Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability

Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability

Master of science (2 year) Full time

Global development leads to formidable environmental, societal, and territorial challenges. Shaping livable spaces is the goal of landscape architecture, which is concerned with planning, designing and managing functional, attractive, and future-proof spaces that respond to human as well as ecological needs.

Global development leads to formidable environmental, societal, and territorial challenges. Shaping livable spaces is the goal of landscape architecture, which is concerned with planning, designing and managing functional, attractive, and future-proof spaces that respond to human as well as ecological needs.

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Ready to engage in the most pressing issues of our time? Combining practices from landscape architecture and studies in global development, planning and ecology, this programme offers a unique approach to global environmental and social challenges.

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Requirements

Bachelor in Landscape architecture or other related studies

Application deadline:

April 15th
International applicants:
December 1st

Number of students
25
Study start
Autumn 2021
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Study advisor(s)
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Contact info

Admission Office:
opptak@nmbu.no
Phone:  67 23 01 11

The programme will address some of the planet’s most urgent issues; climate change, environmental deterioration, natural hazards, regional conflicts, poverty and migration. 

The master's program Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability offers unique opportunities of studying and designing contested landscapes and territories. Contested landscape and territories are the object of contention or competition; human beings struggle for it.

The programme contains a sequence of three studio courses that apply a critical question-driven approach. Constant exchange of diverse disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives within participants will be encouraged and supported.

Job opportunities

Candidates graduating from this programme will be affiliated with the profession of landscape architecture.

Their environmental problem-solving skills suit potential future jobs at a variety of scales, for example in:

  • regional land-use planning
  • land management
  • environmental rehabilitation
  • master-planning
  • blue-green infrastructure
  • community activism, and site-design interventions, nationally as well as internationally.

Learning outcomes

The programme has a transdisciplinary focus and spans the traditional landscape architecture curriculum from landscape management, planning and design, including landscape ecology, as well as theory and methods from development studies. The programme has a research focus and is at a master level. The programme builds up from the Bachelor’s level of landscape architecture and related studies to an advanced level of global landscape architecture.

Exchange opportunities

The programme is developed as an international master’s degree programme, where students will be attracted from different parts of the world. The courses include group work that will provide many opportunities for the exchange of intercultural experience and knowledge. Courses will cover ethical concerns as well as knowledge about working internationally and experiencing cultural differences.

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

Admission requirements

Admission requires a Bachelor degree or an equivalent background in one of the following fields: Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, Development Studies, Resource Management, Environmental studies, Engineering and other relevant fields.  

Applicants must meet the University’s requirement for English language proficiency and include a 1-page (A4) motivation letter.

Applicants are expected to be able to express themselves visually.

NMBU requires that you have your own personal laptop in connection with learning activities or forms of assessment.

You can find general information on admission to NMBU here.

Combining practices from landscape architecture and studies in global development, this programme offers a unique approach to environmental and social challenges across the globe.

Study structure

Programme structure 2021

An introduction to Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability (GLA301) with its essential challenges like global urbanization, migration, climate change, loss of biodiversity, to name a few, in the first semester will be followed by extensive fieldwork abroad (GLA302). The topic of the first field course in autumn 2021 will be climate change adaptation. The comprehensive data, and rich experience—gathered in the field—will be subsequently processed within a design studio framework. Scientific analysis will be accompanied by theoretical and empirical reflection. Theoretical and historical perspectives on landscapes in a globalized world will be provided (GLA303).

Content touched upon in the first semester, will be furthered in the second studio course in a Nordic context (GLA304). In addition, students choose courses from a list of recommended courses focusing on either development, ecological or planning perspectives. These courses provide the opportunity to acquire deeper empirical and theoretical knowledge within the chosen perspective.

The third studio course (GLA305) follows up the thematic line of GLA302 and GLA304. Students are encouraged to start preparing for their master thesis. Moreover, students proceed with their thematic deepening by choosing courses from the list of recommended courses.

The last semester is reserved for the master’s thesis.



 

 

Study content

Social relevance:

Global development leads to environmental, societal, and territorial challenges - urbanization alters land use at alarming rates, migration and political change increasingly bring into question people’s rights to use landscapes, and at the same time climate change and natural disasters pose new risks to land development. These global challenges affect how people interact with and perceive their everyday surroundings. Shaping these surroundings is the goal of global landscape architecture - planning, designing and managing functional, beautiful and holistically sustainable places that respond to diverse human and ecological needs. A global landscape architecture education provides specific skills for working in ways that are sensitive to different contexts. As such, the field holds the potential to contribute meaningfully to international development and development assistance work that depends upon context-sensitivity and durability.

