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Studies

Master's degree (2 years)
Full time
Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability

Ready to engage with the most pressing issues of our time? This Master's degree offers a unique combination of practice from landscape architecture with studies in global development, planning and ecology.

Apply here

Application deadline:

Applicants outside EU/EEA: 1 December

Norwegian, Nordic, EU/EEA and Swiss citizens: 15 April

Start of Studies:

August

Required points:

C (2024)

Requirements:


Tuition fees

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in one of the following disciplines: Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, Landscape Planning, Landscape Sciences, Geography, Development Studies, Resource Management, Environmental Studies, Landscape Engineering and other relevant fields. 

Applicants must also submit a motivation letter and portfolio.

  • Requirements in detail

    The applicants must upload ALL the following documents:

    1) The applicant's transcripts from previous education. There is an average grade requirement of C from the bachelor degree.

    2) A motivation letter of no more than 600 words, demonstrating your interest in pursuing a degree in Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability, as well as outlining your relevant experience and knowledge in the field. Please address the following points:

    • In what ways do you believe that studying Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability will complement and enhance your existing academic qualifications? Additionally, what career trajectory do you envision as a result of participating in this program?
    • How do you anticipate that your personal background and current professional experience will contribute to broadening the academic perspective and fostering a more enriching and diverse learning environment?
    • Applicants without formal training in visualisation are encouraged to describe any relevant experience or familiarity they have with visualisation tools or techniques.

    3) A 4-page portfolio in PDF format. Please see our portfolio recommendations.

    The study program Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability comprises field trips (not mandatory). Students must be prepared to cover their own travel expenses. Please contact the study advisor of the programmme for more information.

    NMBU requires that you have your own personal laptop in connection with learning activities or forms of assessment. The university provides the necessary software licenses.

    General information on admission to NMBU.

    Applicants must meet the university’s requirement for English language proficiency.

Photo: Shutterstock
Urban agriculture with plants growing in a rooftop garden in a Chinese city.
Mississippi River School November 2019, Louisiana USA. Part of research project: Mississippi: An Anthropocene River 2018–19 HWW and MPI, Berlin.

The Master in Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability is a two-year, full-time degree course acknowledged by the International Federation of Landscape Architects. The teaching is conducted in English.

Global transformation processes and the planet’s tightening limits to growth are reshaping landscapes worldwide. Environmental disasters, migration, climate change, crises and conflicts are increasingly influencing how people experience their everyday landscapes. Landscape architecture for Global Sustainability (GLA) responds to these challenges by shaping people’s local environmentswith a global perspective.

The GLA program is designed to help students confidently navigate different socio-cultural and ecological settings in our increasingly globalised world. It, thus, responds to the rapidly evolving demands on the landscape architecture profession and the growing environmental challenges we face. Students learn to design, plan, and manage sustainable spaces, applying knowledge that links global drivers to local conditions.

Throughout the program, students engage in analytical methods, design strategies, and critical thinking tools that equip them to address uncertain and unpredictable futures. By blending global awareness with local responsiveness, they discover how to guide landscape transformations that support ecological integrity and social justice.

Teaching

The core of the curriculum is project work, spanning design, landscape ecology, theory and history.

The program consists of an introductory course, a theory course, and a series of three studio courses with a focus on design and research-driven projects. Your studies will culminate in a thesis. There are also additional elective classes  available across the Life Science University.

You will study within an international environment. Group work provides opportunities for the exchange of intercultural experiences and knowledge. Courses cover contemporary concerns and a suite of methods, as well as insights into working internationally and experiencing cultural differences.

During your studies, we encourage you to explore and develop contemporary ways of working that advance landscape architecture as a productive, generalist profession. Both scientific and artistic methods are used, involving an interactive design process with regular supervision, presentations and feedback.

Student accommodation

Accommodation close to our beautiful campus is offered through NMBU's Student Welfare Association (SiÅs). International students are prioritized for on-campus housing, though this is not guaranteed. We recommended that you apply for accommodation immediately after accepting your admission offer to secure housing. Read more. 

