., PLA, ASLA
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director
University of Maryland Landscape Architecture
Learn more
Mission
Landscape architects transform cultural and ecological landscapes for the long-term health and well-being of individuals, communities and the environment.
Building on partnerships in education, scholarship and service, University of Maryland Landscape Architecture transforms cultural and ecological landscapes for the long-term health and well-being of individuals, communities and the environment. Our program prepares students with the technical knowledge, critical thinking, and creativity needed to apply ecological design and community engagement principles in solving complex regional, local, and site-specific challenges influenced by rapid urbanization and its danger to fragile ecosystems. These objectives are shaped and advanced by our unique geographical location in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the National Capitol metropolitan area, and the growing Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
As part of this mission, we seek to instill the following core values common to the landscape architecture profession:
- Environmental Health, Sustainability, Resilience, and Stewardship
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect
- Human and Community Health and Safety
- Professional Ethics and Responsibility
- Leadership and Innovation
- Application of the Sciences to the Design of Natural and Built Landscape
These values are consistent with the University of Maryland mission to maintain a world class research institution in the sciences, arts, and humanities by supporting ground-breaking discoveries that address the most pressing global challenges and inspire the human imagination. They support the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources commitment to eliminate hunger, preserve our natural resources, improve quality of life, and empower the next generation to act upon these challenges. Together, the university, college and our program aim to promote equitable economic development and improve quality of life through a diverse community of students, faculty and staff.
Studio
Facilities
The Plant Sciences Building opened in November 1996 with an exciting computer studio environment for the study of Landscape Architecture. Each student in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year studios of the undergraduate program and all graduate students have 24-hour access to his or her assigned computer workstation and drafting table. Student stations include a drafting table with a parallel ruler, a chair, and a computer table with a computer and monitor. Each computer is equipped with a variety of software programs as well as full Internet access. Each student station is also connected to a Local Area Network that allows shared resources (plotters, printers, scanner, etc.). Individual computers provide unparalleled opportunities to integrate digital technology into the curriculum. The technology-rich environment of the program enables the program to explore new and rapidly changing areas in landscape architectural education and new and emerging technologies that characterize today's global environment. Learn more below!
History
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1856 | Maryland legislature established the Maryland Agricultural College. |
| 1870's | Hobart Hutton appointed as first "professor of Agriculture, Horticulture and Arboriculture, Landscape Gardening and Rural Architecture." A. Grabowski appointed as first "Professor of Agriculture, Architecture and Drawing." |
| 1910's | Department of Horticulture created. B.W. Anspon appointed as first "Professor of Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture." |
| 1930's | Mark Shoemaker appointed as first "Professor of Landscape Design", and Holzapfel Hall becomes occupied by the Horticulture Department. |
| 1993 | Maryland Higher Education (MHEC) approves BLA. Thirteen BLA degrees awarded that academic year. Department name changed to Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Robert Scarfo named first Landscape Architecture Coordinator. |
| 1996 | Landscape Architecture Program moves into the new Plant Sciences Building and Digital Studio. |
| 1997 | Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture merges with Agronomy to become Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture. |
| 1998 | BLA: granted initial accreditation by LAAB. |
| 2001 | BLA: granted full accreditation by LAAB. |
| 2006 | LAAB Scheduled BLA Accreditation Review: Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture renamed Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. |
| 2007 | Maryland Higher Education (MHEC) approves MLA. |
| 2011 | MLA: granted initial accreditation by LAAB. |
| 2012 | BLA: Renewal of Accreditation by LAAB. |
| 2018 | BLA and MLA: Renewal of Accreditation for 6 Years by LAAB |
| 2021 | Design Center for Environmental and Community Health (EaCH) is founded |
Location
What an amazing location!
We are located in the Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore area. We are also within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and a few hours away from New York City and Philadelphia!
Our location provides unique opportunities for students to study and appreciate a variety of landscapes in rural, suburban, urban and maritime settings. Less than ten miles from Washington, D.C. and accessible on the Metro-rail system, the 1300-acre College Park campus is at the doorstep of some of the country's most important landmarks and noted institutions.
Check out fantastic landscapes and exciting landscape architects in Washington, D.C. in The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Washington, D.C.
The greater Washington/Baltimore geographic area offers students and faculty easy access to a range of facilities, natural and built spaces of the Nation's Capitol including the:
- National ASLA. We are a 30 minute ride on the Green Line to ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture
- Smithsonian
- Scores of significant public spaces including the
- Pennsylvania Avenue Landscapes
- Navy Memorial, and
- John Marshall Park
- Dumbarton Oaks
- Rock Creek Park
Historic Annapolis and Baltimore, MD are within a forty-minute drive of the campus and the Mid-Atlantic region is home to many award-winning national and international landscape architecture firms.
You can also make a day trip to incredible cities such as New York City and Philadelphia! They are only a few hours away and there are many popular transportation modes to get there and back! Our students are able to visit Washington D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, and other great cities during their studio experience!
Location on the University of Maryland Campus
We are located in the Plant Science Building (#036) on the second floor in room 2139. If you are visiting us from off campus, we suggest parking in the visitor's lot (located on the roof level) of Regents Drive Garage and then the Plant Science building is right across the street. Check out the campus map to navigate your way around campus.
If you have any questions regarding visiting, feel free to contact us! If you have any additional questions regarding parking, please contact DOTs.
