The Department of
Landscape Architecture

A message from the Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Gary Hilderbrand:

Since its founding in 1900, the department has played a singular role in the development of landscape architecture as a profession, an academic discipline, and as a medium of design that engages urbanism, environmentalism, and culture. The mission of Landscape Architecture at Harvard is to advance research and innovative design practices in the natural and built environments, as they intersect with processes of urbanization and the urgent challenges posed by a changing climate, including widespread environmental and social inequities. Candidates in the Master in Landscape Architecture (MLA) Program work with an internationally recognized faculty, and explore the multiple ways that landscapes positively contribute to the complexities of the contemporary city, to a more equitable distribution of ecological and environmental resources, and to the creation of better futures across all regions of the world.

As the challenges of the built environment rarely correspond to traditional disciplinary boundaries, coursework in the MLA Program spans the depth and breadth of the field and enjoys strong pedagogical connections to urban planning, urban design, and architecture. MLA candidates enjoy access to and engagement with the extra-Departmental assets of the Graduate School of Design including a robust calendar of lectures, exhibitions, and events attendant to current design culture across disciplines as well as the Advanced Studies Programs, the Aga Khan Program, the Joint Center for Housing Studies, and the Loeb Fellowship. MLA candidates benefit from proximity to events and discussions in cognate disciplines across campus in the history of art and architecture, ecology, engineering, environment, and the arts. The Department’s coursework and culture are leavened by a range of institutional assets and resources unique in the discipline including the Harvard Forest, the Arnold Arboretum, the Harvard Center for the Environment, and Dumbarton Oaks.

Professional practice evidences the specialized actions, behaviors, and ethical standards expected of individuals in a role of advising, designing, and executing projects, extending beyond technical competence to include accountability, integrity, and respectful interaction. The nature of practice is itself a design challenge in its own right—we design practice—supported by innovative research and a wide range of courses on the proven and emerging ways in which the disciplines of design create impact in our rapidly changing technological, social, and environmental context. Led by Professor Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti, who chairs the Practice Forum, the transdisciplinary group is comprised of faculty from all departments including Jeffry Burchard, Daniel D’Oca, Adam Frampton, Jenny French, Gary Hilderbrand, Eric Höweler, Karen Janosky, Jungyoon Kim, Hanif Kara, Grace La, Dana McKinney White, Chris Reed, and Elizabeth Whittaker.

Landscape architecture today enjoys greater cultural relevance, public visibility, and potential for professional leadership than at any time in recent history. The Department has been among the most significant centers in the world for the production and dissemination of landscape knowledge. The Department aspires to be the preeminent venue for the education of landscape architects as they are increasingly called upon as design professionals uniquely capable of representing and responding to the challenges found at the intersection of design culture, urbanization and environment.

— Gary Hilderbrand, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture & Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture

Together, we are educating a generation of activist practitioners, theorists, advocates, and more—a virtual army of climate warriors who will lead the charge for regenerative, adaptive ways of reimagining a just and sustainable world.

Learn more about our commitment to climate.