Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) Public Information Policy
Programs accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) are required to accurately disclose reliable information and program metrics to the public on their performance, including student achievement as determined by the institution or Program. Pratt MLA reports annually on this page, to share the program’s accreditation status, changes in the cost of attendance, and update basic student metrics on enrollment, retention, and graduation. This information is intended to help potential students make informed application decisions.
Mission
Pratt MLA is the newest and most forward-looking academic program in landscape architecture. Our mission is to advance land-based research at the cutting edge of climate and public change.
Objectives
The program’s curriculum was designed in accordance with the following objectives:
1. To demonstrate the role of experiential learning in landscape architectural education
2. To promote an informed and sensitive response to effects of climate change
3. To provide culturally relevant pedagogy that addresses racial inequality
4. To prepare students to challenge practice by evolving professional standards
5. To build upon Pratt Institute’s reputation of creative leadership
Goals
The following are three core academic goals of the Pratt MLA program that center around our core values:
- Embrace environmental change as a mandate of preparation to enter professional landscape architectural practice and its varied forms;
- Promote land-based and field-based learning to advance teaching excellence and experiential learning for our students;
- Create opportunities for collaboration that address the disproportionate impacts of climate change and articulate how those impacts are rooted historically.
Accreditation Status
Pratt MLA was granted candidacy status by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) in August 2024, and is working closely with the organization to ensure the program is on track to achieve full accreditation in 2026.
Estimated Program Costs
We are committed to sharing and expanding options to reduce the cost of attendance. Please visit the institute’s Cost of Attendance page for up-to-date expense estimates for graduate programs. All scholarships and fellowship opportunities can be found through the Office of Financial Aid. Within the professional program, MLA offers a number of Graduate Assistantships throughout the academic year, and summer months. Applicants must be enrolled for the semester during which they are working. Graduate Assistantships can support departmental, divisional, and institutional initiatives and priorities as well as faculty research and scholarship.
Typical and average costs for required and optional materials and equipment are estimated across the programs. Pratt MLA is committed to using recyclable, renewable and non-toxic materials by exploring alternatives that prioritize experience and exchange over material consumption and cost. We welcome student creativity and collaboration to reduce the environmental and consumerist impact of our work.
Student Retention and Graduation Rates
Class of 2025
Number of students: 8
Total graduates: 8
Total degrees granted: 8
Percentage of students with timely graduation: 100%
Class of 2026
Number of students: 8
Number of students enrolled in active student count: 8
Class of 2027
Number of students: 7
Number of students enrolled in active student count: 6
Supplemental and Experiential Learning
The program’s mission to foster site-sensitive, land-based practices that advance the global movement for climate, environmental, and social justice is supported by a vibrant 25-acre campus in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood, as well as a Manhattan Campus, locations on Governors Island, and access to regional ecological preserves, archival resources, classrooms and the living collections at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Our faculty and students are practitioners, theorists, historians, botanists and ecologists who study landscape processes through experiential learning. We realize this goal by attracting faculty that are committed to applied and evidence-based design that can be tested and tried in the field. The educational experience of design school expands from a historically studio-based curriculum, to include field-based education.
In our commitment to this mission, students enrolled in the professional MLA program start every year with Field-School, a week of supplemental learning in the Catskill mountains of New York State. Local travel is typically funded by the student, which extends to subway and train rides. Studio-based site visits are typically funded for local travel at no expense to the student. Optional regional, domestic, or international travel may be partially subsidized by the School, the student and/or external funding sources. For more information on Field-School, and to find out more about study abroad programs, summer and international learning opportunities across the School of Architecture, please contact the MLA Program office.
Careers in Landscape Architecture
Pratt MLA students typically pursue careers in professional landscape architecture offices. Due to the high demand for landscape architectural skills, students are also drawn to engineering and urban design firms, planning and architecture offices, as well as landscape-related paths in public service, creative studios, governmental and and not-for-profit organizations. In all cases, students apply their design skills and creativity in the planning, design and stewardship of living and building environments. As an ever-increasing profession, we also work with our Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) to forge new connections with creative offices and studios in both National and International contexts.
Faculty
Number of Full-time Faculty: 3
Number of Adjunct Faculty: 2
Number of Licensed Faculty: 4
Number of Visiting Faculty: 7
Licensure Requirements
Requirements for Landscape Architecture licensure in New York State can be found through the New York State Department of Education website. Please visit the ASLA website state licensure page to review licensure requirements by state, or for more information.