Landscape Architecture

Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture

The BSLA program is a well-rounded combination of art, science, the humanities, and professional skills. The curriculum engages with the significant historical roots of the discipline and embraces the most important contemporary issues.

Landscape architecture undergraduate review with models on the floor

The Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture (BSLA) program was established in 1915 by A. D. Taylor and received initial accreditation by the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1924. Through a studio-based curriculum, the program provides students with the theoretical, historical, and technical grounding for advanced study or future work within the discipline. The BSLA leads to a four-year professional undergraduate degree.

Students in the landscape architecture program are able to combine critical thinking skills with artistic principles, environmental consciousness, and construction technology to address people’s relationship to the land over long and short time horizons. Our curriculum emphasizes practical and evolving knowledge and skills as the foundation for professional competence, academic scholarship, and individualized enrichment. Our studio classes, the foundation of our curriculum, are small, student-centered, and provide a hands-on education in Knowlton Hall, an award-winning facility with extensive studio, library, and technology resources.

The Knowlton School’s landscape architecture program is consistently ranked in the top ten nationally and is the only accredited landscape architecture program in the state of Ohio.

Landscape Architecture Co-Op Program

The Knowlton Landscape Co-Op Program provides students the opportunity to gain valuable professional work experience as integrated into the curriculum of the bachelor of landscape architecture.

Learn more about the Landscape Architecture Co-Op Program

Current Curriculum

The Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture requires 126 credit hours. In addition to the specific degree requirements listed here, free electives may be necessary to reach this total. Landscape Architecture courses listed in years 2, 3 and 4 are only offered in the term listed and need to be completed in sequence

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Year 1 (UG1)

AUTUMN    
KNOW 1100 Survey 1
KNOW 2300* Outlines of the Built Environment 3
KNOW 2310* Seeking and Making 4
GE GE Theme: Lived Environments 4
GE Foundations: Mathematical & Quantitative Reasoning/Data Analysis 3
Total   15
SPRING    
ACADAFF 1201 Launch Seminar 1
GE Foundations: Race, Ethnic and Gender Diversity 3
GE Foundations: Historical & Cultural Studies 3
GE Foundations: Social & Behavioral Sciences 3
GE Foundations: Writing and Information Literacy 3
Open Elective   3
Total   16

Year 2 (UG2)

AUTUMN    
LARCH 2920 Design II 6
LARCH 2410 Media I 3
LARCH 2420 Ecology/Technology I 3
LARCH 2600 Outlines of Landscape Architecture 3
Total   15
SPRING    
LARCH 2930 Design III 6
LARCH 3430 Media II 3
LARCH 3440 Ecology/Technology II 3
LARCH 2367 Meaning of Landscape 3
Total   15

Year 3 (UG3)

AUTUMN    
LARCH 3940 Design IV 6
LARCH 5610 History & Theory I 3
LARCH 5367 Professional Practice 3
ENR 3000 Soil Science 3
ENR 3001 Soil Science Laboratory 1
Total   16
SPRING    
LARCH 3950 Design V 6
LARCH 5620 History & Theory II 3
LARCH Elective See options below 3
Open Elective   3
Total   15

Landscape Electives

  • LARCH 2780
    Landscape Architecture Topics Seminar
  • LARCH 4410
    Advanced Landscape Technologies Seminar 
  • LARCH 4450
    Advanced Landscape Media Seminar
  • LARCH 5630
    Advanced Topics in History/Theory
  • LARCH 5798 Study Tour
  • LARCH 7410 Advanced Landscape Technologies Seminar
  • LARCH 7450
    Advanced Landscape Media Seminar
  • CRPLAN 4194
    Urban Ecology 
  • CRPLAN 5160
    Green Building Methods for Planning
  • HCS 2340.01
    Woody Ornamental Plants
  • HCS 2340.02
    Hebaceous Ornamental Plants
  • KNOW 5880
    Interdepartmental Seminar

Year 4 (UG4)

AUTUMN    
LARCH 4960 Design VI 6
LARCH Elective See options below 3
LARCH Elective See options below 3
GE GE Theme: Citizenship 4
Total   16
SPRING    
LARCH 4970 Design VII 6
LARCH Elective See options below 3
Open Elective   3
Open Elective   3
Total   15

Landscape Electives

12 hours of landscape electives are required. Each semester, students can choose from courses that explore advanced topics in the following curricular areas: History and Theory (LARCH 5630); Ecology and Technology (LARCH 4410); Media (LARCH 4450). Additionally, students can choose from courses in allied disciplines (e.g., Architecture, City & Regional Planning, Horticulture).

Learn more about Knowlton Courses & Curriculum.

Landscape at Knowlton

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Landscape Architecture UG4 Studio

Bird's eye view of corridor

Knowlton Landscape Architecture Co-Op Program: Professional Experience by Design
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Trecia Cintron

Writing the Atlas of Environmental Injustice
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Participants at the Edible Futures Symposium gather around a long table for discussion

Food for Thought: The Edible Futures Symposium
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Study Abroad in Marienplatz, Germany

Knowlton Travel 2022: Urban Planning and Sustainability in Germany and Denmark
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