Recent Transition of Several Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Programs from Five to Four Years in the United States

This paper provides an overview of five US landscape architecture programs’ transition from five to four years to graduation in terms of curriculum arrangement for the major, university core curriculum requirement, internship requirement, etc. This curriculum change was mainly due to the demand from the higher administration in most universities. Such demand came from a mandate in most programs’ respective state, that is, a college degree is supposed to be completed in four years at 120 credit hours. This movement can be attributed to the 2008-2009 global economic downturn that triggered the demand for greater accountability and efficiency on higher education. Although exemption can be sought to continue a five-year undergraduate curriculum, current five-year programs are facing greater challenges specifically on student recruitment. The paper also includes Accreditation Board’s perspectives regarding the transition. Lastly, the authors share their view on how long should it be for completing an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture.