Cornell University Registrar

Graduate Field

Landscape Architecture

Program Description

Our Graduate School program in landscape architecture complies with the requirements of three governing bodies: the New York State Education Department (NYSED), the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards (CLARB), and the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board. The degree program is designed to accommodate a variety of academic backgrounds, both with and without design training in landscape architecture and architecture. Therefore, each student’s curriculum plan is tailored to the individual’s specific background and academic goals. 

The year-long master of professional studies (M.P.S.) program in landscape architecture was created for individuals with an interest in advancing their career options by pursuing timely and innovative issues related to planning, designing, and/or managing natural and built environments.

Program Information

• Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
• Program Location: Ithaca, NY
• Minimum Credits for Degree: 30

Program Requirements 

• All coursework for this major is in person, in Ithaca, unless otherwise noted.
• All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade.
• A grade of C- or better must be earned for all courses.
• Minimum Credits for Degree: 30, with 20 of those credits being CALS credits.
• There is a tech fee of $500 every semester for all Landscape Architecture majors. This fee allows access to the makerspace, computer lab, and necessary software licenses utilized in the program.

​Core Coursework

Required Courses (10 credits total)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ALS 5900	Project Development: CALS Professional Master's Programs	1-5
ALS 5910	Project Completion: CALS Professional Master's Programs	1
LA 5090	Master of Professional Studies Research Design Studio	4

Elective to Support MPS (9 credits total)

Students must take 3 courses, totaling at least 9 credits that will support their MPS research projects. Students will discuss and select the courses with the aid of their faculty advisor.

​Recommended Courses (4 credits total)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
LA 6900	Methods of Landscape Architectural Inquiry	3
LA 5830	Seminar in Landscape Studies	1

University Graduation Requirements

Requirements for All Students

In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.

Academic Requirements

A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.

Non-academic Requirements

Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.

Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.

CALS Graduation Requirements for the Master of Professional Studies/Master of Food Science

Requirements

The individual program pages provide additional information about field-specific requirements.

• 30 credits in graduate-level courses (5000 and above). Note: language (including ELSO) and physical education courses do not count toward the required 30 credits. Physical education courses also do not count toward the minimum 12 credits required for full-time status and good academic standing.
  • A minimum of 20 CALS credits
    • CALS credits include all courses with the following subjects: AGSCI, AIISP, ALS, ANSC, BEE, BIOG, BIOAP, BIOCB, BIOEE, BIOMG, BIOMI, BIOMS, BIONB, BIOSM, COMM, EAS, EDUC, ENTOM, ENVS, FDSC, GDEV, INFO, LA, LEAD, NS, NTRES,  PLSCI, STSCI, VIEN
  • A minimum of 18 letter-graded credits
  • A total of 2-6 capstone project credits:
    • 1-5 credits of ALS 5900 Project Development: CALS Professional Master's Programs.
    • 1 credit of ALS 5910 Project Completion: CALS Professional Master's Programs in final term.
• A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.
• Enrollment in a minimum of 12 credits each semester. It is advised that students enroll in 15 credits each semester to stay on track for this one-year program.           
• Completion of the degree within 1 year from admission date.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate critical understanding of the discipline’s histories and theories
  - Graduates will demonstrate good knowledge of the scientific, cultural, and political histories of landscape architecture and engage critically with the theoretical discourses—past and emerging—that frame the discipline, especially as they intersect with design practice.
• Develop and apply rigorous research methodologies
  - Graduates will formulate original research questions, frame a research project, and apply (and sometimes invent) appropriate methodologies—qualitative, quantitative, design-based, or hybrid—to investigate complex issues using landscape-based approaches across spatial, temporal, and disciplinary boundaries.
• Bridge research and design practice
  - Graduates will be able to integrate research into the design process and generate speculative, critical, or applied design work grounded in scholarly inquiry. They will explore how landscape architecture can operate as a mode of research that produces new forms of knowledge.
• Critically engage with ecological and socio-political systems
  - Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to understand and interrogate the entanglements of ecological processes with cultural, economic, and political systems. They will be able to research and articulate landscape’s role in addressing urgent global challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental justice.
  
• Exhibit excellence in scholarly communication and representation
  - Graduates will produce high-quality written, visual, and verbal work that clearly communicates complex research findings and theoretical positions. They will utilize a range of representational media as modes of inquiry, with awareness of their epistemological and ideological implications.
• Contribute to the advancement of landscape architectural knowledge
  - Graduates will be equipped to contribute to the evolving body of knowledge in landscape architecture through original research, publication, exhibition, or other scholarly formats. They will be prepared to pursue doctoral studies or lead research initiatives within academic, professional, or public sectors.

Admissions

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Fall, March 15; no spring admission

Requirements Summary

All applicants are required to submit a design portfolio. The portfolio may include a wide variety of media, including freehand drawings, painting, photography, graphic design and renderings, garden design, and other creative endeavors.

Portfolios are digitally submitted along with the M.P.S. application. There is no page limit; however, your file size should be less than 20 megabytes total to be able to upload onto the Cornell Graduate School application site.

1. Complete Cornell’s online Graduate School application. Get started by setting up an ApplyWeb account. Once you have an account, you can go to the online application to begin the process.
2. Submit unofficial copies of your college and university transcripts. An official paper transcript is required for all admitted students.
3. Submit your résumé or CV and two letters of recommendation.
4. All applicants must meet the English language proficiency requirement.
5. Submit a statement of purpose.
6. Submit a portfolio.

Admissions Contact Information

Name: Jamie Vanucchi, director of graduate studies, jlv29@cornell.edu
Name: Kait Daciek, administrative coordinator, kmd294@cornell.edu
Email: LAfield@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-9552
Campus Address: 440 Kennedy Hall
Website: https://cals.cornell.edu/landscape-architecture/programs/master-professional-studies-mps-landscape-architecture