The two-year, post‐professional Master in Landscape Architecture (MLA II) degree program stream is for those who hold an undergraduate professional landscape architecture degree or its equivalent.

The MLA II augments that professional preparation with a particular emphasis on the design of the built environment at the intersection of urbanization and ecology, providing those who have already demonstrated professional competence with the opportunity to advance their critical, theoretical, representational, and technical skills through design.

The program of study for the MLA II includes a strong one semester core curriculum that includes studio and courses in representation, theories of urbanism, and a pro-seminar on current topics in the discipline of landscape architecture. The remaining three semesters offer a flexible academic path that allows students to engage in advanced studios and elective courses across all three GSD departments and the university. The curricular structure encourages advanced individual and collective research and the possibility to develop an elective thesis in the final semester.

For more information, please visit the MLA Degree Requirements page.

Curriculum

A candidate will be recommended for the Master in Landscape Architecture as a post-professional degree upon satisfactory completion of 80 units in the following course of study:

First Term

  • 0 units STU 1211 Pre-Term Workshop (August; one week) *
  • 8 units STU 1211 Landscape Architecture III (studio)
  • 4 units DES 3241 Theories of Landscape as Urbanism
  • 4 units SCI 6244 Climate by Design
  • 4 units ADV 9641 MLA Proseminar

Second Term

  • 8 units Option Studio**
  • 4 units DES 3242 Theories of Landscape Architecture
  • 8 units Electives

Third Term

  • 8 units Option Studio**
  • 12 units Electives

or

  • 8 units Option Studio**
  • 4 units ADV 9341 Preparation of Design Thesis Proposal***
  • 8 units Electives

Fourth Term

  • 8 units Option Studio**
  • 12 units Electives

or

  • 8 units ADV 9342 Design Thesis in Landscape Architecture
  • 12 units Electives

Footnotes

* The Graduate School of Design offers week-long pre-semester Digital Media Skills Workshops for each term of the core years (4 classes), all of which are required for all Master in Landscape Architecture students. These workshops are integrated with the design studios and are intended to give students the necessary preparation and knowledge of the workflows and digital techniques used in the context of studios: 3D software basics, rendering basics, data-transfer from 3D software, output and model building techniques using CAD/CAM facilities. The workshop will include an orientation session in the woodshop and on using laser cutters. No academic credit is given for the workshop.

** A minimum of one option studio must be taken from those offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture.

*** Students pursuing the MLA thesis track are required to enroll in an Option Studio offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture in the fall semester of their final year in conjunction with ADV 9341.

Residence

For students entering the three-year MLA I program, a minimum of six terms of full-time study in residence is required. Individuals admitted with advanced standing to the MLA I AP normally begin with the third term of the program and must complete a minimum of four terms of full-time study in residence. Students entering the two-year MLA II program must also complete a minimum of four terms of full-time study in residence. Under special circumstances, students may receive permission to reduce their course load and extend their studies over a longer period of time.

Please note that the MLA I, MLA I AP, and MLA II programs are now designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation.  Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

Professional Licensure

The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board. Combined with practical experience, it meets the requirements for licensure in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.