The Bachelor of Landscape Architecture major is a four-year professional program nationally accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). As a STEM major, this program is designed for those who care deeply about our natural and built environment, and have interests in art, design, engineering, and a blend of the natural, physical, and social sciences. Completion of the program is the first step in becoming a licensed Landscape Architect that is able to work in public or private practice.
Our vision is to educate and inspire students to serve as design and planning leaders focused on protecting and restoring natural systems and creating equitable and inclusive cultural spaces. With a diverse faculty composed of licensed practitioners and researchers, we provide students with a blend of knowledge and technical skills to explore their interests in design and planning at multiple scales.
Our approach to design and planning is based on developing, evaluating, and documenting design processes that are inclusive, participatory, and responsive to a combination of natural and cultural resources, social and economic issues, and agents of change unique to each community.
- What is Landscape Architecture?
- Mentorship Program
- Curriculum
- Popular Certificates
- Study Abroad
- Get Involved!
- Career Fair
- Awards and Scholarships
- Fellowships
- LA History at UW
“Landscape architects create healthy, safe, and beautiful outdoor places for everyone. As members of a STEM profession, they bring science and design together to make our communities better places to live, work, and play. Becoming a landscape architect requires years of education and experience and passing a national exam. They are licensed—just like doctors and engineers—to keep people safe and secure.”
–American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
Landscape architecture is concerned with creating and preserving outdoor spaces in order to improve and maintain a healthy and good quality of life for people, while ensuring the survival of the complex, physical, cultural, and natural systems that make up our planet. If you are interested in designing sustainable communities or recreation areas, restoring prairies, re-connecting city-dwellers with nature, adapting cities to climate change, mapping and evaluating historic cultural features, or creating therapeutic landscapes, this major may be for you!
The WI-ASLA Mentorship Program is intended to inspire and empower UW-Madison BLA students through personalized mentoring to support their growth within the industry. The program consists of meetings and events throughout year. To accommodate varying levels of interest, mentors and mentees may be grouped into smaller, diverse cohorts comprising of students from different stages within the BLA program, fostering increased participation and engagement.
Thank you to the following local companies that recently participated in the mentorship program: Saiki Design, Ayres Associates, Stantec, WI-DOT, Vandewalle, RDG, and RC Studio.
Goals
- Enhance students’ professional development.
- Assist students in establishing personal and professional goals.
- Build deeper relationships between Student ASLA and WI-ASLA.
- Build deeper relationships between students at different stages within the program.
The BLA degree requires four years to complete. In addition to courses that meet University and College requirements, the curriculum requires a series of classes taught by Landscape Architecture faculty, each of which is offered only once a year. Students must take the courses in order, as the content of each relies on information presented in previous courses.
The curriculum features a sequence of studio courses during which students receive personal feedback as they work through design problems individually or in teams. Our curriculum introduces students to principles of planning and design theory and to several problem-solving approaches and help students develop the technical proficiencies such as design communication, design synthesis, and environmental and cultural sensibilities required of professional practice. As students progress through the curriculum, they are required to take on more and more responsibility to set-up the parameters of a problem and gather information relevant to finding solutions.
For more detailed information about the BLA curriculum, visit the Undergraduate Guide,
Students completing the BLA degree cannot pursue an additional major, however, students may work towards and complete certificates. Below is list of popular certificates pursued by recent BLA students. Certificates, also known as minors at other schools, are a great way to help distinguish yourself and increase your knowledge and skills in a specific area.
Environmental Studies, Certificate
Integrative Design of Built and Natural Environments, Certificate
Studying abroad during the summer is highly encouraged early on in the BLA program, and is one of the most powerful ways young landscape architecture students can learn about design and culture in world that is constantly changing. Below is a list of popular UW-Madison summer programs recently completed by BLA students.
“Studying abroad in Paris provided me with unique insights of the city’s history, culture, and urban design. I was exposed to diverse perspectives and design approaches as well as classical design principles. I loved getting to explore innovative approaches to sustainability and developed a more global perspective on our profession.”
-Lexi Paus, BLA ’23
“I learned a lot about the importance of designing ‘third spaces.’ Parisians spend most of their day out of the house, making parks and public space socially and culturally significant. It was inspiring to live in a place where streets, cafes, parks and plazas all serve as an extension of the home.”
-Lydia DeBauche, BLA ’23
UW-Madison Study Abroad Resources
DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia
Study Abroad Programs Outside UW-Madison
WI-ASLA Student Chapter
The Wisconsin American Society of Landscape Architects Student Chapter is the social and professional organization run by and for UW–Madison Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students. The Chapter attends national conferences, holds professional workshops, volunteers, brings in guest speakers from design and consulting firms, and organizes many social gatherings to share internship experiences and to meet fellow landscape architecture students.
