Program Statistics

The Department of Landscape Architecture accepts up to 36 undergraduate students into the professional Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) program each year, and up to 15 graduate students into our Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program. We seek students from diverse backgrounds to join our programs. We are committed to helping our students graduate within the recommended times allotted for both degrees, and seek to accomplish this by providing appropriate advising. View the sequence of courses for the BLA five-year plan of study (scroll to bottom of that page).

Landscape Architecture by the Numbers – Fall 2019

Undergraduate enrollment: 108

Students in the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program are from six states (including Iowa) and four countries in addition to the US: China, Kuwait, Malawi and Puerto Rico.

Graduate enrollment: 16

Students in the landscape architecture graduate program are from four countries in addition to the US: Bangladesh, China, Iran and Nepal.

Student retention and graduation rates (PDF)

BLA degrees conferred (PDF)

MLA enrollments and degrees conferred (PDF)

Employment statistics (also available under the Careers tab of this website)

History

The first course related to landscape architecture was taught by the first president of Iowa State University (then called Iowa Agricultural College) in 1869.

A formal curriculum in landscape architecture was established in 1914, and the Department of Landscape Architecture was created in 1929. It became of part of the College of Design in 1978.

Savanna Studio

In fall 2000, the first Traveling Savanna Studio traveled 10,000 miles from Winnipeg, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The Philip H. Elwood Lecture Series was established in 1997 to honor the legacy of professor emeritus Philip H. Elwood, who is credited with developing the Department of Landscape Architecture at Iowa State. The 20th Anniversary of the Savanna Studio is coming Fall 2019.