Student testimonials

Diverse teaching methods

The climate change approach

Career opportunities

Graduates of the program can look forward to various employment and professional opportunities including work in private practice, multidisciplinary firms, and public agencies. Our graduates are hired in private design firms, small and large, in multidisciplinary engineering consultancies, state and government agencies and planning authorities.

  • Learning outcomes

    Graduates of this program shall have the following knowledge, skills, and general competencies:

    Knowledge

    Graduates will:

    • Possess advanced knowledge in landscape architecture with particular insight into global landscape practices related to sustainability, climate change, post-disasters, and post-conflict contexts.
    • Have an in-depth understanding of design-thinking approaches and field-based qualitative research methods, including landscape and context analyses.
    • Be experienced in inter- and trans-disciplinary teamwork, enabling them to apply and evaluate knowledge from multiple disciplines.
    • Be capable of developing original and context-appropriate landscape architecture projects.
    • Understand historic and contemporary theories in landscape architecture, especially those linked to global sustainability.

    Skills

    Graduates will be able to:

    • Analyse and critically evaluate diverse information sources and use them to support design arguments.
    • Critique and apply landscape design theories and methods to respond to specific physical, social, environmental, and governance contexts.
    • Formulate independent theoretical and practical design proposals.
    • Identify relevant purposes for landscape analyses and use these analyses to inform sustainable scenarios.
    • Work both independently and collaboratively in developing design outcomes.

    General Competences

    Graduates will:

    • Apply research methods and ethical principles when addressing contemporary critical issues with landscape architecture proposals.
    • Use their knowledge and skills to work with landscapes in crisis due to environmental, societal, or territorial challenges.
    • Communicate and disseminate ideas independently through varied modes of representation.
    • Receive, interpret, and integrate critical feedback into their design and research processes.
    • Contribute to innovative landscape practices by drawing inspiration from multiple geographical scales and disciplinary perspectives.
    • Critically reflect on and advance their work by engaging with historical and theoretical perspectives.
  • Exchange possibilities

    All courses in the programme will be conducted in English giving international students the opportunity to join the regularly outlined semesters and choose from a preselection of relevant electives (in English).

    NMBU has exchange agreements within many disciplines and with many universities across the world. You will find more information at NMBU' s website. HERE

  • Program structure

    Acknowledged by the International Federation of Landscape Architects, the GLA degree engages with the urgent environmental and social challenges of our time. It combines theoretical exploration and practical experimentation to address ecological and socio-environmental justice issues in contested landscapes. These are territories where competing claims, values, and power relations shape the use and meaning of land and resources. Across the globe, disputes over land management, resource exploitation, and cultural identity—together with social conflict and military occupation—have created such complex and often fragile environments. Rather than seeking fixed solutions, the research-driven, studio-based degree experiments with strategies and design scenarios for the future of contemporary landscapes. It prepares professionals who are capable of designing, planning, and managing sustainable environments that respond sensitively to diverse socio-cultural and ecological contexts. Building on prior studies in landscape architecture and related disciplines, GLA advances students’ existing qualifications (BA or MA) and deepens their understanding of landscape architecture within the context of an increasingly globalised world. The degree equips students with the skills and methods needed to navigate the uncertainties of future environmental and social challenges. Set within an international learning environment, the Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability program exposes students to a wide range of global contexts and case studies, fostering opportunities for exchange, hands-on experience, and the development of intercultural knowledge and collaborative abilities.

    Academic Breadth (area, level, scope)

    The program features a distinctly transdisciplinary approach, integrating landscape management, planning, design, and ecology with theories and methods from development studies. This wide scope allows students to tackle ecological and socio-environmental justice challenges in contested landscapes—areas influenced by conflicting claims, values, and power structures. By engaging with various global contexts and case studies, the program equips students to operate effectively across different cultural, environmental, and political environments.

