MLA Waivers and Substitutions

The Landscape Architecture program offers students with prior experience the opportunity to pursue waivers and substitutions for various required courses. Each required course is essential and unique to a program track and consistent with accreditation requirements set out by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB); however, some students may have sufficient academic exposure to the content of a particular course to be waived of the requirement.

It is a student’s responsibility to pursue waivers and substitutions in a timely manner. Petitions should be submitted following the process outlined by the department’s Program Coordinator, along with all required and supporting documentation, in time for approval prior to the start of the term in which that particular course is held.

Note: Waiving a course does not reduce the total number of units required for graduation.

Course Waivers

Fall Course Waiver Petition Deadline: Tuesday, August 22, 2023

If you believe you have aready taken coursework that might qualify you to waive out of a required course, you must submit a petition and supporting documentation, including a a syllabus from the prior course(s), transcript(s), and in some cases a portfolio.

Please email Program Coordinator Tiffany Yee to request the link to the online petition form. All requests to waive a required course must be received prior to enrolling in the corresponding semester.

Course Substitutions

Fall Course Substitution Petition Deadline: Friday, September 1, 2023

If a course is waived, the instructor of record (in consultation with the Program Director and the student) determines whether a substitution will be will required. If a substitution is required, the approved alternate course class will satisfy the MLA program requirement. If a substitution is not required, then the student may choose a free elective.

Distributional Electives: Students have the opportunity to request to substitute a distributional elective with an alternative course, provided that the course relates to the field of landscape architecture and is approved at the Program Director’s discretion under the category of Representation/History/Theory or Ecology/Technology. Substitutions to the Theory/History distributional elective requirement for AP students are not permitted.

Please email Program Coordinator Tiffany Yee to request the link to the online petition form. All requests to substitute a distributional elective with an alternative course must be received prior to the first day of open enrollment in the corresponding semester.

Note: An individual course cannot count toward two (or more) distributional elective requirements.

Over-Enrollment

Fall Over-Enrollment Petition Deadline: Monday, September 11, 2023

MLA students are required to enroll in a minimum of 20 units per term. To request enrollment over 20 units in a particular term, email Program Coordinator Tiffany Yee to request the link to the online petition form. Petitions to over-enroll must be received before the course selection deadline in the corresponding semester.

Please note that students in core studio are ineligible for over-enrollment. Students who are eligible to petition to over-enroll must be in good academic standing.