Programmatic accreditation is a non-governmental, peer-review process that ensures that a degree program meets quality standards established by the profession. The Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) accreditation process evaluates each program on the basis of its stated objectives and compliance to externally mandated minimum standards.
Mission and Goals
Our Mission
Landscape architects utilize both art and science in planning and design, creating environments of natural, social, cultural, and aesthetic value.
The Landscape Architecture Program at West Virginia University equips students with the critical thinking and design skills, and technical knowledge to engage in successful careers. Our program contributes to quality of life in both urban and rural areas and improves how humans interact with their environments. We promote stewardship and address the rapidly growing environmental, social, and economic challenges of tomorrow.
E ducational Goals
We prepare students for challenging and satisfying careers through a rigorous curriculum, building broad professional skills and technical strengths across the full spectrum of the discipline.We ensure students develop practical experience through experiential learning, internships, and study abroad. We foster critical thinkers and future leaders for ever-changing environmental, economic, and societal challenges.
We collaborate across disciplines on campus to enhance course offerings, creative scholarship, and research opportunities. We develop and build teams to address critical regional and global problems.
We involve students in research, design, and creative inquiry. We innovate and integrate engaged scholarship with research, teaching, and service.
We instill responsibility and stewardship: we uplift communities to support our land grant mission by engaging with communities in West Virginia and the Appalachian region. Through service-learning, we share the skills of the faculty and students of the Landscape Architecture Program.
We provide supportive learning environments and safe spaces. We welcome diverse students and are respectful of all cultural and societal perspectives. We are committed to the success of first-generation and underrepresented students.
Program Learning Outcomes
Landscape Architecture is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discipline. Students who complete the Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture (BSLA) will:
- Develop a solid professional educational foundation, building knowledge and skills of: graphics, written and oral communication, site analysis, multi-scaled site design, detailing and construction, plant materials, site grading, and professional practice.
- Apply critical thinking and theory to address societal, economic, and environmental challenges; understand the breadth of landscape architecture, cultural history and contemporary issues and the tool of design as an agent of change.
- Create designs that respond to the needs of the environment and society’s health, safety and welfare, reflecting the standards of the landscape architecture profession and demonstrating innovation.
- Demonstrate best practices promoting environmental sustainability, justice, and inclusivity for all, addressing the needs of universal access and underrepresented and marginalized communities.
- Contribute to community development and quality of life through local and regional service-learning projects. Analyze and apply design skills to solving real-life problems in diverse environments. Build skills in leadership, client relations and stakeholder engagement.
- Apply professional ethical standards and social responsibility to benefit outdoor places, the public, and clients.
Accreditation Status
WVU’s four-year BSLA program is LAAB-accredited, due for review next in the spring of 2026.
Estimated Cost of Attendance
For the 2025-2026 academic year, tuition and fees for the Davis College of Agriculture and Resources, the home of the Landscape Architecture Program are as follows (per WVU Morgantown Undergraduate On-Campus Tuition and Fees by Enrolled Program 2025-26):
Tuition and Fees Per Credit Hour Up to 12 Hours
|
Residency |
University Tuition |
University Fees |
College Tuition |
Total |
|
Undergraduate Resident |
$388 |
$60 |
$51 |
$499 |
|
Undergraduate Non-Resident |
$1,208 |
$60 |
$61 |
$1,329 |
Tuition and Fees Per Semester
|
Residency |
University Tuition |
University Fees |
College Tuition |
Total |
|
|
Undergraduate Resident |
$4,656 |
$720 |
$612 |
$5,988 |
|
|
Undergraduate Non-Resident |
$14,496 |
$720 |
$732 |
$15,948 |
|
In addition to the totals above, a $125 Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee is billed as a separate item each fall and spring term.
For more information about fees, tuition and other expenses, scholarships and financial aid, visit here and here.
S cholarships & Support
The following scholarships are available for BSLA students. Additional West Virginia University wide scholarships are available, including the Promise Scholarship for in-state students (up to $5,500 per year).
- The Jack Paules Endowed Scholarship is for third- and/or fourth-year BSLA students.
- The McHale Family Landscape Architecture Scholarship is awarded annually and is based on financial need and academic performance.
- The Miller Creative Writing Award is an endowed award allocated to landscape architecture students based on the results of an open writing competition.
- The John R. Tschiderer LA Education Experience Fund (LEEF) is an endowment that provides annual awards to landscape architecture students (and faculty) for special activities, including conference travel, with award amounts typically in the range of $500 to $2,500.
- Students who are West Virginia residents may qualify for additional scholarships through the West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association. Third and fourth-year students are eligible to apply for the Marcus W. Rennix scholarship (in 2025: $5,000). Incoming first-year students can apply for the George W. Longenecker scholarship, which funds in-state tuition for two years (about $8,600 per year).
- Students who are financial aid eligible can pursue work study positions within the landscape architecture program, for example as undergraduate teaching assistants (typically earning $1,500 - $3,000 during an academic year). Work Study positions also provide SNAP benefits.
- Students minoring or double majoring in Horticulture are eligible for the Katharine M. Grossup Scholarship in Horticulture ($2,500). The West Virginia Garden Club supports a $3,000 Horticulture and Environmental Studies scholarship, for which landscape architecture students are eligible to apply, and a $500 Esther J. Hinchman scholarship for West Virginia high school students entering college. The National Garden Club also sponsors scholarships (up to $4,000).
