Landscape Program Mission

At Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico’s Landscape Architecture Master Degree Program, humanistic, intellectual, creative, and technological endeavors encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to explore and excel in a discipline that impacts the public realm, the quality of life, the environment, and the future.

Our program strives to imbue students with social, ecological, and global responsibilities, empowering them with professional skills essential for inquiry, critical thinking, competent and creative ‘engagement’, and leadership through outstanding scholarship.

Our strongest students excel at communicating their intentions and realizations, also at conveying technological skills verbally and graphically, being passionate about the stewardship of the landscape entrusted to them, and to the people who everyday live, work and play in it.

The program aims to enable graduate students to enter the industry’s multivectorial workforce, pursue further studies at the Doctoral level or work in a research and educational environment.

The proposed graduate program intends to develop in the newly formed Landscape Architects, competence in areas of a social, environmental and aesthetic nature. We strive to encourage students to gain: an understanding of how individuals and groups respond to and affect their built and un-built environment; an awareness of the principles and theories that deal with environmental context, and the landscape architect’s responsibility with respect to global environmental issues; and, an understanding of ways in which different forms are successful or unsuccessful in satisfying programmatic, technical, accessibility and contextual objectives in a design proposal.

Students completing the MLA program will be able to acquire knowledge and skills in the:

• Assessment of past and contemporary landscape architecture forms in light of theoretical tenets in order to be able to inform future changes.
• Dexterity and understanding of the research process needed to guide or support a design practice.
• Understanding of the heterogeneity of urban, suburban and other conditions associated to development, and how these conditions influence human and environmental growth, development and survival.
• Ability to integrate all skills and knowledge gained in positions of leadership at local, regional and international levels.

The landscape architecture, architecture, planning and construction industries in Puerto Rico and the United States comprise the primary sources of employment for professionals holding a Master of Landscape Architecture. Federal, state and local governmental agencies, as well as conservation entities in the Island and abroad offer additional opportunities for these practitioners. Furthermore, graduates of the Master of Landscape Architecture degree can enter the workplace as educators at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and are poised to pursue a Doctoral degree.

The Landscape Architecture Program includes two offerings leading towards one degree: a Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.).

This requirement provides a forum to apply research interests in a design project.  Thesis is required of all Master of Landscape Architecture candidates. For both program offerings, Thesis consists of 5 credit-hours of Research work, and 6 credit-hours of Thesis work.

The breakdown of credit-hours per degree offering is as follows:

• For students enrolled in the first professional degree track, 43 credit-hours comprise core courses, 11 credit-hours Thesis and Research work, and 9 credit-hours elective courses, for a total of 73 credit-hours.
• For students enrolled in the post professional degree track, 32 credit-hours comprise core courses, 11 credit-hours Thesis and Research work, and 9 credit-hours elective courses, for a total of 61 credit-hours.
• Students enrolled in both tracks will receive a Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A) degree.

The thesis research shall be directed by a member of the faculty, which also acts as the student’s graduate committee chairperson. The purpose of the thesis is to expose the student to a reasonable independent research experience that enhances his/her academic development. The student should prepare, carry out and report a structured and methodical study of pertinence to the profession. Publication of this work in journals, conference proceedings, and / or presentations will be strongly encouraged.

Maximum allowable time for Thesis completion since admission to the program: MAP III, 7.5 years; MAP II, 5 years.

The Landscape Architecture Program includes two offerings leading towards a Master of Landscape Architecture (MAP) degree: a three-year first professional degree (MAP III), and a two-year post-professional degree (MAP II), identified individually as such for purposes of proper academic differentiation. The MAP III option is a program designed for individuals who have completed a four-year Bachelor degree in any discipline – from a broad range of backgrounds, including a Bachelor in Environmental Design (BED) having obtained a minimum general GPA of 2.85, from an accredited institution. The MAP II degree is a two-year post professional program intended for students who have completed a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture (BSLA), a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA), a Bachelor in Architecture (BArch), or a Master’s in Architecture (MArch). This last applicant pool already holds a first professional degree, with a minimum general GPA of 2.85, from an accredited institution.

