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Tyler School of Art & Architecture

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Master of Landscape Architecture

Tyler’s Master of Landscape Architecture program emphasizes ecological restoration and social justice. You will learn to think critically and creatively about each ecological and cultural situation through field-based research and community-engaged design.

Landscape Architecture at Tyler is

Studio based

Our work begins with hands-on experiences, brought into the studio setting where ideas emerge and formation takes place.

Community-engaged and locally informed

We believe in listening and observing the world and communities around us as the basis for design.

Environmentally responsible

As stewards of our environments, we focus on caring for them and their inhabitants.

Research and practice oriented

The Master of Landscape Architecture is a professionally-focused degree where research is a key component of professional development.

Collaborative and interdisciplinary

Collaboration between students is an important part of learning; collaboration with allied disciplines is essential in making a better future.

Get Answers and Help

The Tyler School of Art and Architecture features its own admissions team, who can provide you with the information you need to make the best decision for your educational and career goals. 

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Join Our Virtual Session

We’re hosting a live, virtual session on November 5 with our Landscape Architecture faculty to share more information about the program.

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Explore Degrees

Consider the difference it makes to your graduate degree goals by connecting with Tyler’s forward-looking faculty of working professionals and researchers. Through both instruction and mentoring, they challenge and support your professional growth and talents.  

In some cases, Tyler offers flexible, part-time study options for those with outside responsibilities like work and family. 

Master of Landscape Architecture (STEM designated)

Accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board, this degree offers both full-time and part-time study. Tyler offers two tracks to better serve students’ needs. 

  • 2-year track, if you already earned an accredited bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture or architecture 

  • 3-year track, if your bachelor’s degree is in another, non-design discipline 

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Guiding Principles

The Master of Landscape Architecture program at Tyler is grounded in three key pillars.

student working outdoors

Design thinking and making

We nurture experimentation and field exploration. Tyler’s graduate program in landscape architecture benefits from the distinctive opportunities that come with being part of a school of art and architecture.

sample of collected tree grafts

Equitable approaches to engagement

We model social and environmental justice in classrooms and communities. As part of Temple, Philadelphia’s public university, we are committed to the mission of access for all, a core focus of our design studio ethos.  

people engaging with the Flower Show

Leadership in landscape restoration

We work with ecosystems to preserve and enhance natural and built environments. Tyler’s landscape architecture program is unique in its approach, with design and scientific principles aligned through the understanding of ecosystems and landscape restoration.

Capstone Research and Design 

The Capstone restoration design sequence includes coursework in seminars and studios, from an introduction to design research methodology to restoration monitoring and management. 

Native Plant Research 

Our students have the opportunity to study native plant communities in the field throughout the Delaware Valley region and design with them in our NE Woodland and Wetland/Riparian ecological restoration-focused design studios. 

Professional Support 

Temple University sponsors a student chapter of the National American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) organization, whose mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship. Membership includes undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture students.

In support of the graduate degree focus on ecological restoration as a fundamental part of landscape design, we also sponsor a student chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). The society advances the science, practice, and policy of ecological restoration to sustain biodiversity, improve resilience in a changing climate, and re-establish an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture.

Find Your Calling 

Each spring, Tyler Architecture and Environmental Design hosts a dynamic on-campus Career Fair that brings together leading firms and organizations. You’ll gain exposure to a wide range of career paths in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, construction, government agencies, and NGOs. Tyler’s career services staff works with you one-on-one to find internships and jobs opportunities. 

Accreditation: Master of Landscape Architecture 

Tyler’s Master of Landscape Architecture degree program is accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). The Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) requires accredited program to provide reliable information to the public. Programs must report on accreditation status and its performance. Learn more about Tyler's LAAB accreditation at: LAAB Public Information 

Studio Space and Facilities  

Inside Tyler’s design studio classrooms and technology labs you learn to plan and execute whatever your creative mind imagines.  Exhibition, lecture, and studio review spaces allow you to engage with others in the landscape architecture program and participate in extracurricular professional and learning activities. You also have access to The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University and its permanent collection of plants, gardens and a searchable database of what grows on the Ambler Campus grounds.

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protected garden on the horticulture campus

Alumni Spotlight

"Through the Master of Landscape Architecture program, I gained a profound understanding of the environmental and social impacts of landscape design. The program not only fostered my academic growth but also connected me with lifelong mentors and peers, offering a clear and focused path toward my professional goals. Its flexibility allowed me to balance my studies with work and family commitments, making it possible to fully engage in the learning experience. I entered the program seeking new challenges and left equipped with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to face them head-on. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have shaped both my career and personal growth.”