For more information on the WI-ASLA Student Chapter and its events, email them at: studentasla@dpla.wisc.edu.
LABash Student Conference
Since 1970, LABash Conference is a student-led conference for landscape architecture. Held in North America by a different landscape architecture program each year, the conference brings hundreds of students and professionals together to learn, network, and help shape the future of the profession. Learn More
ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture
The Conference on Landscape Architecture is the largest event in the world for landscape architecture professionals and takes place once a year. Learn More
Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF)
LAF works to increase the influence and impact of landscape architects to create a more sustainable, just, and resilient future. Through thought leadership, signature programs, and strategic initiatives, LAF provides resources, knowledge sharing, and inspiration to empower landscape architects to use their unique skills to change the world. Learn More
National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA)
Our purpose is to increase minority representation at all levels of landscape architecture practice and academia. We are doing this by supporting and disseminating the landscape architecture knowledge, skills and creativity of minorities while challenging the longstanding status quo that has limited people of color from having decision-making roles on how U.S. landscapes are apportioned, designed, and taught. Learn More
Black Landscape Architects Network (BlackLAN)
The mission of the Black Landscape Architects Network is to increase the visibility, support the interests, and foster the impact of Black practitioners in landscape architecture. Learn More
Park(ing) Day
Park(ing) day is a global, public, participatory project where people across the world temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces to advocate for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people. Learn More
Project Pipeline Summer Camp – Sponsored by Wisco NOMA
This immersive and dynamic program is designed to inspire and cultivate the next generation of architects. Over the course of the camp, participants will engage in hands-on activities, creative workshops, and collaborative project work that explore the fundamentals of architecture and design. The summer camp is held in Madison and Milwaukee. Learn how you can get involved by visiting their website. Learn More
Terrace Town – Sponsored by City of Madison
Terrace Town brings architecture, landscape architecture, design and city planning curriculum to Dane County elementary classrooms. Students work with volunteer architects, landscape architects, planners, and design professionals and learn how cities are planned, what makes a quality city, and how citizens can participate in the improvement of their community. Then they design and construct a scale model city and then install them in Monona Terrace’s Exhibition Hall for public viewing. Learn More
Every spring the Department sponsors its own career fair for landscape architecture and urban planning students. Many of the top employers travel from across the country to meet with students during a one to two-day period. Students take part in informal employer tabling, one-on-one meetings/interviews, and presentations. This is a great opportunity for students to get their foot in the door for future internships and entry-level jobs.
Beyond our Department, students also have access to additional career and internship resources through Successworks, Handshake, All-Campus Career & Internship Fairs, and Career Internship Fair Prep.
Job Postings: DPLA Job Board, National ASLA JobLink Postings, Landezine Jobs, Land8 Jobs, and National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA) Job Postings
Students who are accepted into the BLA program qualify for additional scholarship and award opportunities through our Department. BLA students also become eligible for a variety of regional, national, and international scholarships and awards sponsored by ASLA, WI-ASLA, LAF, and Sigma Lambda Alpha.
Each year we celebrate the work of our students during the annual Jensen-Longenecker Awards Reception. This reception is named after Jens Jensen and G. William Longenecker, two landscape architects who have had a lasting impact on Wisconsin and UW-Madison. The event is typically in April and in collaboration with the professional WI-ASLA State Chapter.
UW-Madison BLA Program Scholarships and Awards
- Alanen-Bjorkman Cultural Landscape Scholarship
- Franz and Mabel Aust Scholarship (BLA Year II)
- Hugh A. Dega Scholarship (BLA Year III)
- Cobb Family Scholarship (BLA Year IV)
- Todd and Christine Gill Scholarship
- Brian Fluno Scholarship
- Shawn Kelly Award Fund
- BLA Program Service, Public Advocacy, and Community Volunteer Awards
- BLA Travel Fellowship
- Milwaukee Garden Club Scholarship
- LAF Olmsted Scholar
- Sigma Lambda Alpha Honor Society
- ASLA Student Awards
- WI-ASLA Student Scholarship
UW-Madison Scholarships and Awards
National LAF Awards and Scholarships
Black Landscape Architect’s Network Scholarship (BlackLAN)
BLA TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP
The intent of the BLA Travel Fellowship is to provide students with the opportunity to travel in the United States and/or abroad as a way to enhance their design education, cultural literacy, and professional development. Proposals must reflect the necessity of travel in their pursuit of knowledge. Funding may be used for independent travel scheduled during the UW Academic Calendar breaks/recess (i.e. Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring, Summer), OR formal UW study abroad programs in spring, fall, or summer sessions. The fellowship must be used within one year of its receipt, and upon completion the recipient will be expected to share their travel experiences.
