Questions about MLA programs

[Peter Graves]

I am currently applying to MLA programs throughout the U.S., and I have a couple questions to help me  narrow them down.

Firstly, does anyone here know of a national ranking of MLA programs? I haven’t been able to find anything substantial online. If anyone could provide this that would be awesome.

Secondly, I am curious about the regionality of Landscape Architecture. If I decide to go to a particular school, will that necessarily limit me to working in the same region in my professional career? What I’m trying to find out is this: do I need to figure out where I want to work and live in my professional life even before I choose a grad school?

Thank you for your help with this!

p.s.- I just discovered this site and it’s awesome. Spent a lot of time lurking and reading on here last night. 

[Laura C]

Hey—
I have been doing a lot of research also and am planning on applying for Fall 2011. Here are some links that I have found that rank LA schools….
http://dirt.asla.org/2009/01/05/designintelligence-2009-landscape-architecture-program-rankings/

http://dirt.asla.org/2009/12/08/designintelligence-2010-landscape-architecture-program-rankings/

I want to know which schools best prepare their students for careers teaching as well as practicing….

Where are you applying?

[Peter Graves]

Hey Laura,

Thanks for the link! Yeah, that’s all I have been able to figure out- DesignIntelligence’s top 10. But I want like top 25 or 50, so all the schools I applied to will appear on the list, hopefully, so I can rank them accordingly.

I have applied to MLA programs at:

-LSU (accepted)
-Kansas State (awaiting)
-Texas A&M (awaiting)
-University of Colorado-Denver (awaiting)
-University of New Mexico (awaiting)
-University of Texas-Arlington (accepted)

Anyone know what these schools rank in the DesignIntelligence report?

[Jason T. Radice]

I think you might be putting too much weight on the DesignIntelligence rankings. I’ve seen schools float up and down the rankings for years. I would suggest actually visiting the school and seeing the quality of the student work as well as speaking with the professors to see if their program is right for your needs. I’m applying for the fall of ’10 and only to one LA school (the rest are MArch). The quality of the education is directly related to the effort you put into it, not necessarily where the school lands on a list. I’m looking for a young and fresh program thats looking for something to prove, I went to one of the well established and ranked schools for my BLA as well. There are different types of schools, too. Some that teach more to an “nuts and bolts” of practice, and those that teach more of an “artistic” type of curriculum. Whatever suits your style, and your pocket book. I’d SERIOUSLY look into a school in your state for a masters, as the ROI for a MLA would take a long time to recoup at an out of state or private school. ($30-40k) Better off getting a license first.

As far as regionality, it may make it easier to pick where you might want to live, as the plant materials taught tend to be local to the school. If you go to school in Colorado, you will not have a good shot at getting work in Florida, but if you haven’t worked and the MLA is your first professional degree, it won’t matter much, as don’t have the experience or plant familiarity that it would make a difference. Besides, you can learn that pretty fast from wholesale catalogs.

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