Landscape Architecture

Program Description

The Landscape Architecture Associate in Arts degree program provides students with the basic foundation and skills to pursue a career as a Landscape Architect. Program topics include design process and principles, site analysis, site planning, planting design, construction, topographic form, graphic representation, computer assisted design, and professional practice. Students with this degree will meet the minimum educational requirement to take the California Landscape Architects Registration Exam (LARE) and obtain basic skills necessary to start work in a professional landscape architecture, design-build, or garden design practice.

To qualify for the Associate in Arts Degree, students must satisfactorily complete the major requirements specified below and the local AA/AS general education requirements. The completion time for this degree program is generally 4 semesters. Completion time will vary based on student preparation and the number of units completed per semester.

This AA degree program requires:

1. Completion of at least 60 degree-applicable semester units including the following:
   1. A minimum of 18 semester units from the program (major) requirements
   2. A minimum of 21 units of local AA/AS General Education requirements
   3. A minimum of 12 of the 60 units must be completed at Merritt College
   4. Courses taken outside the Peralta Community College District will be reviewed and evaluated to determine if they are degree-applicable
   5. If the General Education and the major units do not total 60, complete degree-applicable elective course(s) to reach the required 60 units
2. A minimum grade of “C” (or “P”) for each course in the major
3. A minimum grade of “C” (or “P”) for General Education Area 1A: English Composition and Area 2: Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning
4. A minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 in General Education coursework and in all coursework for the degree

As this degree alone may not be complete preparation for transfer, students wishing to transfer to a 4-year institution should meet with a counselor to develop a plan that addresses all transfer requirements.

Career Opportunities

Our curriculum covers the topics essential for working in a professional design office: site analysis, site design, drainage and grading, planting design, construction and irrigation, field observation, graphic communication, and computer assisted design (CAD) skills. These skills provide students with a wide range of employment opportunities in offices specializing in public and private site design, urban planning, residential design, landscape restoration, public and municipal design agencies, and design-build. Every graduate of our A. A. program who has applied for work in professional offices has found it, and usually work alongside university LA graduates.

Learning Outcome(s)

1. Design landscapes that provide basic human comfort and livability.
2. Design landscapes that respond to and support regional ecology.
3. Design landscapes that meet client functional and financial objectives.