The undergraduate curriculum in landscape architecture centers upon creative and ecologically tuned design, and introduces students to the breadth of knowledge common to the profession. This program leads to the A.B. degree in landscape architecture and provides the necessary education for students interested in entry-level professional practice.

At the heart of the undergraduate curriculum are three core studios: LD ARCH 101, LD ARCH 102, and LD ARCH 103. Each core studio is team-taught, includes carefully coordinated lecture modules that introduce professional specializations, and focuses on a specific type of design problem in landscape architecture. The core studios ensure that undergraduate students benefit from the department's full range of interests and expertise.

The undergraduate studio experience rests upon a foundation of professional courses in four key areas: (1) design skills and methods, including the lower division ENV DES courses, landscape architecture history, and computer methods; (2) ecological analysis, with courses in ecology and geology; (3) planting design (two courses supplemented with an integrative biology requirement); and (4) topographic design.

Accreditation. The A.B. degree is certified by the State of California and counts as part of the education/experience requirement of the U.N.E. licensing exam. UC students who earn the A.B. degree are eligible to take the state examination after fulfilling a two-year apprenticeship under a licensed landscape architect.

Individual Major. The individual major is a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in an area of study that is appropriate to the College of Environmental Design but that cannot be accomplished through the three existing majors. See the Undergraduate Individual Major for more information on this degree program.

Minors. See the Minor Programs webpage for information on undergraduate minors offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, as well as other minors available to landscape architecture majors.

Course Requirements

Requirements and Sequence for A.B. Degree in Landscape Architecture [pdf]

A total of 120 units is required for the A.B. degree in Landscape Architecture. All college prerequisites and requirements except one breadth and the CED upper division electives must be taken for a grade and satisfied with a minimum grade of C-. CED upper division electives and upper-division major requirements must be passed with a letter grade. Transfer applicants must have completed courses equivalent to ENV DES 1, 11A, and 11B before transfer to Berkeley, but will take the CED upper-division electives and upper-division major work after matriculation.

Students are expected to meet four sets of course requirements:

1. University and Campus Requirements
2. CED College Requirements
3. Landscape Architecture Major Requirements
4. General Electives

1.  University and Campus Requirements

• Entry-Level Writing
• American History
• American Institutions
• American Cultures
   

2. CED College Requirements. 15 courses (42–44 units)

Essential Skills

• Two courses in reading and composition (8)
   

Seven-Course Breadth Requirements

• Physical Science—choose one of the following options: EPS 50 (4); EPS 80 (2); ENV SCI 10 (4) and ENV SCI 10L (1); Physics 10 (3); Physics 10C (3) (for descriptions of these courses, download the Physical Science Breadth information sheet)
  
• One course in Biological Science—choose one: Biology 1B (4), Biology 11 (3) (must be taken concurrently with Biology 11L (2)), ESPM 2 (3), ESPM 6 (3), ESPM 101A (4), Plant Biology 40 (3) (for descriptions of these courses, download the Biological Science Breadth information sheet)
  
• One course in Social and Behavioral Sciences (2)
• One course in Historical Studies (2)
• One course in International Studies (2)
• One course in Philosophy and Values (2)
• One course in Arts and Literature (2)
   

Note: With the exception of the Physical Science and Biological Science requirements, you may take one of the breadth requirements on a Passed/Not Passed basis. See the Undergraduate Advising website for additional information related to these requirements.

Within-CED Requirements

Lower-Division Environmental Design Requirements

• ENV DES 1 People and Environmental Design (3)
• ENV DES 11A Introduction to Visual Representation and Drawing (4)
• ENV DES 11B (5) Introduction to Design (with 1-unit graphics module)
   

Electives

• Three upper-division elective courses (9 units) in CED but outside the Department of Landscape Architecture
   

3. Landscape Architecture Major Requirements. 12 courses (45 units):

• LD ARCH 101 (5) Fundamentals of Landscape Design (Topographic Form and Design)
• LD ARCH 102 (5) Case Studies in Landscape Design (Design Development Studio)
• LD ARCH 103 (5) Energy, Fantasy, and Form
• LD ARCH 110 (4) Ecological Analysis
• LD ARCH 111 (3) Plants in Design
• LD ARCH 112 (4) Landscape Plants: Identification and Use
• LD ARCH 120 (3) Topographic Form and Design Technology
• LD ARCH 121 (4) Design in Detail: Introduction to Landscape Materials and Construction
• LD ARCH 132 (4) Computer Applications in Environmental Design
• LD ARCH 134A (3) Drawing Workshop I*
• LD ARCH 135 (3) The Art of Landscape Drawing
• LD ARCH 170 (3) History and Literature of Landscape Architecture
   

____________________

*Petition dependent upon background.

4. General Electives. (31–33 units.) The University requires 120 units minimum for graduation. No more than 48 units total in the student's major department will be credited toward the 120 minimum for graduation, so only 3 units beyond required courses may be courses in landscape architecture.