The BEV in landscape architecture teaches students to design environments in urban, rural and agricultural contexts at all scales. Students learn strategies to repair and strengthen ecological systems, create and restore habitats, manage storm water, express cultural values, and support human health and well-being. This major encourages students to explore the cultural value of landscapes, to redefine how landscape architects can transform the urban fabric, and to design resilient, climate-responsive projects.
Required Courses and Credits
The curriculum for the Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEV) is subdivided into two parts:
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The first part consists of a design core program lasting one and a half years and provides a balanced introduction to each of the BEV majors offered. The design core outcome establishes shared core competencies across disciplines and provides critical context for the inherently interdisciplinary and cross-cultural built environment. By the end of the core studies, students select or confirm their intended major.
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The second part is focused on a selected major. Studies culminate in a degree in Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEV) with a major in either environmental products of design, architecture, landscape architecture and sustainable planning and urban design. Each has unique requirements for completing the major.
Credit Hours
Students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours subject to the maximum outlined in this catalog, including all ENVD design core requirements, major requirements and maintain a GPA of 2.00 or better. Students must complete courses with a grade of C- or better to fulfill university and degree requirements.
Note: In addition, majors in the Department of Environmental Design must complete CMDI Core Curriculum requirements. The Core Curriculum requirements for the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information can be found in Policies & Requirements.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Design core | 37 | |
The first part of the Environmental Design curriculum consists of a design core program lasting one and a half years and provides a balanced introduction to each of the BEV majors. The design core outcome establishes shared core competencies across disciplines and provides critical context for the inherently interdisciplinary and cross-cultural built environment. By the end of the design core program, students select or confirm their intended major. | ||
| Environmental Design major | 54 | |
The second part of the Environmental Design curriculum is focused on a selected major, which culminates in a Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEV) degree with a major in either environmental products of design, architecture, landscape architecture, or sustainable planning and urban design. Each has unique requirements to complete the major. | ||
ENVD Electives (9 credits, incl in the above) | ||
| CMDI Core Curriculum (min. 22 credits) | ||
The CMDI Core Curriculum has requirements for any major in the college, however the ENVD majors have required courses that satisfy some these requirements. See each BEV major plan of study for additional information. | ||
| Lower-Division Composition and Expression requirement | 3 | |
| Choose one: | ||
| Writing in Arts and Sciences | ||
| First Year Writing for Environmental Design | ||
| First-Year Writing in Energy, Environment and Sustainability | ||
| Extended First-Year Writing and Rhetoric | ||
| First-Year Writing and Rhetoric | ||
| CMDI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric | ||
| Upper-Division Composition and Expression requirement 1 | 3 | |
| People and Society requirement 2 | 3 | |
| Humanities and the Arts requirement 3 | 6 | |
| Quantitative Thinking requirement | min. 3 | |
Meet with Academic Advisor to determine requirement for specific major. | ||
| The Natural World requirement (1 course + a lab/recitation) 4 | min. 4 | |
Meet with an Academic Advisor to determine requirements for specific major. | ||
| Non-ENVD Electives | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 122 | |
| 1 | May be fulfilled by courses in Upper-Division Composition and Expression requirement list or ENVD 3150. |
| 2 | May be fulfilled by courses in People in Society requirement list. ENVD 2001 already applies to this college requirement with 3 credits remaining for most students in a BEV major Plan of Study. |
| 3 | May be fulfilled by courses in Humanities and the Arts requirement list. It is strongly encouraged that students meet with an advisor to register for at least one course that also satisfies the college's Diversity & Global Culture requirement, otherwise an additional 3 credits of Point-of-View may be required. |
| 4 | May be fulfilled by courses in The Natural World requirement list. ENVD 2003 applies to this requirement with 4 credits (1 course plus lab) remaining for most students in a BEV major Plan of Study. |
Sample Four-Year Plans of Study
The first three semesters of the BEV curriculum is the design core curriculum, which is a prerequisite for: Environmental Products of Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Sustainable Planning and Urban Design. There are corequisite design core courses each semester that are typically sequential from semester to semester.