2023-2024 Dhruv Lokhande – Dhruv Lokhande, a sophomore in our BLA program, was selected as the inaugural 2023-2024 BLA Travel Fellow. He recently completed his travels over winter break, which entailed exploring and documenting indigenous acts of placemaking in India. Dhruv’s travel-based research creatively integrated photography, audio interviews, and sketching as a way to help him pause and improve his understanding of India’s cultural nuances when it comes to people shaping their everyday environment. Dhruv’s work was also featured in the June 2024 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM).
BLA DESIGN FELLOWSHIP
The BLA Design Fellow works with local communities and organizations in need of design assistance in the Madison region. Students work directly with real-world clients while continuing to develop their professional design and communication skills. Students are nominated and selected by department faculty and are paid as a student hourly to work on projects throughout the academic year.
2023-2024 Keegan Ripley -Keegan Ripley worked with Olbrich Botanical Garden to design a new nature-based play area. Throughout the year he organized workshops with staff to collectively generate programming and initial design ideas.
2022-2023 William Kegel – Will Kegel worked with the City of Fitchburg to design a new park and memorial on the Capital City Trail that honored UW Professor Kyle Stiegert, who recently passed away in April 2022.
Landscape Architecture has a long history at UW–Madison with the first landscape classes offered at UW–Madison in 1888, and a distinct degree option in Landscape Architecture offered in Horticulture in 1926. Nationally, the department offered the first graduate program focused on landscape architecture research including restoration ecology. The department also held the first Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Conference focused on research and it initiated Landscape Journal, the first U.S. peer review journal for the discipline. The department places a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and is known internationally for its work in ecological restoration and management, cultural resource conservation, and human well-being.
Graduation from an accredited program in landscape architecture is required for students seeking to enter the profession, and the BLA is the only accredited landscape architecture professional program in Wisconsin. Since emerging from the Department of Horticulture in 1964, over 2,000 students have completed their degrees in Landscape Architecture and are working locally to globally in private business, public agencies, nongovernment organizations and academia.
Historical Narrative of Landscape Architecture at UW-Madison
Historical Timeline of Landscape Architecture at UW-Madison
2024 BLA Annual Update and Student Awards
2023 BLA Annual Update and Student Awards
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
“Systems thinking is crucial to approaching any project. Understanding the micro implications of macro design is how real impact is made. Landscape architects are unique in thinking on two very different scales at once.”
Danielle Bilot, BLA, 2011
Greening Coordinator
City of Baltimore Planning
Baltimore, MD
“Having the ability to gather comprehensive information, analyze complex situations, and make tradeoffs based on qualitative and quantitative factors has helped me find creative and practical solutions to many real-world problems.”
Yinuo Yin, BLA, 2017
Data Scientist
Two Sigma Investments
New York City, NY
“The program’s emphasis on professional communication skills provided me with unique opportunities to pursue design ideas early on in my career. You learn important principles of design that support your broader ambitions.”
Adam Scott, BLA, 2020
Landscape Architect
SWA Group
Houston, TX
DEFINE YOUR OWN CAREER PATH
Post Graduation Plans (2016-2021)
- 88% Employment (Public and Private Sectors)
- 12% Continuing Education
Common Public, Private and Non-profit Career Paths
- Climate and Environmental Mitigation Design and Planning
- Construction Observation and Management
- Cultural and Historic Preservation
- Ecological/Natural Resource Restoration and Management
- Institutional Campus Design and Planning
- Park, Open Space, Trail, and Greenway Design and Planning
- Residential and Community Design and Planning
- Resorts and Entertainment District Design and Planning
- Transportation Corridor Design and Planning
- Urban Design and Regional Planning
- Visual Arts and Environmental Design
- Waterfront Design and Planning
- Wayfinding and Environmental Signage Design and Planning
97% of our students find jobs within six months of graduation or continue their education
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN LEARNING EXPERIENCES GROUNDED IN THE REAL WORLD
Our mission is to create immersive learning and design experiences that reinforce relationships with communities through scholarship that integrates academic, professional, and community interests.
Our Approach to Learning
The BLA curriculum emphasizes collaborative design and place-making based on an understanding of ecological principles, artistic expression, societal needs, and cultural foundations.
