DesignIntelligence Announces Best Landscape Architecture Schools for 2014

DesignIntelligence has just released their list for the best landscape architecture schools of 2014 with some interesting new insights. Penn State University leads this year’s undergraduate pack, snatching the coveted position as America’s top BLA program from Louisiana State University, which held the number one position for the past three years. And for the tenth year in a row, Harvard University still dominates the ranks as the best graduate landscape architecture program in America. Keep reading to see if your school made the list!

Every year, DesignIntelligence surveys hundreds of selected professional practice leaders–over 300 different landscape architecture firms participated this year–on questions ranging from their biggest concerns about the profession to which schools they think best prepare students for the profession. 

Though 74% of respondents said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the current state of American landscape architecture education, nearly 30% reported that they felt that graduating students lacked adequate understanding on subjects of biology, biodiversity and environmental degradation. 

While 50.6% of firms ranked design quality as a major concern, 58.5% of firms crowned sustainability/climate change as the leading concern for 2014 (an increase of 10% from last year’s estimation). Integrated design (42.3%), urbanization (35.1%), and speed of technological change (31.7%) round out the firms’ top five concerns.

According to the firms’ hiring experiences in the past five years, the following schools were ranked in order of how well they prepared students for success in landscape architecture: 

Top Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Programs of 2014

1. Pennsylvania State University 

2. Louisiana State University

3. Purdue University

4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

5. University of Georgia

Top Graduate Landscape Architecture Programs of 2014

1. Harvard University 

2. Kansas State University

3. Louisiana State University

4. University of Pennsylvania

5. Cornell University

Firms also broke down which collegiate programs they deemed strongest in each of the following skill areas: 

DESIGN

1. Harvard University

2. Kansas State University

2. Louisiana State University

4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

5. University of Pennsylvania

RESEARCH & THEORY

1. Harvard University

2. University of California at Berkeley

3. University of Pennsylvania

4. Kansas State University

5. Texas A&M University

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

1. Harvard University

2. Louisiana State University

3. Kansas State University

4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

5. University of Georgia

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PRACTICES & PRINCIPLES

1. Harvard University

2. Louisiana State University

3. Kansas State University

4. Pennsylvania State University

5. Texas A&M University

What do you think of these rankings? Are you surprised by any of the findings? Let us know in the comments!

Per DesignIntelligence’s request, we are only allowed to publish the top five for each list. For the full rankings, please visit their website.

Photographs © Lucy Wang