Design Core
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| ENVD 1010 | Studio 1: Introduction to Environmental Products of Design | 3 |
| ENVD 1020 | Studio 1: Introduction to Architecture | 3 |
| ENVD 1002 | Technology 1: Applications for Environmental Design | 2 |
| ENVD 1004 | Introduction to Environmental Design | 3 |
| ENVD 1976 | Colloquium - Exploring Careers, Research and Practice | 1 |
| Lower-Division Composition and Expression requirement (choose one: ARSC 1150, ENVD 1150, ENVS 1150, WRTG 1100 or WRTG 1150) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ENVD 1030 | Studio 1: Introduction to Landscape Architecture | 3 |
| ENVD 1040 | Studio 1: Introduction to Sustainable Planning and Urban Design | 3 |
| ENVD 1012 | Technology 2: Visual Communications | 2 |
| ENVD 1024 | History of the Built Environment 1 | 3 |
| Humanities and the Arts requirement 2 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| ENVD 1110 | Studio 2: Fundamentals of Environmental Design 1 | 3 |
| ENVD 1120 | Studio 2: Fundamentals of Environmental Design 2 | 3 |
| ENVD 1022 | Technology 3: Intermediate Applications for Environmental Design | 2 |
| ENVD 2003 | Ecological Systems in Design 3 | 3 |
| ENVD 2101 | Context of Design: Planning and Implementation | 3 |
| People and Society requirement 4 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 46 | |
| 1 | ENVD 1024 counts toward the CMDI Core Curriculum Historical Views requirement. |
| 2 | May be filled by courses in the CMDI Core Curriculum Humanities and the Arts requirements list. It is advised that at least one course should also satisfy the CMDI Core Curriculum Diversity and Global Culture (D) requirement, otherwise additional credits may be needed. |
| 3 | ENVD 2003 satisfies the CMDI Core Curriculum The Natural World requirement with 1 course plus lab remaining for most students in the Plan of Study. |
| 4 | ENVD 2001 applies to the CMDI Core Curriculum People and Society requirement with 3 credits remaining for most students in the Plan of Study. |
| Second Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Credit Hours | |
| LAND 2100 | Studio 1: Foundations of Landscape Architecture | 6 |
| LAND 2004 | History of Landscape Architecture 5 | 3 |
| ENVD 2001 | Human Behavior and Design 4 | 3 |
| Quantitative Thinking requirement (MATH 1150 & MATH 1151 or MATH 1300, MATH 2510, SOCY 2061); meeting with Academic Advisor suggested | 3-5 | |
| Credit Hours | 15-17 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| LAND 3100 | Studio 2: Intermediate Landscape Architecture | 6 |
| LAND 3003 | Site Planning, Materials, and Technologies | 3 |
| LAND 3103 | Ecological Planting Design | 3 |
| The Natural World requirement (course + a lab needed; choose one or one pair: CHEM 1113 & CHEM 1114, EBIO 1210 & EBIO 1230, EBIO 1220 & EBIO 1240, EBIO 3590, EBIO 4060, GEOG 1001, GEOG 1011, GEOL 1060 & GEOL 1030, PHYS 1110 or PHYS 2010) | 4-5 | |
| Credit Hours | 16-17 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Professional development requirement 6 | 6 | |
| Upper-Division Composition and Expression or ENVD 3150 | 3 | |
| ENVD Elective 7 | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Elective Studio (choose one: ENVD 3100, LAND 3100 or an approved Design study abroad) 8 | 6 | |
| LAND 4114 | Landscape Architecture Theory | 3 |
| Humanities and the Arts requirement 2 | 3 | |
| ENVD Elective 7 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| LAND 4100 | Capstone in Landscape Architecture | 6 |
| ENVD Elective 7 | 3 | |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 76-79 | |
| 1 | ENVD 1024 counts toward the CMDI Core Curriculum Historical Views requirement. |
| 2 | May be filled by courses in the CMDI Core Curriculum Humanities and the Arts requirements list. It is advised that at least one course should also satisfy the CMDI Core Curriculum Diversity and Global Culture requirement, otherwise additional credits may be needed. |
| 3 | ENVD 2003 satisfies the CMDI Core Curriculum The Natural World requirement with 1 course + lab remaining for most students in the Plan of Study. |
| 4 | ENVD 2001 applies to this CMDI Core Curriculum People and Society requirement with 3 credits remaining for most students in the Plan of Study. |
| 5 | LAND 2004 counts toward the CMDI Core Curriculum Historical Views (H) and Diversity and Global Culture (D) requirements. |
| 6 | Application for professional development requirement. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Students can enroll in an additional 3100 studio in their major to fulfill the elective studio requirement. Please meet with your advisor to address course options. |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEV) program, students will be able to:
- Use creative, critical and convergent thinking to address social and environmental issues, analyzing the need for and impact of design solutions by examining precedents, applying theoretical knowledge, conducting research and using problem-defining techniques.
- Develop conceptual or material solutions to socio-environmental issues through iterative design processes, synthesizing critical feedback and collaborative findings with peers and communities they engage with.
- Employ graphic, verbal, written, spatial and other communication strategies to organize, demonstrate and effectively argue for their design concepts and proposals.
- Apply principles of social and environmental justice in their work. They will prioritize design stewardship and sustainability to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all project constituents.
- Demonstrate foundational technical skills and apply methodologies essential for entering academic and professional disciplines in environmental design.