Applicants must meet the general requirements outlined by the graduate school for admission to the program. All applicants are required to submit an essay (1,200 words maximum in length) describing a local landscape architectural issue, accompanied by an image representative of said issue. A formal interview with the program director and/or admissions committee will additionally be requested. A work portfolio or one reflective of areas of interest is optional.

Candidates for a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture must:

• Complete the plan of study with at least the minimum number of credit hours specified by the MAP II or MAP III curricula, and a minimum GPA of 3.00 points (no more than six credit hours are accepted in transfer courses).
• Present and defend an independently written, single author, thesis.
• Present and defend an independently developed, single author design project.
• Pursue a plan of study that will lead to the completion of all requirements, including those of the department, within a maximum of [MAP III – 7.5; MAP II - 5] years.
• Be in good academic and disciplinary standing.
• Satisfy all fee requirements.
• Candidates for the master’s degree who have completed 80% or more of the required credit hours may apply for graduation. The application must be completed and a graduation fee paid no later than the date specified in the academic calendar.

Applications are obtained at the Registrar’s Office. The application should be returned to the Registrar’s Office after they have the clearance of the Library and the Financial Aid Office. Proof of payment from the Financial Aid Office of the non-refundable graduation fee should also be tendered. Any alleged error in the analysis of an academic record should be reported to the Registrar within a week after it has been received. Further rules are set forth in the Graduate Catalog of the institution.

The Master of Landscape Architecture focuses on landscape architecture design and theory within a challenging studio-based curriculum. In addition to the development of a strong foundation of traditional knowledge and skills, we are committed to scholarship in its various forms, as a means of learning and serving diverse communities and individuals.

The required design studio curriculum is organized as a series of units exploring three major themes:

Design process
Considers landscape design skills, including concept abstraction and design development, site analysis, communication and techniques to create ‘built landscapes’ of a scale and character appropriate to their uses.

Site and landscape
Planning integrates bio-regional contexts, historic land use and appropriation, also contemporary programs at a variety of scales, in order to seek a creative synthesis of environment, human use and also landscape manipulation.

Urban landscape design
Involves the systematic evaluation – employing principles of natural science ecology and landscape design – of a variety of urban sites in order to creatively develop new approaches to landscape design interventions in the structure of the ‘city’.

Integral to the graduate curriculum, the design studio addresses conceptual and applied design.

The studio format entails lectures, demonstrations, site visits, one-on-one critiques and instruction, as well as group discussions.

The limited number of participants in the design studio allows for greater interaction between faculty and students.

Multiple design philosophies are presented, in order to offer students all available options for their consideration.

The curriculum reaches maturity with a final thesis. Courses, credits and the curricular sequence are presented in the following table:

The breakdown of credit-hours per degree offering is as follows:

Design

History

Plants

Environment & Technology

Practice

Representation

Thesis

Electives (6 credits from the Landscape Architecture Program offerings)

Program Electives

All professional core courses have to be approved with a grade of “A” or “B”.  Students must attain all cumulative grade point averages determined by the Graduate School.

Prior to acceptance into the program, candidates should have completed the subsequent pre-requisite courses at an undergraduate level with an A or B grade, from an accredited institution.*

*NOTE - The program’s first two Admissions, students have been allowed to complete these requirements during the course of their first academic year.  Subsequent Admissions should revert to the initial policy.

SCIE 1110: Biology

SCIE 1111: Biology Laboratory

SCIE 1120 A: Botany

LA 6110: Design: Foundations & Drawing will be offered during the first trimester of each academic year and will have LA 6310: Plant Material & Establishment as co-requisite.

LA 6120:  Design: The Garden Studio will have LA 6110: Design: Foundations & Drawing and LA 6310: Plant Material & Establishment as pre-requisites.

LA 6130: Design: The Urban Studio will have LA 6120: Design: The Garden Studio as pre-requisite.

LA 6330: Adv. Plant Material & Establishment will have LA 6310: Plant Material & Establishment as pre-requisite.

LA 6220: Historiography will have LA 6210: History of Landscape Architecture as pre-requisite.

LA 6430: Ecology & Technology will have LA 6410: Environmental Resources as pre-requisite.

LA 6140: Design: The Rural Studio will have LA 6130: Design: The Urban Studio Resources as pre-requisite.

