The UT Landscape Architecture Program has earned accreditation, making it the only accredited landscape architecture program in Tennessee and one of the few in the Southeast.
The Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board notified leaders of the program, which began in 2008 through a collaboration between the College of Architecture and Design and the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Its graduate-level curriculum focuses on the planning, design, and stewardship of constructed and natural environments.
Nearly all states, including Tennessee, require that license-seeking professionals in landscape architecture have professional degrees from accredited programs. UT was able to apply for accreditation after graduating its first class in May 2011.
“The university is proud to be a leader in the field of landscape architecture for the state and the Southeast,” UT Provost Susan Martin said.”We are pleased to offer our students, the state, and the industry a forward-thinking program of the highest caliber.”
Brad Collett, interim chair of the Landscape Architecture Program, called the accreditation “a milestone event for the entire university, our partner colleges, and the profession of landscape architecture in the state of Tennessee.”
“With enhanced national credibility and visibility, our faculty, students, and alumni now find ourselves at the threshold of seemingly limitless opportunities to make meaningful contributions to design in our communities and stewardship of our environment,” he said.
A team of external reviewers assessed the program by seven standards that included its educational values, curriculum, facilities, student and faculty accomplishments, and capabilities to achieve the program’s outlined long-term goals.
UT’s program offers three degrees: the Master of Landscape Architecture professional degree, the Master of Arts in Landscape Architecture, and the Master of Science in Landscape Architecture. The Master of Landscape Architecture professional degree prepares students to seek licensure, whereas the Master of Arts and Master of Science are offered for those who already have a professional degree in landscape architecture, or those who want to conduct research in landscape architecture but do not intend to pursue a career path that requires professional registration.
Over the last several years, landscape architecture students have participated in the New Norris House, the Haiti Project, and Living Light—the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon entry.
The program is a partner in a new $4.3 million grant given to the City of Knoxville through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. Students are helping find solutions to stormwater quality and flash flooding issues in Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, and Union counties.
The program is also part of a green infrastructure guide with the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission.
“The program is intent on delivering a solid education in the fundamentals of the profession,” Collett said. “But we also see advancing the design and stewardship of landscapes in our communities and enhancing the profession’s capacity and body of knowledge in Tennessee and beyond as central to our mission.”
UT officials credit partners from the Tennessee American Society of Landscape Architects, the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board, the Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture with helping to establish the program and contributing to its immediate success in many key areas.
Learn more about the UT Graduate Landscape Architecture Program.
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C O N T A C T:
Kiki Roeder (865-974-6713, kroeder@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)