The LAAB accredited Master of Landscape Architecture is a STEM designated program, and it prepares students to address the critical challenges of a sustainable society: health, water, urbanization, and environmental quality by exploring design and planning solutions that are beautiful, functional, and sustainable. The MLA program emphasizes both traditional site scale planning and design and large scale landscape analysis and planning, while advancing the field of practice and theory through research. MLA (1st professional degree) applicants are not required to have a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture.
The Graduate Program Director advises all incoming students until they have established their major professor. The major professor, whose interests closely align to those of the student, supervises thesis work. Students, along with their major professor and supervisory committee, determine the 15 credits of electives that best inform their interests. An outside area of emphasis or graduate specialization may be pursued by concentrating elective coursework in another department.
Contact our Advisor
Carlos V. Licon
Associate Professor | Graduate Program Director
MLA Fast Facts
Graduate Credits Required: 80
Years to Complete: 3
Student Cost:
~$36,000
Salary Range: $50,000-80,000
Cohort Size: 8-12
Program Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning’s Master of Landscape Architecture graduate program is to: (1) prepare future professionals to address the dynamic issues and scales of landscapes across the Intermountain West and around the world; and (2) engage in creative intellectual work that contributes to the theory and practice of landscape architecture.
Student Outcomes
The Master of Science in Environmental Planning (MsEP) degree provides future planners with the skills to respond to the evolving needs of growing communities and provides them with expertise in landscape level analysis and planning. Students learn to recognize the importance of the relationships between physical attributes of a region and the human dimensions of settlement and culture. This 2-year program prepares future planners and land managers to work in an interdisciplinary environment, leading to better land-use decisions, policy, and implementation.
Student Reports
- Modeling Affordable Housing in Moab and Spanish Valley
- An Instructional Module on Permaculture Design Theory for Landscape Architecture Students
- Community Renewable Energy: The Potential for Energy Generation on Public Land In Cedar City, Utah
- A Sustainability Assessment of Utah's 29 Counties: Testing a Multivariate Graphical Method of Sustainability Assessment
- Landscapes of Movement: Exploring a Contemporary Approah to Long-Distance Non-Motorized Backcountry Recreation Trail Planning
Student Theses
- An Examination of What Motivates Utah Residents to Adopt the Practice of Rainwater Harvesting
- Transportation Related Challenges for Persons' with Disabilities Social Participation
- A Comparison of Park Access with Park Need for Children: Case Study in Cache County, Utah
- Evidence-Based Practices for the Design of Inclusive Playgrounds that Support Peer Interactions Among Children with All Abilities
- Community Wildfire Planning and Design: A Review and Evaluation of Current Policies and Practices in the Western United States