LA 6510: Professional Practice & Ethics will have LA 6130: Design: The Urban Studio Resources as pre-requisite.

LA 6600: Elective will have LA 6130: Design: The Urban Studio and LA 6220: Historiography as pre-requisites.

LA 6150: Design: The Regional Studio will have LA 6140: Design: The Rural Studio as pre-requisite.

LA 6230: Theory/Research of Landscape Architecture will have LA 6210: History of Landscape Architecture, LA 6220: Historiography and LA 6130: Design: The Urban Studio as pre-requisites.

LA 6700: Design/Thesis will have LA 6150: Design: The Regional Studio, LA 6330: Advanced Plant Material & Establishment, LA 6430: Ecology & Technology, and LA 6230: Theory/Research of Landscape Architecture, as pre-requisites.

Elective Courses

An appropriate mix of electives will depend on the chosen field of study and will be carefully decided by the student, working closely with his/her advisor, in order to fulfill his/her professional interests, in depth as well as in breadth.

Students can choose from in house or institutional electives:

LA 6110 - Design: Foundations & Drawing - Five credit-hours. Two three-and-a-half hour lecture/studio periods per week. Laboratory Fee. Pre-requisites: None. Co-Requisite: LA 6310.
As an introduction to the Landscape Architecture program, this design course serves as preparatory work, confronting students with the discipline. A range of basic design principles and techniques for graphic representation as applied to landscape architecture are explored focusing on the development of spatial thinking, and its communication.

LA 6120 - Design: The Garden Studio - Five credit-hours. Two three-and-a-half hour lecture/studio periods per week. Laboratory Fee. Pre-requisites: LA 6110, LA 6310.
The first of five landscape architecture design studios addresses issues of landscape design at a small scale, while exercising concepts presented during the design foundations course. Design projects explore the domestic context by scrutinizing garden design from theoretical and formal vantage points, placing emphasis on the development of critical thinking, spatial literacy and design process.

LA 6130 - Design: The Urban Studio - Five credit-hours. Two three-and-a-half hour lecture/studio periods per week. Laboratory Fee. Pre-requisites: LA 6120.
The second studio in the design-course series, introduces the urban context through projects of moderate to high complexity. Site development is the focus of this design studio where urban design will be examined as it relates to the philosophies and theories that have shaped neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, and regions throughout history and the world.

LA 6140 - Design: The Rural Studio - Five credit-hours. Two three-and-a-half hour lecture/studio periods per week. Laboratory Fee. Pre-requisites: LA 6130.
This advanced design course introduces complex large scale analysis, planning and design within rural contexts. The expansion of urban areas to the rural fringe and the impact of humans on places of co-habitation with animal life are addressed. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning highlights relevant social, environmental, aesthetic, and economic issues.

LA 6150 - Design: The Regional Studio - Five credit-hours. Two three-and-a-half hour lecture/studio periods per week. Laboratory Fee. Pre-requisites: LA 6140.
The last in the sequence of design studios, this course confronts students with moderate to complex large scale regional issues. Contemporary topics and trends such as sustainable design, gray and green infrastructure, watershed and coastal zone management, among others, will encourage discussion.

LA 6210 - History of Landscape Architecture - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None.
The first in a sequence of three history, theory and research courses, this class provides a historical survey of landscape architectural development from ancient times to the present. History is explored with the understanding that the relationship of humans to the land translates into forms which derive from expressions of function, social values, technological influences, economics and politics - landscape as the footprint of culture.

LA 6220 - Historiography - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: LA 6210.
In this course the “history of history” will be examined to provide students with an acute, critical sense of how to interpret processes and events (past and present). Using the history of architecture “as text” students will be able to apprehend history as a science and grow familiar with the discipline’s attributes and limitations.

LA 6230 - Landscape Architecture: Theory & Research - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: LA 6130, LA 6210, LA 6220.
Theories and research pertinent to the practice and study of landscape architecture, aesthetic and cultural principles, and values related to the ecological aspects are debated upon. The relationship between humans and the design environment are reviewed. A written document is developed as theoretical backdrop for the design phase of the final thesis project.