Learning outcomes:

 Learning outcomes:

Graduates of this programme shall have the following knowledge, skills, and general competences:

Knowledge: Graduates will have advanced knowledge within landscape architecture and particular insight regarding practices in a global context – considering sustainability, climate change, post-disaster and post-conflict situations. They will have in-depth knowledge of the design-thinking approach to problem solving along with field-based methods for qualitative research, landscape and context analyses, and action-research. Their exposure to inter- and trans-disciplinary teamwork will prepare them to apply and assess knowledge from different disciplines to develop new landscape architecture solutions. They will further understand historic and contemporary theory in landscape architecture and development studies and be able to critically consider the meanings of each in particular societal contexts.

Skills: Graduates will have the skills to analyse and critically consider different information sources and apply these to argue for their landscape architecture problem solutions. They will be able to analyse existing theories, methods and interpretations in landscape architecture and development studies against particular physical, social, environmental, and governance contexts in order to form independent theoretical and practical problem solutions. They will be able to identify and apply relevant qualitative and quantitative methods for research and landscape analysis purposes, as well as use them to inform practical solutions – both independently and in teams. Through studio courses and the master’s thesis, they will be able to execute independent projects with research, analysis, and design components, under supervision and aligned with ethical norms.

General competences: Graduates will be able to analyse the research ethics dimensions of landscape architectural problems, practices, and solutions. The programme will prepare them to apply their knowledge and skills to new areas to implement their competences in cases of environmental, societal, and territorial challenges. The studio courses will prepare the students to independently communicate and disseminate their ideas 1) to other professionals through landscape architecture presentation critiques, and 2) to the public through courses that incorporate workshop design and participatory methods. These two forums will additionally prepare the students to explain practical landscape problems, methods and analyses they employ, and to communicate their problem-solutions to different types of audiences, while accepting and incorporating critical feedback. The transdisciplinary nature of the programme will prepare the students to contribute with new approaches and innovation in landscape practices, by looking across geographical scales and disciplinary boundaries for inspiration and understanding.

Qualifications after graduation:

Candidates graduating from this programme will be affiliated with the profession of landscape architecture, prepared to contribute to providing common goods. Their environmental problem solving skills suit potential future jobs at a variety of scales, for example in: regional land-use planning, land management, environmental rehabilitation, master-planning, blue-green infrastructure, community activism, and site-design interventions, nationally as well as internationally.

Contents and structure:

Academic breadth (area, level, scope)

The programme has a transdisciplinary focus, and spans the traditional landscape architecture curriculum from landscape management, planning and design, including landscape ecology, as well as theory and methods from development studies.

Academic depth (area, level, scope)

The programme has a research focus and is at a master level.

The internal disciplinary connections

The programme builds up from the Bachelor’s level of landscape architecture and related studies to an advanced level of global landscape architecture.

Compulsory parts and electives

The programme consists of 60 ECTS compulsory credits including an introduction to Landscape Architecture for Global Sustainability, a theory course about ‘Landscape in a globalised world’ and a series of three studio courses with a focus on analysis and design of contested landscapes.

In addition, 30 ECTS are electives and the master thesis is 30 ECTS, both of which can be chosen by the students together with study and academic advisors.

Evaluation:

The learning objectives of each course will be assessed through written or project assignments and presentation. The final presentations and written assignments will 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 at the middle and end of each term.

Cooperation with other institutions:

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Arrangements, incoming exchange students:

All courses in the new programme will be conducted in English giving international students the opportunity to join the regularly outlined semesters and choose from a preselection of relevant LANDSAM electives (in English). Courses from the first two semesters can be offered to students from partner universities.

Admission requirements:

The programme will be administered in English and invite international and Norwegian students. Student intake will be based on a bachelor’s or master’s degree in landscape architecture or similar bachelor’s degrees. English competence must be evidenced with TOEFL. Applicants will be selected based on their grades, competences and a letter of interest, which describes how their educational motivation relates to global landscape architecture.

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 to understand different sides to global and local landscape challenges. Students will be able to define themes for discussion and collect relevant literature and case-study material upon which to base the discussions.

Studio-based problem solving – will allow the students to learn in a similar manner as in traditional landscape architecture education. Problems will be based upon real physical sites with a variety of contexts that the students must learn to analyse as part of developing solutions. These studios 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. Constant exchange of diverse disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives within participants will be encouraged and supported.

Exercises – will be assigned in and outside the classroom for the students to practice different analysis methods 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 for students to experiences new contexts, so that they can reflect upon contextual differences and ground their master’s research and problem-solving on complex, real-life situations. The students will be able to determine and design their own fieldwork experiences based on their particular interests, learning goals, and needs, with the help of study advisors.

Studies abroad:

Internationalisation

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). Courses from the first two semesters can be offered to students from partner universities.

The programme is developed as an international master’s degree programme, where students will be attracted from different parts of the world. The courses include group work that will provide many opportunities for the exchange of intercultural experience and knowledge. Courses will cover ethical concerns as well as knowledge about working internationally and experiencing cultural differences.