Accreditation Information

Launched in 2010, the Sam Fox School’s Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program is the only accredited graduate-level landscape architecture program in the state of Missouri. Students are able to earn an accredited professional degree in either two or three years, depending on their undergraduate background. The program received a 6-year accreditation term in 2019 from the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board; the next accreditation visit is scheduled for 2025.

The mission of Washington University’s Master of Landscape Architecture program is to produce professional landscape architects who will shape, enhance, and protect the environment, integrating art, science, and the humanities through excellence in design.

• To foster interactive, cross-disciplinary practices that cultivate innovative, adaptive urban and environmental design strategies

• To inculcate awareness of the codes and modes of visualization, representation, and communication that frame and produce designed landscapes

• To analyze, critique and reformulate the economical and political processes that regulate spatial practices, by means of focused design research

• To overcome the separation of human and nonhuman systems through the design of democratic terrains

Formal education is just one component of the process to obtain a professional license in landscape architecture; each state has its own set of education and experience requirements to sit for the Landscape Architect Registration Exam (LARE). For more information about professional licensure in each state please consult the American Society of Landscape Architects or the MLA Licensure Spreadsheet (below) and follow the link to your state.

Washington University in St. Louis has verified that the Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program meets the educational requirements for professional licensure in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For information about licensure in U.S. territories, please see the information provided on the MLA Licensure Spreadsheet.

In the 2023-24 school year, full-time tuition for students in the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis (including students in the Master of Landscape Architecture program) is $29,513 per semester. There is an additional $150 student activity fee and a $616 health and wellness fee. NOTE: Travel is an important part of the learning experience. There are usually one or two field trips each semester (when public health conditions permit travel). Students should budget for travel costs of $1,000 per semester.

WashU student health insurance costs $2,343 per year. Please note: U.S. students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents) may waive student health insurance if they have health insurance through another provider, plan, organization, or family member. All international students are required to participate in the basic student health plan on a mandatory basis unless there is proof of U.S. insurance through a U.S. employer via an employed parent or spouse. Please visit the Student Health Services website for full details about health insurance plans and waivers.

All charges are split between fall and spring semesters except student health insurance, which is billed in the fall semester. Tuition and fees for each semester are payable approximately two weeks before the first day of classes. The University reserves the right to change the fees stated or to establish additional fees at any time without prior written notice. When fee changes or additions are made, they become effective with the next payment due.

The cost of tuition plus living expenses brings fall and spring semester expenses (i.e., a 9-month period) to an estimated total of $84,705.

A non-refundable acceptance deposit of $400 is due once students express their intent to enroll in the MLA program. The deposit is credited toward the first semester’s tuition charges. Specific instructions regarding this deposit will be provided along with acceptance materials. In the event the applicant fails to matriculate, the deposit is not refundable.

Financial aid is a strong focus for the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design. We realize that finances are an important consideration for students in our program. During the 2022-23 academic year, 94 percent of graduate architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design students received financial support, with financial awards ranging from $5,000 to $55,586 annually.

Financial aid packages awarded through the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design often consist of a combination of scholarship and loan assistance. Sam Fox School scholarships are awarded by the Graduate Scholarship Committee of the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design to applicants for financial aid—no separate application is required. These scholarships include the Sam Fox Ambassadors Graduate Fellowship Program, which awards 10 full-tuition scholarships plus travel stipends each year to outstanding candidates across its graduate degree programs, and the Sam Fox School Director’s Full-Tuition Award, awarded to one member of the incoming class in each program (MArch, MLA, MUD) for the duration of their degree program. In addition, Washington University offers additional scholarship opportunities that require separate applications. For a detailed list of available scholarships, visit our Graduate Scholarships & Financial Aid page.

Students who expect to be reliant on any amount of scholarship support from the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design to assist in the funding of their graduate studies are required to apply for financial aid no later than February 15. An application for financial aid will not influence decisions for graduate admission, so there is no penalty for seeking aid. Financial aid awards, including all scholarships, are based on considerations of academic excellence and financial need. Our policy is to provide aid to as many applicants as possible by distributing awards to more students rather than concentrating larger awards to fewer students. Scholarship funding is limited, and priority is given to candidates who meet the application deadline. Visit the Graduate Scholarships & Financial Aid page of our website for full information.