Head and shoulders portrait of Richard Asifiri in a suit and tie

Richard Asirifi

AICP, Assoc. ASLA, MLArch ‘23

Student Work

Here are some examples of work from students in the graduate program.

Woodland Garden by Claire Racette

Woodland Garden by Claire Racette

Woodland Garden Planting Design by Claire Racette

MLArch '23 Student

Excerpt from Finding Resilience in Fluctuation: The Hermitage Natural Area, New Castle, Delaware by Angelica Diaz

Finding Resilience in Fluctuation: The Hermitage Natural Area, New Castle, Delaware by Angelica Diaz

MLArch, '23 Student

Cadwalader Park Wetlands Design by Pierie Korostoff

Cadwalader Park Wetlands Design by Pierie Korostoff

MLArch '26 Student

Excerpt from Soil Solutions PHL by Sam Emory

Soil Solutions PHL by Sam Emory

MLArch '22 Student

Faculty

Our full-time faculty are makers and researchers. Together we comprise and reflect the full scope of a landscape architecture education – grounded in an intellectual philosophy, that is balanced through field-based design research and professional practice.

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  • Cynthia Ahern

    Cynthia Ahern

    Adjunct Faculty

    Cynthia Ahern is a naturalist who focuses on interrelationships between plants and animals in natural and manipulated environments. She creates landscapes featuring native plants with high nutritional value for pollinators and other wildlife. Her…

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  • Vincent Aloyo

    Adjunct Faculty

    Vincent Aloyo is an Eastern Apiculture Society-certified Master Beekeeper and Principal at Aloyo Apiculture and Education, which focuses on all aspects of apiculture, such as honey production, queen rearing and nuc production, as well as education…

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  • Joni Baumgarten

    Joni Baumgarten

    Adjunct Faculty

    Joni Baumgarten is a soil and plant ecologist who studies the interaction of soil and plant communities and the way that soil communities facilitate plant diversity. Rutgers University, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution; New Brunswick, NJ…

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  • Kate Benisek smiling at the camera.

    Kate Benisek, MALD, MLA, ASLA

    Associate Professor and Program Head of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Kate Benisek is a landscape architect, civic ecologist and urban horticulturist. Kate is an environmental educator who teaches undergraduate courses offered as part of the General Education program, undergraduate design studio courses and the…

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  • Lisa S. Blum

    Lisa S. Blum

    Adjunct Faculty

    Lisa Blum has over 35 years’ of experience teaching horticulture at both Saul High School of Agricultural Science and at Temple University. Her areas of expertise include plant pathology and entomology, stress physiology, arboriculture and urban…

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  • Joshua Caplan crossing his arms and looking at the camera.

    Joshua Caplan, PhD

    Associate Professor of Research

    Josh Caplan is an environmental biologist who studies plant and soil dynamics in human-modified settings. With most of his work, he seeks to understand how plants and soils respond to environmental extremes (for example, in salinity, soil…

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  • Michael Coll

    Michael Coll

    Adjunct Faculty

    Michael Coll has managed landscapes in southeastern Pennsylvania for the past 12 years. His focus is the restoration of native ecosystems to facilitate biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. Currently Michael lives on and manages Hildacy Preserve…

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  • Anthony Croasdale

    Anthony Croasdale

    Adjunct Faculty

    Tony Croasdale has made fostering ecological literacy his life's work. He is the director of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and the co-host of the Urban Wildlife Podcast. BS Hort, Tyler School of…

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  • Zach J. Cross

    Zach J. Cross

    Adjunct Faculty

    Zachary Cross is a landscape designer with multiple years of experience producing designs for projects of all scales.

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  • Sasha W. Eisenman smiling at the camera.

    Sasha W. Eisenman, PhD

    Associate Professor and Chair of Architecture and Environmental Design

    Sasha Eisenman is a botanist and horticulturist with a diverse portfolio of research projects. Currently, his primary area of research is on the survival, health and ecophysiological responses of plants in green infrastructure systems (tree…

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  • Billy Fleming smiling at the camera.

    Billy Fleming

    Assistant Professor

    Billy Fleming is an interdisciplinary scholar of climate justice and the built environment and founding co-director of the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive think-tank focused on climate and political economy. His research…

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  • Mark Gallagher

    Mark Gallagher

    Adjunct Faculty

    Mark Gallagher is the Vice President of Princeton Hydro, a water resources-oriented consulting firm. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Moravian College and Master of Science degree in Plant Ecology from Rutgers University. He has…

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  • Nathan Heavers smiling at the camera.