- BSLA students are eligible to enter the annual undergraduate research symposium competition, which in some years has cash prizes (up to $400). They can also apply for $5,000 support through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience ( SURE).
- The study abroad trip (LARC 444, Western European Gardens, Landscapes and Architecture) has, for some students, been partially funded for Pell Grant eligible students through WVU’s Gilman Scholarship (up to $5,000). Additional scholarships for study abroad are offered by WVU.
- Students may be eligible for additional grants/awards through the Landscape Architecture Foundation and other sources. Program alumni continue their generous support of our BSLA students on a case-by-case basis.
Student Retention & Graduation Rates
The retention rate, defined as the percentage of freshmen that return for their sophomore year, has been 72% for the cohort starting in 2019, 58% for the 2020 cohort, 68% for the 2021 cohort, 60% for the 2022 cohort, and 69% for the 2023 cohort.
Number of Degrees Granted Per Year
From academic year 2019-2020 to academic year 2023-2024, 87 degrees were awarded for an average of 17.4 degrees per year.
Percentage of Students with Timely Graduation
The graduation rate, defined as the percentage of freshmen that ultimately graduate from the program, has been 56% (4- and 6-year) for the cohort starting in Fall 2017, 52% (4-year) and 57% (6-year) for the Fall 2018 cohort, and 48% (4- and 6-year) for the 2019 cohort.
Required/Optional Materials & Equipment
The first-year drafting and drawing supply kits typically cost about $500 (with costs split between Fall and Spring semesters, LARC 120 and LARC 121). For incoming 2024 and 2025 student cohorts, Gateway Engineering purchased supplies for all first-year BSLA students.
Students have access to design software in computer labs but by the end of the second-year studio sequence, students have typically purchased a computer that is capable of efficiently running programs with graphic intensive applications extensively used during the third- and fourth-year studios. The approximate cost of a computer of this capability is around $2,500 (see recommended specifications, attached). In Fall 2025, we established mini computer labs with five shared access computer workstations equipped with Adobe Suite, AutoCAD and SketchUp software, for students in each studio to use as needed.
Students typically incur about $100 in poster printing costs during second-year studios. In fourth year, they print posters and capstone booklets (estimated cost per student, $100).
Students can access 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, vacuum-formers, laser engravers and other rapid prototyping equipment through the Lane Innovation Hub, for the cost of materials (e.g., $0.05/gram for 3D printing, $1-$6/square foot for plywood and acrylic). Students must be trained on equipment before use.
Supplemental Learning Opportunities
Second-year students take day trips to Phipps Conservatory, Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, with trip costs supported by foundation funds.
Fourth-year students often travel to the ASLA conference, if it is hosted within a reasonable driving distance, at no or minimal cost to students.
During the third year, supporting technical studios LARC 331/S: Advanced Grading and Stormwater and LARC 360/S: Natural Systems Design involve experiential learning. From August through November, LARC 360/S students engage in plant ID hikes, field sketching exercises, stream survey assignment, and site visits. In October, students take a 3-day class camping trip tour of West Virginia ecosystems, with most equipment borrowed from peers and faculty at no cost. The School for Community and Economic Development supported the cost of campground fees and necessary camping equipment in Fall 2024 and 2025, leaving students responsible for just gas and meals (about $100).
As BSLA 2024 graduate Alaira Hudson commented (see this profile):
“We spent our time outside getting familiar with native plants and ecosystems, sketching and learning how to ‘read the forest’ to determine the health of a site by recognizing signs of disturbance, such as fire, logging, mining and invasive species.... Every year, the natural systems students take a class camping trip, which was a great bonding experience as well as an awesome opportunity to take in the natural beauty of West Virginia.”
In April of third year, LARC 331/S: Advanced Grading and Stormwater students contribute typically two days of classwork to ground truthing and/or flagging a planned trail corridor: applying principles from lecture to a local project.
Core studio classes in the third year (LARC 350/S and LARC 351/S) similarly emphasize service-learning and include visits to communities for participatory design and planning, usually at no cost to students.
Opportunities for study abroad include the LARC 444 Summer Semester: International Experience Western European Gardens, Landscapes and Architecture (6 credits), which costs about $6,000. The course qualifies for student financial aid; some students have found sponsorship for the trip. The West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association (WVNLA) partially subsidized the trip in Summer 2025 (with a gift of $10,000) to reduce student costs for this optional trip, which can count as the required internship for students. Gilman scholarships (up to $4,000) often help students afford the study abroad experience.
Post-Graduation Employment
The BSLA program regularly surveys graduates in order to get a picture of their employment status post-graduation. From academic year 2019-2020 to academic year 2023-2024, 25 alumni are working in private practice and 1 is employed in landscape horticulture and design-build practice. They correspond to 65.2% and 22.2% of the respondents respectively.
Number of Licensed Faculty
Three of our faculty members are licensed landscape architects:
- Professor Orr (WV# 400 and PA #LA002906)
- Professor Haas (WV#393)
- Professor Staniscia (in Italy)
Higher Education Disclosure Act
In accordance with the Higher Education Act, the West Virginia University BSLA program meets the educational requirements for licensure eligibility in each U.S. state.