Landscape Architecture (MA)K310

The MA in Landscape Architecture at The University of Edinburgh is one of the most respected programmes in the UK and renowned internationally as a leading centre of landscape architecture research and education. The school was awarded the Best International School of Landscape Architecture in 2018 and continues to deliver against this legacy, prioritising learning and teaching at the highest level. The programme is situated in the creative and vibrant context of Edinburgh College of Art. As you progress through the programme you will develop an understanding of materials and technology, alongside cultural and ecological processes, enabling you to design sustainable environments fitting for the locations in which they are held. Teaching is supported by a broad range of highly experienced staff, alongside expert input from the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens. If you care deeply about the living planet and the environment that surrounds you and if you are a creative person with a passion for nature in all its forms, this programme is for you. Our aim is to help develop students’ individuality, curiosity and creativity, to produce graduates who can go out into the world and make a positive change through their future career. Over the course of the degree, you will develop an in-depth understanding of how to read the landscape around you. You will develop a set of complementary skills that will help you to understand how landscapes might be transformed or protected to safeguard their value for future generations. You will be taught how to apply new skills in drawing, digital media, visual culture, urban design, geography, ecology, construction and horticulture, so that your ideas become communicable with a wide range of other people. Learning about key theories that exist within and around the discipline of landscape architecture will help you to think critically about the positioning and implications of your own ideas. Landscape Architects play an essential role in building a sustainable future for our planet. Many of society’s greatest challenges, including climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss, sustainable cities and communities, inclusive societies and social wellbeing, are embedded in landscapes and require new solutions for the way in which we care for and maintain our shared landscape resources. In response, students on our programme work creatively across a diverse range of environments and scales, considering approaches for people, places and all the living entities upon which our planet’s health depends. The 5 year programme is a fully integrated Masters level programme, enabling students to enter at undergraduate level and advance directly to graduate at postgraduate level. Our graduates are in high demand across the globe and we believe that the integrated nature of the 5-year MA programme gives you confidence in defining your own specific areas of interest and specialism, to carry these into a meaningful future career. While the 5-year programme may seem longer in duration than other landscape architecture programmes in the UK, the reduced fee for the year in professional practice means the total tuition cost is comparable with other competitor programmes. The integrated pathway also provides major advantages in allowing you to progress automatically to postgraduate studies, while fully supporting you during professional placements. The programme also avoids a final summer semester common to most postgraduate programmes. We are the only UK institution to offer a collaborative European Masters in Landscape Architecture (EMiLA), accredited by the Landscape Institute, offering our students the unique opportunity to take part in this innovative programme. This is a two-year, professionally accredited programme offered jointly by five of Europe’s leading landscape architecture institutions. Alongside Edinburgh this includes Akademie van Bouwkunst, Amsterdam, Leibniz Universität, Hannover, Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage (ENSP), Versailles, Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB). Students can opt into this programme after year 3. Our MA Landscape Architecture programme has full accreditation from the UK Landscape Institute. As a graduate landscape architect you’ll be eligible to join the Landscape Institute as an associate member, to then proceed on the pathway to become a chartered member, meaning the skills and knowledge you will acquire during your studies are aligned with the requirements of the chartered body for the landscape profession in the UK. This accreditation is recognised internationally, allowing many of our students to work in the UK, Europe or further abroad. Many students find employment in exciting design offices directly after graduation.