    Academic Depth (area, level, scope)

    As a research-focused master’s degree, the program deepens students’ theoretical and methodological competencies through an inquiry-driven, studio-based structure. Rather than seeking fixed solutions, students experiment with design strategies and future scenarios that respond to contemporary environmental and social challenges. This focus strengthens their ability to navigate uncertainty and complexity in landscape practice. Building on prior studies in landscape architecture or related fields, the program advances students’ disciplinary foundations to a global and critical level. It links design thinking with ecological knowledge, socio-political analysis, and development theory, creating a coherent progression from undergraduate competencies to advanced professional and academic practice.

    Compulsory Parts and Electives

    The curriculum includes 60 ECTS of compulsory courses, consisting of:

    • An introductory course in Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability,
    • A theory course on Landscape in a Globalised World, and
    • Three design studios addressing the ecological, urban and social issues of contemporary contested landscapes.

    These core components establish shared theoretical, analytical, and design frameworks for all students. Students choose 30 ECTS of electives, allowing them to specialise in themes or regions of interest. The program concludes with a 30 ECTS master’s thesis, an independent research and design project that synthesises the program’s central concepts and contributes original insight into global landscape challenges.

    Master of Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability (M-GLA) - Programme structure 

  • More about the program
    • Societal relevance

      Global transformation processes and the planet’s tightening limits to growth are reshaping landscapes worldwide. Environmental disasters, migration, climate change, crises and conflicts are increasingly influencing how people experience their everyday landscapes. Landscape architecture for Global Sustainability (GLA) responds to these challenges by shaping people’s local environmentswith a global perspective.

      The GLA program is designed to help students confidently navigate different socio-cultural and ecological settings in our increasingly globalised world. It, thus, responds to the rapidly evolving demands on the landscape architecture profession and the growing environmental challenges we face. Students learn to design, plan, and manage sustainable spaces, applying knowledge that links global drivers to local conditions.

      Throughout the program, students engage in analytical methods, design strategies, and critical thinking tools that equip them to address uncertain and unpredictable futures. By blending global awareness with local responsiveness, they discover how to guide landscape transformations that support ecological integrity and social justice.

    • Learning activities

      Preparation for and participation in lectures – with the use of academic literature and case studies will support the knowledge and critical thinking dimensions of the learning outcomes. Students will be able to connect their experiences and specific cases to relevant theoretical literature.

      Participation in seminars with teachers present – will teach the students to discuss subjects across disciplinary backgrounds and to explore and interrogate different sides to global and local landscape challenges. Students will be able to develop and frame their own projects and will review and critically assess relevant literature and case-study material, upon which to base the development of their projects.

      Studio-based project work will be related to physical sites with diverse contexts that the students must learn to analyse in order to develop their proposals. This studio work will offer both independent and group work projects, and group presentations will call upon the students to critique and constructively argue for and against each other’s work. The studio courses provide opportunities for and expect students to work independently within the thematic framework of the courses. Peer teaching based on an exchange of diverse disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives among participants will be encouraged and supported.

      Exercises – will be assigned in and outside the classroom for the students to practice different analysis methods, modes of representation and presentation skills. These will allow each student to spend time with a variety of methods, which they can later apply independently to project and research work.

      Fieldwork will be encouraged in order for students to experience new contexts, so that they can reflect upon contextual differences and ground their master’s research and proposals on complex, real-life situations. The students will be able to determine and design their own fieldwork experiences according to their particular interests, learning goals and needs, with the help of study advisors.

    • Examination
      The learning objectives of each course will be assessed through written assignments and project presentations, written and oral. The final presentations and written assignments must show and describe the student’s progress, process and use of methods throughout each term. Studio courses will include one-to-one feedback sessions throughout the term, as well as mid-term presentations or group discussions, along with the final presentations. Periodic course assessments to obtain student feedback will be run by the course responsible in the middle and end of each term.
    • Information for students from partner universities
      Courses from the first two semesters can be offered to students from partner universities.

Study advisor(s):

Grete Grindal Patil

Grete Grindal Patil

Dean