Landscape Architecture Department
Our Programs
Our Mission
We deliver a fully accredited Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) for first-professional degree students and post-professional students (those already holding a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture or Bachelor of Architecture degree). Our program balances
theory and practice, emphasizing design to support human well-being and environmental balance.
Our students engage with issues of social justice, sustainability, and environmental racism and explore responses to these constructs through research and design.
Landscape Architecture Contacts
Something Else About Landscape Architecture Podcast
Landscape architecture is so much more than designing outdoor spaces. At its core, it's a discipline that blends art, ecology, design, and social understanding. It goes beyond gardens and parks, branching out to include projects that involve restoring ecosystems, designing for resiliency and longevity, planning spaces that are accessible and equitable, and adapting spaces in response to climate change. Listen as we discuss topics in the landscape architecture profession.
Accreditation
The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program has been fully accredited since 1983. The program had its scheduled accreditation review by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) on October 2-5, 2022. The current accreditation was awarded for a six-year period through December 31, 2028.
The MLA program is a STEM-designated program that allows international students on student visas an extended option of practical training in the United States following graduation.
Department News
Landscape Architecture Studio Performs Site Assessment of the Toronto District School Board
Professor Lois Brink’s
fall 2025 landscape architecture studio performed a site assessment of
the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) schoolyard greening. The
five-day trip to Toronto offered students an immersive opportunity to
explore Canada’s rich native legacy, multicultural heritage, and vast
ecological sovereignty. This effort is in collaboration with TDSB’s
sustainability office and the national nonprofit, Evergreen. Master of
Landscape Architecture students returned to Denver, inspired by Canada’s
hospitality, with two design pilot projects.
The Landscape Architecture Immersive Studio Connects with Wind River Food Sovereignty Project
The immersive studio offered site planning and design support to the Wind River Food Sovereignty Project on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. The organization recently purchased a 30-acre farm with the intention of converting it to a food sovereignty hub focused on food access, the availability of culturally-desired foods and medicinal plants, and education. The studio spent a week in the area and four days camping on the farm to get to know the site in an immersive way.
Zohran Mamdani's New York City Mayoral Campaign Features Professor Lois Brink's Learning Landscapes as Case Study for New York City Parks
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani shared his plan for Green Schools for a Healthier New York City in May 2025. This proposal aims to invest in the children of New York City by creating union jobs and cleaning the city's air, while revitalizing public schools with healthy, green infrastructure. The Mamdani campaign recognized Professor Lois Brink's Learning Landscapes are a record of proven success from the creation of green schoolyards in Denver.
Landscape Architecture Students Participate in Cultural Landscape Inventory for the Amache National Historic Site
Once a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans, the Amache National Historic Site in Granada, Colorado is the focus of a three-year Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI) project funded by a National Park Service grant. Assistant Professor Louise Bordelon, principal investigator and Professor and Associate Dean Ann Komara, co-investigator, are working with landscape architecture students to perform the CLI of the site.
Landscape Architecture Students Reflect on the Natchez Trace Parkway Immersive Studio Experience
Each year, the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver takes third-year Master of Landscape Architecture students to locations across the United States, expanding their experiences beyond the familiarity of Denver and introducing them to new places, people, and community needs. In recent years, students visited the Great Basin Desert, New Orleans, and, most recently, the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Landscape Architecture Students Win National Design and Build Competition
Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students Aidan Nowell and Stevie Pearlman won first place in the 2024 Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) National Design and Build Competition. This year’s competition theme was “Land Art: Celestial Architecture.” Their project, Listen to the Moon, invites visitors to the Farewell Spit in the South Island of New Zealand, to reignite their connection with the Moon and its tidal influence on life on Earth.
Professor Lois Brink’s Learning Landscapes Promote the Health, Well-being, Sustainability, and Economic Value of Our Communities
Landscape Architecture Professor Lois Brink began her research and the implementation of Learning Landscapes in 1998 when she experienced first-hand the inadequacies of her child’s elementary schoolyard. Today, Learning Landscapes has become a $50 million design and construction initiative that has transformed all 96 Denver public elementary schools.