    Nathan Heavers

    Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

    Nathan Heavers is an ecological designer with a background in horticulture and visual arts. He researches the diverse ways that humans manage, cultivate, and design forests. Currently, Nathan is working on an urban forestry management plan for…

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  • Rob Kuper looking at the camera.

    Rob Kuper, PLA

    Associate Professor

    Rob Kuper teaches undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture design studio and engineering courses. Between 2012 and 2020, he co-directed design-build studio course projects that received almost 40 awards. Recently, Rob has taught the…

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  • Baldev Lamba smiling at the camera.

    Baldev Lamba, MLA, RLA, ASLA

    Associate Professor

    Baldev Lamba has more than three decades of experience working as an Architect and Landscape Architect in India, the Middle East and the United States. Lamba’s award-winning projects include the First Ladies Water Garden on the National…

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  • Michael LoFurno

    Michael LoFurno

    Adjunct Faculty

    Michael LoFurno joined the Tyler faculty in 2007 and has taught a number of courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The majority of his teaching experience has been in the third-year design and construction aspects of the annual…

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  • Michael Olszewski looking at the camera.

    Michael Olszewski, PhD

    Associate Professor

    Michael Olszewski is an expert in horticultural substrates and seed germination. He has practiced as both a plant biologist and scientist before joining Temple’s faculty.  His extensive research has generated several publications,…

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  • Kathleen Salisbury

    Kathleen Salisbury

    Adjunct Faculty

    Kathy Salisbury enjoys the wonder of hands-on horticulture and sharing the experience with others. As director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, she creates connections between people and plants, building an understanding that access to…

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  • Peg Schofield

    Peg Schofield

    Adjunct Faculty

    Peg Schofield is an educator and registered horticultural therapist in the Philadelphia region. She presents workshops and horticultural therapy sessions, working with individuals dealing with PTSD, stress-related illnesses and those coping with…

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  • Nathan Shampine

    Adjunct Faculty

    Nathan Shampine is the natural lands manager of the Mt. Cuba Center—a 530-acre botanical garden in Delaware’s Appalachian Piedmont that is critical to preserving the integrity of the remaining natural habitats of this physiographic region in…

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  • Erin Smith

    Erin Smith

    Adjunct Faculty

    Erin Smith works in the land stewardship department for the region’s leading land conservation organization, Natural Lands. She is able to bring her hands-on experience in environmental restoration and natural resource management practices to the…

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  • Benjamin Snyder

    Benjamin Snyder

    Adjunct Faculty and Manager of the Greenhouse Education and Research Complex

    As manager of the Greenhouse Education and Research Complex at Temple University Ambler, Benjamin Snyder oversees the use and care of various educational horticulture features, including a tropical greenhouse collection, organic food production…

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  • Stephen Souza

    Stephen Souza

    Adjunct Faculty

    /*-->*/ Owner of Clean Waters Consulting, LLC and founder of Princeton Hydro, LLC, Stephen J. Souza has over 35 years of project experience managing and restoring aquatic ecosystems and implementing green infrastructure stormwater…

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  • Eric Tamulonis

    Eric Tamulonis

    Adjunct Faculty

    Eric Tamulonis is a landscape architect in private practice as founder of PARRICUSdesign and former partner at WRT and principal at OLIN. In 40 years of practice, his work has focused on public open space and academic campus planning and design…

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  • Judy Venonsky

    Judy Venonsky

    Adjunct Faculty

    Judy Venonsky passionately pursues the intersection of ecology, art and science. She is a practicing Landscape Architect and Associate at OLIN where she spearheads the Eco Lab research team, infusing design excellence with emerging knowledge of…

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  • Bess Wellborn-Yates

    Bess Wellborn-Yates

    Adjunct Faculty

    /*-->*/ Bess Wellborn Yates is particularly interested in sites with complex histories and their intersection with community-based design initiatives and urban ecological restoration. She teaches landscape design studios, courses…

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Program Contacts

  • Nathan Heavers smiling at the camera.

    Nathan Heavers

    Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

    Nathan Heavers is an ecological designer with a background in horticulture and visual arts. He researches the diverse ways that humans manage, cultivate, and design forests. Currently, Nathan is working on an urban forestry management plan for…

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    Visit Nathan's profile

  • Kate Benisek smiling at the camera.

    Kate Benisek, MALD, MLA, ASLA

    Associate Professor and Program Head of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Kate Benisek is a landscape architect, civic ecologist and urban horticulturist. Kate is an environmental educator who teaches undergraduate courses offered as part of the General Education program, undergraduate design studio courses and the…

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