Academics

School of Landscape Architecture

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In the Academy’s school of Landscape Architecture, you’ll train at the intersection of art and science, where living systems meet designed form and innovation builds on legacy. We teach the skills needed to resolve contemporary design challenges large and small—from urban plazas and parklets to tidal marshes and bike trails. 

Led by practicing professionals in our STEM-designated school, you’ll gain fluency in responsive design, site planning, and advanced rendering. You’ll work on solutions for climate change, improving the quality of urban life, protecting natural environments, and creating healing places.

With a focus on ecology, site engineering, planting design, sustainability, and construction documentation, you’ll graduate with a portfolio that demonstrates you are prepared to lead.

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Fast Facts

    More To Know

    Our courses are designed to help you build a strong portfolio that showcases a wide range of skills such as sketching, digital graphics, design, research, analysis, and synthesis. Our curriculum teaches you to address what matters most: the scarcity of green open space, the inequity of food access, and the urgent need for healing environments. Whether you’re with us on campus or online, you’ll develop strategies to confront climate change head-on. From bioswales to wetlands to retention ponds to green corridors, you’ll design systems that serve both ecology and equity.

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    Undergraduate
    AAS
    BFA
    Graduate
    MA
    MFA
    Other
    Upskill Classes
    Pre-College

    Student Experience

    You’ll learn to design spaces with empathy and intention that improve mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing and improve the quality of urban life. You’ll gain the skills needed to resolve contemporary design challenges large and small—from urban plazas and parklets to tidal marshes and bike trails. You will work on projects designed to meet extraordinary challenges like the lack of green open spaces and access to fresh foods in urban areas.

    Careers

    At our STEM-designated School of Landscape Architecture, you’ll design living systems that fight climate change, heal communities, and reimagine urban life. From plazas to wetlands, your portfolio will showcase the skills and vision to lead where art, science, and environment collide.

    Critical thinking and process-driven design methods will help you successfully transition to the profession. Our courses are designed to help you build a strong portfolio that showcases a wide range of skills such as sketching, digital graphics, design, research, analysis, and synthesis. You will gain knowledge in ecology, site engineering, planting design, sustainability, construction documents, professional practices, and more. Possible careers include:

    • Landscape Architect
    • Garden Designer
    • Landscape Designer
    • Environmental Planner
    • Landscape Renderer
    • Master Planner
    • Planting Designer
    • Urban Designer
    • Urban Strategist

    Student Work

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    Study with Industry Professionals

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    Facility Highlights

      Open Studio

      Studio Space

      Studio classrooms are open by design—floor plans that spark interaction between Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and Interior Architecture students. Online or on-site, the facilities are built for access, dialogue, and shared momentum.

      Atrium Gallery

      Atrium Gallery

      Our atrium is the heart of the school—a dynamic space for live events, public lectures, and showcases of student work. It’s an open, welcoming space and always in motion.

      Presentation Space

      Presentation Space

      Presentation spaces are where you can experience live events, public lectures, and presentations of student work.

      Lounge

      Lounge

      Student lounges provide informal spaces to gather and connect.

      Digital Fabrication Lab

      Digital Fabrication Lab

      From laser cutters to 3D printers to CNC routers, our digital fabrication labs are engineered for precision. Shop technicians are on hand to help you map the workflow that turns raw material into realized form.

      Wood Shop

      Wood Shop

      Our wood shop is built for precision and practice—outfitted with band saws, drill presses, jointers, planers, miter saws, panel saws, shapers, and table routers. Four SawStop table saws reinforce our commitment to craft and safety.

      Metal Shop

      Metal Shop

      Our metal shop supports a full range of fabrication processes—including welding—designed to take your concepts from sketch to structure.

      Print Lab

      Print Lab

      The print lab is equipped with a large-format plotter and a small-format color copier and scanner—purpose-built for the plans, drawings, and presentations architecture students bring to life in class.

      Computer Labs

      Computer Labs

      Cutting-edge digital workstations, loaded with the latest software and new media technology, keep you at the front edge of design. A lab technician is available during business hours to keep your tools aligned with your workflow.

      Online Learning

      Our flexible online classes—featuring the same curriculum and faculty as on-campus courses—are designed for students balancing work, life, and ambition. Since 2012, the School of Landscape Architecture has built a digital studio culture that works—refined by experience and powered by tools that make ideas visible. Visual feedback is provided through digital pin-up tools, and mobile platforms keep community alive beyond the classroom. Our small class sizes ensure that you won’t get lost in the scroll. You’ll get real feedback, real mentorship, and real momentum.

      Online Learning Program

      Students & Alumni

      Always Creating. Always Moving Forward.

      At the Academy, creativity doesn’t pause at graduation; it accelerates. Our students leave with portfolios that speak louder than résumés, catapulting them into creative careers.

      This is where passion meets purpose—on campus, in studios, and on global stages.

      Our alumni are out there now winning awards, leading teams, and shaping culture.

      Read More Success Stories
      Christine M Gonzales

      Christine M Gonzales

      “As an online student, my classmates and instructors can come from all over the world. It’s a great opportunity to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Participating in the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show was a highlight for me as a student. I was able to take the skills and knowledge from my classes and apply them to a real-life project, from design to construction.”

      MA Landscape Architecture Alumni, Design Assistant at Mariposa Gardening and Design Cooperative

      Eric Arneson

      Eric Arneson

      “This is a great way to actually get a project that you designed built, and that’s something invaluable to a student. At the Academy, we don’t just design on paper; we get to see our concepts come to life, learn from the construction process, and collaborate with peers and professionals. It’s hands-on experience that prepares you for the real world.”

      BFA Landscape Architecture Alumni, Partner at Topophylia

      Zichun Ritta Lei

      Zichun (Ritta) Lei

      “I learned a different perspective of landscape architecture from each of my professors, and that shaped me into the landscape designer I am today.”

      MFA Landscape Architecture Alumni, Lead Designer at Shenzhen Urban Planning & Design Institute

      COMPANIES THAT EMPLOY OUR STUDENTS

      TGP - Smith+Smith Landscape Architecture - SWA Turenscape

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