Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA)

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Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA)

ACCREDITATION

The BLA program is the only program of its kind in the MENA region and received accreditation in 2021 making it the first accredited program by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) outside the USA.

The Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Program offers students a professional degree that qualifies them to practice landscape architecture. The program aims to graduate well-rounded intellectuals, critical thinkers, and skilled professional landscape architects who are committed to the advancement of the field and the practice; and who have a sense of responsibility for the built environment and the natural resources. Design is approached as a research-oriented process that is culturally grounded, theoretically informed, and technically advanced so as to enable graduates to become lifelong learners and to take a leading role in the professional practice both in Lebanon and the region.

Program Description

The landscape architecture program comprises a total of 144 credit hours taken over four years, including summers. The curriculum emphasizes teaching and research that highlight issues of sustainability and resilience across arid and semi-arid climates, further distinguishing the program on a regional scale. The program values and promotes civic engagement of students and faculty within and outside its context through coursework, field trips, experiential learning, and internships, helping to prepare its graduates for various career tracks in the profession.
The curriculum is structured as follows:

Two foundation years, first and second, with core requirements in design, ecological science, and technical courses which offer students basic skills and knowledge in landscape architecture and related areas.
Two advanced years, the third and fourth, with core requirements in advanced design, ecological and technical courses, reinforced by distribution electives. The program includes a multi-disciplinary model of landscape architecture teaching, culminating in a two-semester capstone project.

BLA Program Learning Outcomes

Landscape Architecture students will graduate with a solid foundation in design and scientific knowledge to:

(Regional Concerns) Integrate regional concerns (environmental, cultural, social, and economic) into landscape architecture projects.
(Professional Practice) Formulate a basic understanding of professional practice processes.
(Ethics) Integrate ethical values in professional design and practice.
(Communication) Communicate ideas and concepts of landscape architecture orally, textually, and graphically.
(Design Process) Develop the sequence of the design process.
(Sustainability) Integrate ecosystems as a component of sustainable landscapes in Mediterranean semi-arid and arid contexts.
(Integration) Develop a design process that promotes relationships between the different elements of Landscape Architecture.
(Interdisciplinary Integration) Integrate design, science, and engineering in landscape design, planning, and management.
(Experiential Learning) Develop hands-on and experiential learning skills.
(History/Theory/Research) Integrate principles of landscape architectural history, theory, science, and research.
(Technology and Innovation) Integrate technology and innovation into thinking processes and applications.

Key Figures

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements in Landscape Architecture consist of the following:

96 credit hours of mandatory core courses.
30 credit hours of approved LDEM electives, distributed as follows:

3 credit hours in Category A: Design
3 credit hours in Category B: Ecology and Plant Sciences
3 credit hours in Category C: History and Theory
21 credit hours in any of categories A, B, or C

18 credit hours of free electives in consultation with the academic advisor.
30 credit hours of General Education courses (Total GE requirement of 39 credit hours includes 9 credits satisfied within the Landscape Architecture core program). To meet the General Education requirements of AUB, students must take:

6 credit hours in Understanding Communication (English), including ENGL 203 and ENGL 206.
3 credit hours in Understanding Communication (Arabic).
9 credit hours of approved electives in Cultures and Histories, including LDEM 207 and 208.

3 credit hours of approved elective in Human Values.
6 credit hours of approved electives in Societies and Individuals.
3 credit hours of approved electives in Understanding the World and Quantitative Reasoning.

3 credit hours of an approved elective in Community Engaged Learning (can be satisfied from a GE course, program course, or field elective).

Additional Thematic requirements: One of the GE courses above has to cover the theme of History of Ideas (CVSP/CHLA designation), and one course has to cover the theme of Social Inequalities.

To meet the AUB General Education Requirements (24 credits must be taken outside the school):

6 credit hours of English including ENGL 206.
3 credit hours of Arabic, as per placement test.
12 credit hours of approved electives in humanities, including LDEM 207 and 208.
6 credit hours of an approved elective in social sciences.
6 credit hours of an approved elective in natural sciences.
3 credit hours of an approved elective in quantitative thought.

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