Landscape Architecture (B.S.)

What is regenerative design? It’s the key to today’s landscape architecture, the kind that goes beyond mere beauty to enhance our quality of life over time. As you shift from the study of existing works to grappling with real sites and real stakeholders, you’ll discover the passion that drives this inspiring and challenging field.


Regeneration of our natural and human systems is a process by which these systems grow and evolve on their own in a healthy way. As landscape architects, we cannot design regeneration, but we can design the stage to give regenerative processes the best chance for success. As a student in the landscape architecture program, you will develop your capabilities through our unique Regenerative Design Process.

You will explore problem-solving strategies in both theory and practice as we balance the study of existing works with real site, real stakeholder projects. Our design studios combine hand drawings with computer graphics to uncover the story of place and to communicate a vision for its future. You will learn practical, hands-on building practices to accompany your designs, ensuring a well-rounded set of skills and knowledge to prepare you for the industry or graduate school.

In our hands-on program you will experience the passion of creating meaningful places such as:

  • Gardens, parks and plazas
  • School and healthcare campuses
  • Waterfronts and storefronts
  • Urban agriculture and real estate development
  • Streetscapes
  • Rooftop gardens and water management systems
  • Land assessments and feasibility studies
100%
real-world experience
A female rider and horse in silhouette walking in a barn.
Four college-aged students walking together under some trees.
$28,000
average scholarship and grant amount awarded to freshmen in 2023-24
14:1
student to faculty ratio
College-aged students in a classroom.
Dr. Jaclyn Fiola in a soil pit with a shovel, smiling at the camera.
Influencer: Dr. Jaclyn Fiola

See how Dr. Fiola gets her hands dirty with our students to teach them all things soils. 

Tour Our Landscape Architecture and Design Facilities

landscape video cover

Delaware Valley University in the 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show

DelVal landscape architecture students were featured in the news about their exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show. 

Philadelphia 2023 Flower Show Exhibit featuring colorful flowers and painted architecture.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT-A-GLANCE

Core Courses

  • Introduction to Design
  • Basic Plant Management
  • Computer-Aided Design
  • Woody Plant Identification I and II
  • Topographical Surveying & GIS
  • Site Engineering I and II
  • Watershed Management
  • Regional Land Use Planning
  • Landscape Contracting and Bidding
  • Design Studio I: Design Process and Communication
  • Design Studio II: Site Design
  • Design Studio III: Master Planning
  • Design Studio IV: Built Environments
  • Design Studio V: Natural Systems
  • Design Studio VI: Senior Projects

Recommended Minors

Brian Lutz with students
NEW! One Health Communication Minor

The One Health Communication minor provides students with the opportunity to bridge the study of writing and rhetoric with the sciences. Students who complete this minor will enhance their analytical and communication skills related to sciences including the University’s pre-veterinary, pre-health, STEM and science programs. They will gain skills for effectively communicating science topics to non-scientists and the general public.

Landscape Architecture students working with professors.
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The Experience360 Program gives you the opportunity to apply classroom lessons to real-world activities like internships, career exploration experiences, student research, study abroad, leadership development and more.

Career Paths

With 100 percent of our students having real-world, hands-on experience, graduates with a degree in landscape architecture are able to work for:

  • Agricultural research agencies and consulting companies
  • Conservation research agencies
  • Entrepreneurial design/build/stewardship start-ups
  • Environmental advocacy and conservation nonprofits
  • Environmental consulting, remediation and engineering companies
  • Environmental stewardship organizations
  • Landscape architecture and interdisciplinary firms
  • Landscape design/build companies
  • Local, state and national environmental protection employers
  • Park services
  • Private land owners, municipalities and nonprofits
  • Public and nonprofit environmental agencies
  • Soil science employers
  • Tree care and forestry employers
  • Water quality and watershed management employers
A female DelVal student working on a Flower Show display.
Get Involved
Student Clubs & Organizations
  • American Society of Landscape Architects - Reach beyond aesthetics and attend to real issues that will positively affect tomorrow!
  • Floral Society - Expand your knowledge through field trips, speakers and practicing floral techniques!
  • A-Day - Work with other students to host our annual fair on campus!

LAAB ACCREDITATION

The Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture offers fully accredited Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture programs. Maintaining accreditation is a central requirement of offering a professional degree in Landscape Architecture.

Accreditation is granted by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), an autonomous committee of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). the LAAB evaluates and confers accreditation upon landscape architecture programs which have demonstrated the ability to meet externally mandated minimum standards as well as their own stated program objectives.

Accreditations conferred by LAAB last for a term of five years. DelVal was re-accredited in the summer of 2023.    

Accreditation and Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board

PUBLIC INFORMATION POLICY LAAB

Programs that are accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) are required to provide reliable information to the public. Programs must report on accreditation status and its performance. This information is to help potential students make informed application decisions. Graduates of accredited programs qualify, after apprenticeship and a professional exam, to become licensed Landscape Architects. Please click here for more information about becoming a Landscape Architect.

Delaware Valley University offers a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture (BSLA). Our program is accredited by The Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) though June 30, 2025.

Contact
Dr. Jacqueline A. Ricotta, Chair, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Professor

Office: Feldman 115

A student is standing and presenting his project
ASLA Logo
Landscape Architecture students working with a professor in the design studio.
Landscape Architecture students working with markers on a large printed project.