Students come to us with diverse interests and skills ranging from art and design, ecology and plants, to cities and people, and leave with groundings in each. Many of the students who start in our program may have little to no drawing or design experience, and that is okay. Students will develop those skills throughout the program. They will also have opportunities to participate in faculty research and collaborate within design studios to solve real-world problems for communities in urban and rural settings in Wisconsin.
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Site Design Fundamentals
- Identify how humans perceive, utilize and value both interior and exterior spaces.
- Illustrate spatial manipulations, with an emphasis on the analysis of space, two and three-dimensional ordering principles, designing in context, and basic design theories.
- Apply problem-solving skills and solution-generating activities on basic site design projects.
- Develop a deeper knowledge of the design process and how design creates forms/objects, spaces, and experiences
- Develop a sense of design ethics that supports diversity, inclusion, and equity, while creating places that respond to environmental, climate, and social justice
- Develop the skills necessary to independently find and apply research that supports evidence-based design to improve the health and well-being of both human and nonhuman inhabitants of Earth
Environment, Health, & Behavior
- Describe the significant and complex role that open spaces and open space systems play in public health and quality of life.
- Understand the impact the physical environment has on people and the role designs play in creating healthy places.
- Identify, evaluate, describe, and discuss health problems as they intersect with the physical environment at multiple scales.
Plants & Ecological Design
- Identify the aesthetic, functional, and cultural characteristics of key native plants of Wisconsin’s forests, wetlands and grasslands as well as a variety of horticultural species as they appear spring, summer, fall, and early winter. Use them together to create beautiful, resilient and high performing outdoor spaces that enhance human health and well-being and provide global ecosystem services
- Select plants for a landscape design using a process that begins with and is guided by an understanding of the composition, structure, and dynamics of the natural plant communities found in the region
- Describe the abilities of plant species to establish, grow and successfully meet design goals based on ultimate size and shape at various life stages, rate of growth, ecological relationships, and aesthetic characteristics of leaves, bark, flower, fruit, habit, and form in both urban and rural settings.
- Apply sustainability principles and/or frameworks to address the challenges of creating sustainable cities and communities, and prevent the extinction of species
- Create designs that use the aesthetic and functional qualities of plants as key constituents of form making.
Site Construction & Administration
- Develop a way of thinking about and seeing landscape construction, which will become part of the design process
- Develop a graphic communication method which will allow the designer to illustrate construction elements in both sketch and finish detail format
- Become familiar with runoff calculations and the notion of site grading as an introduction to preparation for the LARE and employment
- Become familiar with dimensioning plans and investigate specification writing as an introduction to preparation for the LARE and success.
- Demonstrate competence in client and stakeholder engagement and project management
- Understand the opportunities and constraints associated with the professional practice of Landscape Architecture, to include business practices and forms, the applicable laws, and to prepare for the Landscape Architectural Registration Examination section relative to the practice.
Urban Design & Open Space Systems
- Identify how land use regulations and other public policies shape the built environment and which, in turn, influence human health, safety, and well-being
- Describe how networks of formal and informal open spaces function in a variety of urban contexts and are planned and designed by interdisciplinary teams
- Describe how individuals and social groups interact in and respond to particular open space settings and land uses
- Illustrate urban design principles and best practices that influence architectural massing and placement in relationship to transportation and open spaces systems
- Demonstrate how open space can function as sustainable social, economic, and environmental infrastructure systems that support human health and well-being
GeoDesign & Spatial Technologies
- Identify key geodesign framework questions, models, and iterations.
- Locate, evaluate, and interpret representation model data.
- Identify the contributions of the interdisciplinary geodesign team and stakeholders in the geodesign framework.
- Develop a functional understanding of the geospatial technologies used within the geodesign process.
- Apply sustainability principles and/or frameworks to address the challenge of adaptation and landscape change within the built and natural environment
Regional Design & Planning
- Describe the significance and complexity of a regional landscape and how it serves as context for a smaller study area (e.g. the relationship of place to its natural and cultural surroundings).
- Understand, respect, and empathize with project clients and reconcile client needs with the creative potentials of a region.
- Analyze and describe natural and cultural processes in a regional study area, especially the forces shaping and transforming the region over time.
- Evaluate issues of scale (e.g. ecological, cultural, measurement, visual, experiential, clients, and users) and potential implications for landscape planning and regional design decisions and on selection of tools and techniques.