LA 6310 - Plant Material and Establishment - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None. Co-requisite: LA 6110.
This course is intended to familiarized the landscape architect with environmental constraints affecting successful plant establishment and growth. Successful planting design will ultimately depend upon knowledgeable analysis, appropriate placement, installation and maintenance specifications by the design professional.

LA 6320 - Soils - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None.
This course introduces soil’s ecological processes and management in terrestrial environments. The class discusses soil’s biological and physical properties, and its interaction with land uses and human interventions in different ecosystems. The emphasis of the course is on plant response to soil conditions, and their interface with building material.

LA 6330 - Advanced Plant Material & Establishment - Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: LA 6310.
The last in the sequence of science related topics, emphasis is given to plant groups as part of larger systems. Plant population ecology and community analysis will serve as backdrop for field experience with the vegetation of northern Puerto Rico. As coastal, wetland, karstic systems - among others - comprise part of the organization of a larger ecological region which will be studied in depth throughout the trimester.

LA 6410 - Environmental Resources - One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None.
This course will introduce the methods employed by the landscape architecture profession to examine and address issues related to environmental resources. A prerequisite to environmental planning is an understanding of and respect for natural ecosystems. Class work on this topic will be considered at regional scale, while looking at watersheds as the theme for exploration.

LA 6420 - Site Engineering - One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None
In this technology course, landscape design will be addressed through bi-dimensional landscape representation of the three-dimensional reality. Site analysis, its intervention or conservation, and structure location in a site, will complement the understanding of the site’s attributes: geographical, topographical, climatic, and ecological. Grading, road alignment and storm water management are among the topics presented.

LA 6430 - Ecology & Technology - One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: LA 6410.
Current concerns regarding environmental conservation are examined and questioned against their impact on available and developing technologies including green roof technology. Appropriateness to resources and culture are discussed in relationship to cost and time effectiveness. Laboratory type projects constitute an integral part of the course.

LA 6510 - Professional Practice and Ethics - One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: None.
The role of the practitioner - scope duties and potential - is questioned from the ethical financial and managerial standpoint. Personnel organization, supervision, office procedures, payments for service, marketing and career options are examined. Moral dilemmas inherent to professional practice, considering wide-ranging implications of ethics in a globalize society where disciplines overlap but also obscure responsibilities.

LA 6700 - Design/Thesis - One four-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: LA 6150, LA 6230, LA 6330; LA 6340; LA 6430, LA 6510.
The last in a series of five design studios this course is intended to provide students the forum to pursue and in depth exploration on a chosen topic. Completion of this work will demonstrate students’ ability to define a contemporary problem and overarching strategies in which to address it. The course provides an opportunity for the student to integrate the theoretical frameworks and technological skills in a comprehensive manner.

Angueira, Olga - Master of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004; BArch, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, 2001.

Areces Mallea, Alberto - PhD, Doctor of Philosophy, Biology, CUNY, New York, New York, 2003; Master of Philosophy, Biology, CUNY, New York, New York, 1996; Bachelor xxx

Colón Arizmendi, Edmundo -

Colón Izquierdo, Edmundo - Master of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006; BArch, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, 2004.

Irizarry Acevedo, Ramón - Master of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana State University, xx; Bachelor in Agronomy, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, xx.

Lorenzo Torres, José - Master of Urban Design, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005; BArch, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.

Nazario, Nancy -

Olivieri Cintrón, Luis - PhD candidate, Ohio State University, Ohio, xx; Master of Agricultural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, xx; Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, xx.

Payán Aparicio, Fernando - Master of Science, Horticulture, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, xx; Bachelor of Science, Agronomy, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, xx.

Rigau, Jorge - Master in History, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, 1993; BArch, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1975.

Rodríguez, Marisabel - Master of Landscape Architecture, Cornell University, Master of Landscape Architecture, 1996; Bachelor of Arts, Education, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, 1982.

Suárez, Jaime - Master of Arts, Columbia University, New York, New York, 1970; BArch, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1969.

Terrasa Soler, José Juan - Master of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007; Master of Environmental Studies; Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1997; Master of Science, Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1992; Bachelor of Science, Biology, Mount Saint Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, 1990.

Velázquez, Juan Carlos - Master of Fine Arts, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain, 1988; Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of Fine Arts, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1985.