ETH Master of Science in Landscape Architecture

The Department of Architecture at ETH Zürich offers a new two-year Master’s degree program in Landscape Architecture (MScLA). It redefines the goals and boundaries of landscape architecture as a design discipline through the development of new tools and methods that will vary according to project location, scale and time. 

Studies
The unprecedented global challenges of the 21st century call for new design intelligence in landscape architecture, and provide a unique opportunity to construct a built environment that adapts to a changing planet and encourages an engaged and just society. In the midst of environmental disaster and sociopolitical transformation, design is a medium for change.

The Master in Sciences of Landscape Architecture (MScLA) at ETH prepares a new generation of landscape architects to respond to increasingly complex situations and unforeseen phenomena. By centering observation, experimentation, and synthetic thinking, the program enables students to imagine creative and sustainable solutions on the scale of the city and landscape.

Deeply grounded in the history and theory of the discipline, the MScLA rigorously engages with the past in order to reimagine the future. This dynamic moment requires interdisciplinary collaborations with the humanities and sciences to develop hybrid methodologies that are able to respond to the pressing questions of climate change adaptation, social equity, landscapes in transition, and regenerative management of ecological resources. Initiated by Prof. Christophe Girot and Prof. Günther Vogt and today run by Prof. Teresa Galí-Izard at the Institute of Urban Studies (LUS) in the Department of Architecture, the program is set within the renowned technical innovation and research happening at ETH Zurich and is uniquely positioned to collaborate with scientists and engineers who are exploring the boundaries of their fields. Intensive interdisciplinary collaboration enables the development of design and planning methods that traverse scales through the use of big data, GIS-based 3D landscape modelling, and robotics. Parametric and rule-based design approaches facilitate these collaborations and enable us to develop more adaptive strategies and infrastructures.

Graduate profile
Equipped with the knowledge, tools and inventiveness necessary for responding to increasingly complex societal and environmental scenarios, graduates are trained to work through different cultures and contexts across a range of scales—from the design of a place to adaptive management at regional scales. They will learn respond to existing urban and peri-urban conditions in order to develop creative, rigorous and technically sophisticated design strategies in collaboration with other disciplines With this novel profile, graduates will open new fields of activity and research in landscape architecture. 

Duration
It is full-time, and lasts four semesters plus six months for the required internship. It awards 120 ECTS credits.

Admissions and eligibility
Candidates who successfully completed a Bachelor’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture from a university with at least 180 ECTS or equivalent are eligible to apply for the ETH Master’s degree program in Landscape Architecture. The program is also suitable for architects who already have a Master’s degree and would like to specialize in landscape architecture.
The teaching language is English. To be admitted, proof of sufficient knowledge of English (level C1) must be provided. A motivation letter and a portfolio are required for the application.

Application deadlines
The first period, November 1–December 15, 2022, is compulsory for all students with a Bachelor’s degree from outside Switzerland (extra-EU, EU/EFTA), students with a Swiss Bachelor’s degree who require a visa to study in Switzerland and currently do not have a valid residence permit, and for students who wish to apply for the Excellence & Opportunity Scholarship Programme (ESOP)/ETH D-Scholarship. This first application window is also open to all applicants.

The second period, April 1–30, 2023, is only for students with a Swiss Bachelor’s degree who do not need a visa to study in Switzerland or who already have a Swiss residence permit by the time of application.

The program starts in Autumn 2023.

How to apply
For more information about the program, please contact us here or at the Admission Office.