Graduate Admissions

Students from all undergraduate backgrounds are welcome in the Master of Architecture program.

1. Include as much of your personal creative work as possible, to demonstrate your potential. Editing is good, but we really want to see the full breadth of your abilities and interests. That said, architectural work and drafting skills are not expected or required for admission — we’ll teach you all that.
2. If you do not have any background in visual arts, applied arts, or architecture, there are ways to produce creative material for your portfolio, such as taking a career discovery course or any number of continuing ed courses. Some of these are evening classes. Give yourself creative assignments such as making freehand drawings, maps and diagrams, physical “sketch” models, or taking photos. (The school’s Creative Challenge for undergraduate applicants can be consulted for ideas.) Then take purposeful care in how you scan and/or photograph the results!
3. Emphasize process more than product. The admissions committee would rather see the process you went through during a creative project than only the final result. Are there diagrams, sketches, photos, or any iterations that you created that led up to the final image or project? Include them in the portfolio. Hint: If you do not have images of your process, you can create them after the fact as a way of diagramming how a project works or how an image was produced.
4. Add text as necessary to certain images and projects. This can be a simple, abbreviated description of a work and doesn’t need to explain every detail. Use a consistent font style throughout. Be sure to include your name on the cover of the portfolio and specify the program you are applying to.
5. Use the layout process to emphasize your strongest projects or images. Feel free to use PowerPoint, Canva, InDesign, Photoshop, or other graphic design software to create and edit your portfolio, subject to your comfort with those programs. Letter, A4, or similar page size, horizontal format, usually works!
6. Feel free to edit images digitally to make them look better. Make sure all scans and digital images in your portfolio are at the right resolution so that they appear unpixelated (150 dpi is good).
7. Finally, remember that the portfolio is a way for you to communicate your personal interests to us. Have fun with it, and don’t be afraid to show us how you see the world!

Applicants from all undergraduate backgrounds are welcome in the Master of Landscape Architecture program.

1. Portfolio submissions should cover the range of creative, visual representation techniques that you are capable of, such as digital graphic work, drawing, painting, sculpture, or photography. The admissions committee recognizes that applicants do not all have experience with visual representation, so the images should reflect your interests. We recommend that you include titles of your images so that we can understand the intent of the representation. Just as the personal statement gives us an idea of how you think about the discipline, the portfolio helps us understand how you process and communicate in visual media.
2. If you have taken art or design classes, you can include that work. Otherwise, don’t be concerned if you have to put the portfolio together from projects you conceived of yourself. We provide graphic instruction in studio and other required courses, so we do not expect you to enter the program already proficient in landscape representation techniques.
3. Do not hesitate to use text to elaborate on your visual idea. Photographs, diagrams, and maps are also valuable for us to review as long as you make the intended content clear with captions.
4. Organizing the portfolio is important, too. We look for well-crafted images as well as a coherent layout. You can use InDesign or another publishing program to present your work professionally, and that could offset any weakness in the individual pieces within the portfolio.
5. Be sure to edit your photographs so that they are as compelling as you can make them.
6. The portfolio is an opportunity to express yourself and your ideas about landscape architecture. Enjoy the opportunity to explore techniques and tools to show others what you think.

Because the UD program is only three semesters, students must be able to “hit the ground running.” Use your portfolio to show your readiness to get going:

1. Make it as representative of your graphic and design skills as you can. We really want to see the full breadth of your abilities and interests. Part of the pleasure of the admissions process is in taking in the wonderful variety of experiences and representations that our very diverse student body brings. We welcome work in different media (manual and digital), particularly work that effectively communicates a design project, or research, at a variety of scales and an interest in the urban condition.
2. Submit work that is mostly yours. While we’re interested in your professional or collective work and encourage you to include some examples of this (with proper attribution), we’re most interested in seeing the specific contributions you have developed. If you or your team has engaged with AI, please include an explanation of the process and its use creatively and technically.
3. Emphasize process more than product. The admissions committee would like to see the process you went through during a creative project, design research, or technical resolution rather than only the final result. If there are diagrams, sketches, photos, or any iterations that you created that led up to the final image or project, include them in the portfolio.
4. Make sure all scans and digital images in your portfolio are at the right resolution so that they appear unpixelated (150 dpi is good).

Master of Science in Architecture is a post-professional degree for students who have completed professional studies in architecture, typically a five-year Bachelor of Architecture degree. Use your portfolio to show your architectural expertise and preparedness for advanced work:

1. Make it as representative of your graphic and design skills as you can. We really want to see the full breadth of your abilities and interests in architectural design and research. We welcome work in a range of architectural media (by hand and digital).
2. Emphasize process more than product. The admissions committee would rather see the process you went through during a studio or other creative project than only the final result. Are there diagrams, sketches, models, photos, or any iterations that you made that led up to the final image or project? Include them in the portfolio.
3. Provide attributions about the work. If any studio work was done with a partner or in a team, make that clear with a notation or caption. This includes providing an attribution about the use of any AI tools.
4. Submit work that is mostly yours. While we’re interested in your professional or collective work and encourage you to include some examples of this (with proper attribution), we are most interested in seeing your own design ideas and preferred styles and modes of representation.
5. Make sure all scans and digital images in your portfolio are at the right resolution so that they appear unpixelated (150 dpi is good).