Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design

2 Years On Campus Masters Program

Harvard University

Program Overview

Harvard University’s Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD) is a two-year, four-semester post-professional program designed for students with professional training in landscape architecture who want to advance into contemporary urban design practice and research. Students explore urban design through intensive studios, applied research, urban history and theory, and flexible electives, addressing challenges such as housing, infrastructure, inequality, climate change, environmental conditions, and public health.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: The first year establishes a strong foundation in urban design through STU 1221 Elements of Urban Design Core Studio, where students develop design strategies for complex urban environments, alongside SES 4496 Urban Design Contexts and Operations and SES 5210 Cities by Design. Students then progress to the STU 1500 Urban Planning and Design Studio Option, combining intensive studio work with distributional or general electives that explore urban systems, forms, development, and related areas.

Year 2: In the second year, students build a more individualized pathway through advanced Option Studio work and distributional or general electives, with the opportunity to pursue specialized urban-design interests across the GSD and Harvard. Students choosing the thesis pathway undertake ADV 9204 Preparation for Independent Thesis Proposal for UPD followed by ADV 9302 Independent Thesis, while other students can continue with additional option studios and electives.

Focus areas: Urban design, contemporary urbanism, urban history and theory, models of development, urban systems and forms, housing, infrastructure, public realm, environmental challenges, climate change, public health, inequality, applied research

Learning outcomes: Advanced urban-design research and practice skills, ability to develop formal and organizational strategies for complex urban environments, critical understanding of urban history and theory, analysis of socio-spatial dynamics, interdisciplinary design problem-solving, applied research and independent thesis development

Professional alignment (accreditation): The MLAUD is a post-professional degree in urban design, intended for individuals who have already completed a professional program in landscape architecture or its equivalent; Harvard describes it as a post-professional urban design program rather than an accredited professional landscape architecture degree.

Reputation (employability rankings): Harvard GSD states that Harvard established the first formal North American urban design program in 1960 and describes the institution as having played a leading role in urban planning and urban design education; a program-specific employability ranking is not stated on the official program pages.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Harvard’s Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD) is a two-year, studio-based program where students develop advanced urban design skills through intensive design studios, applied research, seminars, and interdisciplinary coursework. Students work with complex urban conditions involving housing, infrastructure, public space, inequality, climate change, environmental concerns, and public health, while the program’s studio culture gives them opportunities to test ideas through design, representation, research, and physical making. The curriculum includes the Elements of Urban Design Core Studio, Urban Planning and Design Option Studio, and opportunities for advanced studios, electives, and individual or collective research.

Students can strengthen this practical learning through Harvard GSD’s specialized digital, fabrication, research, and library resources, connecting urban design concepts with digital modelling, GIS, physical prototyping, and material experimentation:

Urban Design Studios: The Elements of Urban Design Core Studio and Urban Planning and Design Option Studio provide intensive studio-based learning focused on contemporary urban design strategies and complex built environments. Students develop and communicate design proposals through studio work and reviews.
Real Urban Sites: Studio teaching can involve specific urban sites and contemporary planning challenges. Harvard’s landscape architecture studios, for example, have investigated Boston City Hall Plaza and Christian A. Herter Park along the Charles River, allowing students to examine public space, landscape transformation, ecology, politics, and urban conditions through site-based design work.
Collaborative Projects: The program supports individual and collective research, while the GSD’s studio environment brings together students from architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design. The program also showcases interdisciplinary student projects involving MLAUD students and students from other GSD programs.
Digital Design Software: GSD computer labs provide specialized software used in contemporary design education, including Rhino 7 & 8, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, ArcGIS, and Autodesk. These resources support digital modelling, visualization, mapping, and representation relevant to urban design projects.
Digital Media Workshops: Harvard GSD’s Digital Media Workshops provide project-based training and software tutorials, including Rhino, 3ds Max, Grasshopper, Houdini, Blender, and Digital Project, helping students develop advanced digital workflows for studio projects.
Fabrication Lab: Students can turn digital and conceptual designs into physical models and prototypes through the GSD Fabrication Lab, which provides CNC routers, milling and cutting machines, 3D printers, 3D scanners, laser cutters, Zünd cutters, wood-shop and metal-shop facilities.
Digital & Physical Prototyping: The Fabrication Lab supports material experimentation, prototyping, testing, physical mock-ups, and design research. It also provides technologies such as structured-light 3D scanners, Microsoft HoloLens 2, Azure Kinect DK, and Oculus Quest 2 for digital and extended-reality exploration.
Mapping & GIS: The Frances Loeb Library provides dedicated mapping and GIS resources, including access to geospatial and statistical data and research support that can strengthen urban analysis and spatial research.
Research Resources: MLAUD students can engage with Harvard GSD resources including the Advanced Studies Programs, Aga Khan Program, Joint Center for Housing Studies, and Loeb Fellowship, while the wider Landscape Architecture Department also highlights resources such as the Harvard Forest, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard Center for the Environment, and Dumbarton Oaks.
Library & Research Support: The Frances Loeb Library supports design research, teaching, writing, and GIS/geospatial work through research consultations, writing sessions, research guides, workshops, and individual and group workspaces.
Field-Based Learning: GSD courses can include field trips and semester-long projects, while students may also cross-register for courses at other Harvard schools, MIT, and Tufts, broadening their exposure to related disciplines and urban research.
Advanced Research: The program encourages advanced individual and collective research and provides the possibility of developing an individual elective thesis, allowing students to investigate a focused urban-design question in greater depth.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Harvard Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD) prepares experienced landscape architects to work at the intersection of landscape architecture, urban design, research, and complex built-environment challenges. Graduates can pursue opportunities across landscape architecture and urban design practices, consulting, planning, government, higher education, and nonprofit organizations, with Harvard specifically noting the transferable value of landscape architecture/urban design training across these sectors.

Career Roles: Urban Designer, Landscape Architect, Urban Design Consultant, Design Researcher

Career Services: Harvard GSD Career Services provides career advising, professional-development events, the CREATE job and opportunities portal, networking opportunities, and mentorship through Connect GSD. Students are also encouraged to build professional experience through summer internships and the Community Service Fellowship.
Employer Network: Harvard GSD reports that organizations of different sizes worldwide recruit GSD students and alumni. Employers listed for the landscape architecture community include AECOM, Gensler, SWA Group, Central Park Conservancy, Hart Howerton, Reed Hilderbrand, Sasaki, SCAPE Landscape Architecture, Stoss Landscape Urbanism, and Surfacedesign.
Industry Connections: GSD Career Services works directly with industry-leading employers to support recruitment and networking with GSD students and alumni. Its CREATE platform gives employers access to a community of more than 8,000 GSD students and alumni.
Employment Statistics: Harvard’s official MLUAD-specific page does not state a graduate employment percentage or salary figure for the MLUAD program; therefore, a program-specific employment rate and salary figure are not stated. Harvard does report that its broader landscape architecture graduates pursue careers nationally and internationally in private design firms, public agencies, NGOs, academia, and advanced study.
Graduation Outcomes: Harvard reports that its landscape architecture program awarded 66 MLA degrees in 2025–26, while its published four-year graduation rate was 88% for the 2022 entering class. These figures are for the broader MLA program and do not represent MLUAD-specific outcomes.
Professional Value: MLUAD is a post-professional urban design degree for students who already hold a professional landscape architecture degree, so its value is in adding advanced urban-design knowledge, research capabilities, and technical skills to an existing professional foundation.
Accreditation: Harvard’s official accreditation information states that the MLA I, MLA I AP, and MLA II professional landscape architecture degree streams are LAAB-accredited, with the next accreditation review scheduled for Spring 2028. The MLUAD is separately identified by Harvard as a post-professional urban design program, so Harvard does not state that the MLUAD itself is an LAAB-accredited first-professional degree.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the MLUAD, students can pursue further advanced research through Harvard GSD’s thesis pathway, which can be incorporated into the second-year MLUAD curriculum. Students may also pursue additional graduate study or concurrent/joint degree opportunities at Harvard and MIT; Harvard’s MLUAD curriculum specifically permits advanced coursework across GSD departments and other Harvard and MIT schools.