Professional BLA (Undergraduate) Curriculum

The four + year program in Landscape Architecture requires 124 semester hours, leading to an accredited, professional degree - Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. Of the 124 hours, 65 hours are required in landscape architecture courses, consisting of design studio, construction, plant materials and design, history, design communication, and professional internship. The remaining 59 hours are comprised of the following subjects.

Subject Credit Hours
FAA 199 Undergraduate Open Seminar 1 hour
Urban and Regional Planning 3 hours
Natural Sciences: Plant Biology and Geography 7 hours*
Mathematics (depending on placement) 0 to 5 hours
English (Composition I and Advanced Composition) 7 hours**
Horticulture 6 hours
General Education Electives (see current list at www.courses.illinois.edu  
     Natural Sciences and Technology (6 hours)  
     Humanities and the Arts (6 hours)  
     Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)  
     Quantitative REasoning I & II (6 hours)  
     Cultural Studies: Non-Western (3 hours)  
     Cultural Studies: Western (3 hours)  
     Foreign Language (HS 3 years OR 3 semesters*** 3 hours)  
Supporting Electives 15 hours
     Communication (minimum. 3 hours)  
     History (minimum 3 hours)  
     Technical (minimum 3 hours)  
     Environment (minimum 3 hours)  
Open Electives 1 to 6 hours

The first year of the program is structured to enable students to acquire the basic knowledge in graphics, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and mathematics. It is general and flexible to allow students from other colleges and universities to acquire this basic knowledge and transfer into the second year of the curriculum.

Professional sequences in design, construction, and plants begin in the second year. At this point, students from outside the curriculum (with a minimum of 30 credit hours, the necessary prerequisites, and a GPA > 2.50) are permitted to transfer into the program. Significant to the program is the use of a clearly defined "systematic approach" to the solution of landscape architectural problems, with emphasis on the basic principles of design, design process, and site planning skills. In addition, methods of landscape survey and analysis further supply the student with a logical basis for design decisions. The use of computers is introduced in this year as well.

The third year is structured to take advantage of this strong foundation. Courses in construction, plant materials, and large-scale design appear in the professional sequence. Lectures on theory and history are interwoven into the design sequence to acquaint students with design precedence and to encourage innovation. Following the third year, students complete a summer professional internship in the fourth year. Techniques are refined and principles are tested in a series of comprehensive application courses. Emphasis is placed on the creative solution of land use problems at all scales. Idealistic solutions are continually tested against practical application by the use of actual sites and situations, many of which involve problems faced in the Central Illinois area, but may also include landscapes in other regions of the world.

FOUR + YEAR UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM

BACHELOR OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
124 credit hours required

for Schedule, Courses Catalog and Gen Ed Distribution List, see www.courses.illinois.edu

First Year - Fall Semester
Course credits
LA 101 2
GEOG 103, GEOL 100,101, or 103 (or IB) 3
FAA 101 1
Rhetoric 105 4
Math 115 or Math 220 (QUANT 1) 3
Foreign Language or General Education 3
  16
First Year - Spring Semester
Course credits
Social/Cultural Factors in Design Elective** 3
IB 102, 103 or 105 (or GEOG/GEOL) 3
General Education 3
General Education 3
LA 199 - Art Design Foundation 3
  15


Second Year - Fall Semester
Course credits
LA 233 Foundation Design Studio 5
LA 250 Environmental Site Analysis 3
LA 280 Design Communications I 3
UP 101 Planning of Cities & Regions 3
General Education 3
  17

Second Year - Spring Semester
Course credits
LA 234 Site Design Studio 5
LA 241 Landform Design & Construction 3
LA 281 Design Communications II 3
LA 314 History of World Landscapes 3
  14


Third Year - Fall Semester
Course credits
LA 335 Community & Open Space Studio 5
LA 342 Site Engineering 4
HORT 301 Woody Ornamentals I 3
LA 346 Professional Practice 2
  14

Third Year - Spring Semester
Course credits
LA 336 Design Workshop Studio I 5
LA 343 Landscape Construction 4
a plant-focused course 3
Supporting Elective 3
  15


Summer
Course credits
LA 345 Professional Internship 5
  5

Fourth Year - Fall Semester
Course credits
LA 437 Regional Design Studio 5
LA 452 Natural Precedent in Planting 3
General Education 3
Supporting Electives 3
  14

Fourth Year - Spring Semester
Course credits
LA 345 Professional Internship OR  
LA 399 Off-Campus Study ****  
  12




*minimum 124 credit hours required

*IB 102, 103 or 105 and Geog 103/Geol 101 fulfill Gen Ed Natural Sci. and Technology requirement.
*Social/Cultural Factors Elective course options are LA 212, LA 215, LA 218, LA 220, LA 222, LA 242, LA 270 or LA 470.
*LA 314 fulfills University Advanced Composition requirement
*To complete the professional internship requirement, students must complete one semester of LA 345 OR one semester of LA 345.

Progress Rule: In this curriculum, normal progress towards the degree is imperative. A student failing to complete any required course, in both landscape architecture and non-LA required courses, more than one semester later than the time designated in the curriculum may be encumbered from registration in landscape architectural courses until the deficiency is corrected.

GPA Rule:Students must achieve a minimum technical GPA of 2.50 at the end of the second year to continue in the program. The technical GPA is based on grades earned in LA 233, 234, 241, 250, 280, 281, and 314. Continuing students must have a minimum 2.00 all-university grade point average and in order to remain as a student in good standing in the program.

Transfer Applicants: Must have minimum 30 transferable hours and 2.50 GPA, and completed English composition, Trigonometry, Physical Geogrophy or Geology, Plant or Environmental Biology, Quantitative Reasoning 1, and two of the three campus required units of foreign language to be eligible for admission. An introductory drawing or design course is strongly recommended.

Specialization Areas: Students that desire to develop an interest area in depth beyond the typical BLA student may do so by submitting a proposal to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator showing intent to complete a sequence of related courses that totals a minimum of 12 credit hours, with no more than 2 courses at the 100/200 level. The specialization must be approved by the Undergraduate Program Coordinator. Students may also pursue a minor.

Electives

General Education Electives

The following is a list of the campus general education requirements

Requirement Credit Hours
Composition I 4 hours
Advanced Composition* 3 hours
Quantitative Reasoning (I & II) 6 hours
Humanities and the Arts 6 hours
Natural Sciences & Technology** 6 hours
Cultural Studies  
   Western/Comparative Cultures 3 hours
   Non-Western/Minority Cultures 3 hours
Foreign Language*** HS-3 years OR 3 semesters

Consult the FAA College website (www.faa.illinois.edu) or the campus website (www.courses.illinois.edu) for the most current requirements and distribution list.

Supporting Electives

In addition to general education course requirements, a student in landscape architecture must complete a minimum of 12 hours of professional supporting electives, with a minimum of at least three hours selected from each of four categories: COMMUNICATIONS, HISTORY, TECHNIQUE, and ENVIRONMENT. A student may petition to have another course not appearing on list accepted for credit if it meets the stated objective. A course that is listed as a prerequisite to a supporting elective course may be counted as part of the 15 hours needed, if it is not used to fulfill other program requirements.