Professional BLA (Undergraduate) Program Description

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architecture faces the most difficult and challenging problems that confront the human race-- proper use of land and natural resources and the creation of environments that meet people's needs. The profession is attempting to anticipate and adequately prepare for the impact of human life on the environment and vice-versa, and to resolve conflicts between the physical, economic, and social needs of human beings and the vital natural systems.

The undergraduate program of the Department of Landscape Architecture is oriented toward the full scope of the practice of landscape architecture so that graduates of the program will be prepared to assume a variety of responsible roles within the profession as productive and creative practitioners in private and public offices.

The primary educational goal is to orient each student to the profession and to the specialties within the profession which best suit individual abilities and interests, and secondarily, to develop both breadth of viewpoint and technical competency in the widest possible range of activities which are encompassed by the profession. Some general aspects of such an education are:

•  an understanding of the natural resource constraints which bear on land use and design decisions and activities;
•  an awareness of the cultural determinants of human behavior and the social, political, economic, and legal institutions which influence land-use and design decisions;
•  a working knowledge of the basic skills -- the tools, practices, processes, and techniques of analysis, synthesis and implementation used in the design profession;
•  a sense of responsibility to the land which will guide the use of these skills.

The five-year program in Landscape Architecture requires 152 semester hours, leading to an accredited, professional degree - Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. Of the 152 hours, 90 hours are required in landscape architecture courses, consisting of design studio, construction, plant materials and design, history, design communication, and professional internship. The remaining 62 hours include courses in horticulture, urban and regional planning, general education and professional supporting electives. For a complete description of degree requirements see the semester by semester curriculum.

Although the University of Illinois is large, with a student population of close to 35,000, the Department has a relatively small enrollment of approximately 115 undergraduate students with 14 faculty members. It is large enough so that a diversity of courses can be offered but small enough so that students and faculty can know each other on a personal basis.

The academic and cultural opportunities available to students are excellent and diversified. The Department, for instance, has one of the best Landscape Architecture and City Planning libraries in the country. In addition, the full resources of the University are available to landscape architecture students. These include a central library (largest of any state university), eight colleges, numerous institutes, experimental stations, and state surveys staffed by experts in all fields.