- Synthesize, evaluate, and apply sources of creativity and inspiration in the landscape planning and regional design process (e.g. precedents, innovation, collaboration, observation, interviews; rational, intuitive, design typologies, and arbitrary bases for landscape planning and design decisions)
Develop Professional Leadership Skills
Throughout the studio courses students work individually and in teams, continuously refining their professional, technical, and visual communication skills, while addressing emerging social and environmental challenges.
Take Part in The Wisconsin Idea
Our two-semester BLA Senior Capstone program provides students the opportunity to collaborate with communities and stakeholders on real-world design and planning challenges throughout the Midwest.
STUDIO FACILITIES
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MAKE IT YOUR OWN SPACE
All studio spaces are available 24-7 and have controlled access to lecture areas, cohort spaces, teaming areas, computer labs, printers/plotters, design and visualization lab, and student lounges. By working in the studio, students not only get to know their own classmates well, but also have access to undergraduate students in other years of the program, as well as graduate students and faculty. The studios include state of the art computer facilities through which students interact with each other, faculty and the global network. The result is that students and faculty form an active learning community.
DESIGN AND VISUALIZATION TECHNOLOGY
Design and Visualization Equipment
- Microclimatic Technology
- (3) Heat Stress Tracker and Weather Meter: Kestrel 5400 WBGT
- (6) Infrared Thermal Temp Gauge: Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
- (3) Temp Gauge: Testo 925
- (3) Thermography Camera: FLIR C5
- (6) Sound Level Data Logger: PCE-322ALEQ
- Terrain Mapping and Photography
- (3) GNSS Rovers: Emlid RX
- (6) Moasure One
- (1) Drone: Mavic 3M Multi Drone
- Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Headsets
- (22) Meta Quest 2
- (2) HTC Vive Pro
- Computers (VR Compatible) and Tablets
- (48) Dell Precision 3660 Tower – 24 per studio lab; 2 monitors per computer
- (16) Dell Optiplex Tower – 1 monitor per computer; located in Music Hall
- (10) Wacom Cintiq Desktop Screens
- (22) Apple iPad – 10.9-inch screens
- 2D Large Format Plotters, Printers, and Scanners
- (1) 24″ Plotter and Scanner: HP DesignJet T830
- (1) 36″ Plotter: HP DesignJet T650
- (1) 44″ Plotter: HP DesignJet
- (4) HP Laser Printers (2 color, 2 monochrome)
- (2) Epson Flatbed Scanner Stations (11×17)
- 3D Printers
- (4) Bambu Lab X1-Carbon
- Laser Cutter (Large Format)
- (1) FSL Muse Titan (48″ x 24″)
- Video Conferencing
- (4) OWL Labs Meeting Video Systems
Design and Visualization Software
- Building Information Modeling (BIM)
- 3D Design and Modeling
- 2D Design and Drafting
- Autodesk AutoCAD, LandFX (Plugin), Morpholio Trace
- Renderers and Animation (VR and AI: Generative Rendering Integration)
- Lumion, Enscape, Twinmotion (Upon Request)
- Geospatial Analysis, Design, Simulation and Planning (AI: Generative Design Simulation Integration)
- Graphic Design, Production, Storage, Collaboration, and Communication
- Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace (Suite), Box, Dropbox, Zoom
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Image Generators
COMPUTER SUGGESTIONS
Students are not required to own a computer, as it is possible to complete all work in studio computer labs. However, most students find it convenient to have a laptop. The BLA Program does not recommend any specific manufacturer or model, but the computer should be capable of running Windows software and powerful enough to support applications such as AutoCad, Lumion, Enscape, ESRI ArcGIS Pro, and Adobe Creative Suite.
Recommended Specifications:
Windows Laptops: Look for the brand’s ‘gaming’ or ‘high performance’ workstations.
- Intel 12th generation or higher Core i7 CPU with built-in Intel DirectX 12.1 or higher GPU or AMD Ryzen 7000 equivalent or higher (Core i9)
- Intel replaced the ‘i’ series with their new AI-integrated ‘Ultra’ line.
- Discrete GPU instead of integrated GPU
- Discrete GPU’s would typically be listed as nVidia or AMD video cards whereas integrated GPU’s would be listed as Intel
- 32 GB dual channel DDR5 RAM
- 1 TB NVMe Hard Drive
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THE CAMPUS, CITY, AND STATE ARE AN EXTENSION OF OUR STUDIO LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Throughout the BLA curriculum, our learning environment extends outside the studio walls and takes advantage of several world renowned campus, city, and regional spaces, such the UW-Madison Arboretum, Lakeshore Nature Preserve, Lewis Nine Springs E-way, Olbrich Botanical Garden, and The Clearing.
Campus Resources
Community Resources
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA)
State Resources
