Students will learn to recognize the links between plants and humankind. In the Landscape Studies concentration, students study landscape aesthetics and conservation. Learning from the past they examine how people have changed or modified their environments throughout history. Acting within a framework of sociological and ecological principles, landscape designers and planners seek ways to conserve or revitalize the contextual landscapes of existing communities. The Urban Studies concentration explores the evolving life and forms of cities and towns, and the behavior and problems of their residents.
Students examine how communities evolve, flourish, and decline.
The urban planner develops alternative methods of achieving community goals, anticipating developmental impacts, and planning for a sustainable future. The Environmental Design Program provides an appropriate foundation for pursuing careers in the traditional fields of landscape architecture, horticulture, or planning. Environmental planning expertise can also be applied to a wide range of fields such as law, education, administration, advocacy, forestry, or resource economics. The Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning homepage offers detailed course and concentration descriptions for the Environmental Design major, as well as information about the other six academic programs, both graduate and undergraduate, offered by the department. Of particular interest is the bachelor's degree program in Landscape Architecture and the two-year degree program in Landscape Contracting.