Outline
The Master’s in Landscape Architecture (MLA) programme is a two-year, full-time, professionally accredited landscape architecture masters programme.
We were awarded the Best International School of Landscape Architecture prize in 2018 and continue to deliver on this legacy by constantly re-examining our teaching and research practices to respond to our current context and to student feedback.
This programme is for creative students with a strong interest in landscapes and an acute socioenvironmental awareness, with or without a background in landscape architecture.
Why landscape architecture?
Landscapes are vibrant, complex entities which are always changing. They sustain us. They are powerful sensory spaces we inhabit or simply traverse. They are also the sites of some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
Landscape architects plan and design landscapes. They work across urban and rural environments, often in exciting multi-disciplinary teams.
Landscape architecture is deployed on spatial scales ranging from the garden to the region, and timescales ranging from seasons to centuries. Being a landscape architect gives you the tools to make sense of complex socioecological contexts, as well as the skills and agency to contribute to a more sustainable and just future for all.
Why choose our programme?
The question of how to design with landscapes and their multispecies communities in a climate and biodiversity crisis underpins our programme.
We are in an art college with a distinctive design culture and exceptional workshop facilities. We are therefore uniquely placed to support you in developing your own making-thinking practice which will enable you to critically understand and apply environmental theory to practical contexts.
Taught by dedicated academics and practitioners, you will actively engage with urgent socioecological questions through site-specific and design-led learning. You will explore how to formulate meaningful design responses in our time of crises.
The programme aims to empower you to imagine and advocate for the change you want to see, by supporting you in developing your own socially and environmentally aware design practice.
If you are curious, creative and motivated to grow your landscape architectural voice, we would love to have you on our programme.
Accreditation
Our MLA programme is accredited by the Landscape Institute (LI), which provides national and international recognition to your degree.
Upon successful completion of the MLA you will have an accredited degree, which is the first step towards being a Chartered Landscape Architect in the UK.
The LI accreditation is recognised in the UK and worldwide.
Programme structure
The MLA programme is divided into four semesters of eleven weeks, with two semesters per academic year.
There are 9 courses across the two years of MLA:
- Five are design-focused where you will be asked to develop a landscape architectural project through various scales, from region to detail.
- Three are centered on contextualising design practice through theory, developing critical thinking and understanding technical dimensions relevant to the discipline.
- You can also choose one elective across available courses in the Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh.
Specific course briefs vary from year to year to respond to student feedback, our changing context and opportunities for collaboration. As a guideline, the two years of the MLA are structured as follows:
Year 1
In the first year of the MLA, the design, theory and techniques courses are designed to cater to both students with and without a landscape architectural background. The course briefs are written to cover the fundamentals of landscape architecture including:
- design methods and skills at a range of scales, from region to detail
- landscape interpretation and critical appraisal
- the fundamentals of geology, geomorphology, soils, ecology and climate, and how these shape landscapes
- fieldwork
- landscape architectural theory
- ethical and sustainable use of materials in landscape architectural projects
- inclusivity, diversity and accessibility
- technical skills and conventions
- representation and curation as tools for analysis, research, design and communication
The openness of the briefs also enables students with more experience of the discipline to sharpen their interests beyond those fundamentals. This is supported by individual tutorials which enable us to accompany you on your individual journey.
Year 2
In the second and final year of the MLA, your path with us culminates in a research-led design course through which you can position yourself as a soon-to-be Landscape Architect through a distinctive design proposal.
During this course you will work with your MLA peers as well as final year students from our MA and EMiLA programmes, creating a rich and diverse studio environment.
You will also have one elective course and one portfolio course through which you will reflect on your individual landscape architectural practice.
At the end of the programme, you will have the opportunity to stage a public exhibition of your final year work at the ECA Degree Show.
Teaching
Teaching on this programme is delivered through:
- field trips
- group and individual tutorials
- seminar discussions
- workshops
You will also be expected to work in an independent and self-directed manner between points of contact with tutors.
Design studios typically start with a short period of group work, through which you will learn to work collaboratively with others, before moving on to individual work through which you will grow your own design practice.
You will be encouraged to develop a design approach that involves thinking-through-making, which will be supported by instruction in drawing, model making and digital skills.
The studio culture is fundamental to our courses: we work, teach and make in the studio.
We promote a safe, inclusive and supportive peer-based learning environment in which helpful and constructive feedback can be shared across staff and students.
Assessment
On the MLA programme, you will encounter a range of assessment and submission formats including:
- presentation panels
- drawings
- models
- portfolios
- exhibitions
- reports
- publications
- essays
- verbal presentations.
Your work will always be assessed against clear learning outcomes which are shared with you at the start of each course.
