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.

Global development leads to formidable environmental, societal, and territorial challenges.

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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.

Requirements

Bachelor in Landscape architecture or other related studies

Application deadline:

April 15th
International applicants:
December 1st

Number of students
25
Study start
Autumn 2022
See more
Study advisor(s)
Contact study advisors
Contact info

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

Shaping livable spaces is the goal of landscape architecture. It is concerned with planning, designing and managing functional, attractive, and future-proof spaces that respond to human as well as ecological needs. In this study programme we will address some of the planet’s most urgent issues; climate change, environmental deterioration, natural hazards, regional conflicts, poverty and migration. 

The programme 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

Career possibilities: "Water, wind and solar powered" - Interview with former students

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.

We're proud to be able to present students and their work on these webpages: https://www.nmbu.no/forside/studentutstillinger

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’s degree or an equivalent background in one of the following fields: Landscape Architecture, Landscape engineering, Architecture, Landscape planning, Urban Design, and Urban and Regional Planning.

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. All applicants must send a motivation letter of a maximum of 600 words where the questions listed below must be answered.  Admission will be partly based on the applicants' transcripts from previous educations and the motivation letter to ensure that well-qualified and motivated applicants are admitted. Those applicants who have no formal education within visualization are recommended to address their experience with visualization in their motivation letter.

  1. In what way do you think studies in landscape architecture will supplement your current academic qualifications and what career path do you imagine that the education at NMBU will give you?
  2. In what way do you think your personal background and your current professional qualifications may expand the academic perspective and enrich the learning environment of the NMBU Master programme?
  3. On one extra A4 page, present graphically one of your professional or academic projects/assignments that relate to the Master you want to enroll in.

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 program for more information. 

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

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 2022 will be ‘water’ and adaptation to water-caused challenges. 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.