BLA Program
The School of Landscape Architecture is in the College of Art and Design. The five year, professionally-oriented, undergraduate curriculum leads to a Bachelor’s degree (BLA) with a design concentration, which is accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
Admission to the program at the third year is selective, requiring completion of designated courses and a minimum 2.75 GPA. Students must adhere to the scheduled sequence of courses unless otherwise advised by the student’s assigned faculty advisor.
The required General Education courses (39 credit hours) are in the areas of English, analytical reasoning, arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Professional courses include design studios and lectures in landscape architecture, history, graphic representation, theory and methods, and construction (90 specified credit hours, 21 elective credit hours). Elective course work taken within the College of Art and Design complements the landscape architecture curriculum and allows students to explore other areas of special interest.
Fall Semester - Critical: LA 1101; 2.5 cumulative GPA
- ENGL 1001 English Composition - 3hrs
- MATH 1021 College Algebra - 3hrs
- LA 1101 Landscape Representation I - 3hrs
- LA 1203 Views of the American Landscape - 3hrs
- GEOG 2050 Physical Geography - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
First Year
Spring Semester - Critical: LA 1102, Math 1022, and GEOG 2051 or RNR 1001
- GEOG 2051 Physical Geography - 3hrs
- LA 1102 Landscape Representation II - 3hrs
- MATH 1022 Plane Trigonometry - 3hrs
- GEN ED Course Humanities - 3hrs
- GEN ED Course Social Sciences - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Fall Semester - Critical: LA 2201, Geog 2051/RNR 1001; 2.5 cumulative GPA
- LA 2001 Landscape Design I - 6hrs
- LA 2101 Landscape Representation III - 3hrs
- LA 2201 Landscape History I - 3hrs
- GEN ED Course Social Sciences - 3hrs
- RNR 1001 Natural Resource Conservation - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 18
Second Year
Spring Semester - Critical: LA 2002, 2301, 2401; admission to the third year of study
- ARCH 3006 History of Architecture II - 3hrs
- LA 2002 Landscape Design II - 6hrs
- LA 2301 Landscape Technology I - 3hrs
- LA 2401 Landscape Ecology - 3hrs
- ENGL 2000 - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 18
Fall Semester - Selective Admission: Completion of 1000-2000 level courses, 2.5 GPA, portfolio review
- LA 3001 Landscape Design III - 6hrs
- LA 3301 Landscape Technology II - 3hrs
- LA 3401 Plant Materials I - 3hrs
- Advanced English or Foreign Language - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Third Year
Spring Semester
- LA 3002 Landscape Design IV - 6hrs
- LA 3201 Landscape History II - 3hrs
- LA 3302 Landscape Technology III - 3hrs
- LA 3402 Plant Materials II - 3hrs
- GEN ED Course Humanities - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 18
Fall Semester
- LA 4001 Landscape Design V - 6hrs
- LA 4201 Planning Theory and Methods - 3hrs
- LA 4301 Landscape Technology IV - 3hrs
- Approved Elective - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Fourth Year
Spring Semester
- LA 4002 Landscape Design VI (6)
- Approved Elective (9)
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Fall Semester - Restricted Admission to 5000-level LA professional courses, based on 2.5 GPA & completion of required 1000-4000 level courses
- LA 5001 Landscape Design VII - 6hrs
- LA 5201 Research Seminar - 3hrs
- Approved Elective - 3hrs
- GEN ED Course Natural Sciences - 3hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Fifth Year
Spring Semester
- LA 5002 Landscape Design VIII - 6hrs
- LA 5301 Professional Practice - 3hrs
- Approved Elective - 6hrs
- Total Semester Hours: 15
Admission to the Third Year
The purpose of the review is to select the most qualified students to continue into the third-year studio. If you fail to gain acceptance to the third year of study, you may repeat the introductory courses and reapply to the third year, you may change to another major at LSU, or you may transfer to another university’s landscape architecture program.
To meet required academic standards, you must complete all introductory courses of the landscape architecture curriculum with an appropriate grade-point average. If you use the summer session between the second and third year to complete the pre-gate course work you may be granted a provisional acceptance into third year, contingent on the successful completion of summer courses.
Students are admitted to the first two years of the LAAB-accredited Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program (BLA) from the undergraduate admissions at LSU subject to space availability in courses.
Students must have a 2.50 GPA on all courses completed to be admitted to the School of Landscape Architecture and must maintain a 2.50 on all landscape architecture courses completed and on all courses completed. Students are required to have a laptop computer.
Landscape Architecture majors must pass all required courses, all approved electives, and English 2000 with a grade of “C” or better. A student who earns less than a “C” in one of these courses must repeat the course in the next regular semester in which the course is offered.
If you are a transfer student, you will be considered for admission to the landscape architecture program and the beginning design courses on a space-available basis. Admission is competitive. You are expected to have earned a minimum of 2.50 GPA. The review of transfer students will include a select number of students already enrolled at LSU who have applied to transfer into the landscape architecture program.
Transfer credit for landscape architecture courses as substitutions for required courses in the school’s curriculum will be considered only if these courses have been taken as part of a landscape architecture program accredited by LAAB. As a transfer student, if you desire credit for design studio courses, you will also be required to submit a portfolio for faculty evaluation.
Prior to admission to the third year of study (upper division) there will be a scholastic and portfolio review. Applications will be evaluated in terms of academic achievement, a portfolio of work and design potential. No more than 36 students will be admitted to the upper level of the program. The School of Landscape Architecture reserves the right to deny admission to the third year of study based on this review.
Students who have completed the introductory courses outlined below are eligible to apply for admission to the upper level of the undergraduate degree.
LA 1101, LA 1102, LA 2001, LA 2002, LA 2101, LA 2201, LA 2301, LA 2401, MATH 1021, MATH 1022, ENGL 1001, ENGL 2000, RNR 1001GEOG 2050, GEOG 2051, ARCH 3006
You will be granted entrance to the fifth year only if you have successfully completed all required course work in years one through four. Admission to the fifth year will be in the fall semester only.
Degree Path for Landscape Architecture, BLA, 159 Hours, 5 years.
In this curriculum, sequential course progress is imperative. Failing to complete any required course more than one year later than the time designated in the curriculum prohibits advancement in the design studio sequence until the deficiency is corrected. All required courses listed in the 4th year must be completed before advancing to the designated 5000-level courses.
The Recommended Path shows how one may complete the curriculum in 5 years. Critical Requirements must be met by the indicated semester to be considered “on track” and making progress in the degree.
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803