Welcome

Landscape Architecture at Penn State takes the best of current knowledge and techniques, based on a comprehensive understanding of our natural and cultural landscape, and tackles the most challenging question we face: How will we shape our world for the future?

Our program is one of the highest ranked in the United States and also one of the oldest, having started in 1907. We have 1500 living alumni working all over the world. The department is constantly adopting new ideas to keep our students at the forefront of the profession. In 2005 we moved into the Stuckeman Family Building, a LEED® Gold-rated facility. We offer three degrees: the five-year B.L.A., a three-year graduate M.L.A. and our two-year graduate M.S.L.A. The partnerships these students enjoy with our twenty full-time faculty and several affiliate/adjunct faculty prepare them for the highest levels of public and private practice.

We pride ourselves in preparing our graduates for success in a diverse and growing profession. Our graduates will:

• Be creative and responsive in defining, investigating and solving design problems.
• Apply knowledge and understanding of ecological systems and landscape forms in landscape design, planning and management.
• Use the most current technical design principles and theories, and cutting-edge technologies and methods in landscape design and implementation.
• Use knowledge of design traditions and theories to design and plan the physical environment informed by historical and cultural contexts.
• Communicate design ideas visually, verbally and orally using traditional skills and advanced technological tools.