by Debbie Seracini, Membership Chairperson, APLD California Chapter
Educating the Next Generation
California’s colleges and universities are well prepared for teaching the upcoming generation of landscape designers and architects by including sustainable practices ideology in their curriculum. The following is an alphabetical list of the state’s schools with a brief description and/or link to their degree or certificate programs in Landscape Design or Landscape Architecture.
American River College, Sacramento
Cielo Sichi, Horticulture Department Chair, SichiC@arc.losrios.edu
The 153-acre campus of the American River College is located on the old Cameron Ranch, northeast of Sacramento and is one of the largest community colleges in the state with an enrollment of over 30,000 students.
The degree and certificate programs for Landscape Design Technology are bi-disciplinary studies of horticulture resources and design fundamentals. Both programs include an in-depth study of plant materials, irrigation, landscape design, and site planning. Topics such as landscape computer-aided design, surveying, and construction measurement techniques, are also covered.
This certificate provides individuals with a basic horticulture background and a broad experience in landscape design, including landscape Computer-Assisted Design and Drafting (CADD).
Click on this link for a listing of Fall 2022 classes.
Cabrillo College, Aptos
Peter Shaw, Horticulture Instructor/Department Chair, peshaw@cabrillo.edu;
Cabrillo College is located at the north end of Monterey Bay in Aptos, and has an enrollment of about 17,000 students.
Click on this link for a listing of Fall 2022 horticulture classes.
Cosumnes River College, Sacramento
Dave Andrews, Department Chair, andrewd@crc.losrios.edu;
The 180-acre campus of Cosumnes River College is located about ten miles south of Sacramento and has a student enrollment of nearly 14,500.
The school offers an A.S. degree in Sustainable Landscape Design through a program focused on the development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes essential to designing, building, and maintaining functional and sustainable landscapes, green spaces, and irrigation systems. Courses cover horticultural science and principles, plant ID, proper soil development and management, sustainable landscape and irrigation design, water conservation, sustainable construction and landscape and turf maintenance practices, integrated pest management, licensing and certification, and horticultural business practices.
Click on this link for a listing of Fall 2022 horticulture classes.
Cuyamaca College, Rancho San Diego
Leah Rottke, Program Coordinator, leah.rottke@gcccd.edu
Cuyamaca College is located in the east county of San Diego on 165 acres in Rancho San Diego. Adjacent to the campus is the 6-acre Water Conservation Garden which showcases a variety of themed gardens centered on water conservation.
The Ornamental Horticulture department at Cuyamaca College has recently opened brand-new facilities with state-of-the-art classrooms, workshops and greenhouses combined with their nine-acre field site and growing grounds. The OH department also operates a retail nursery on campus, which provides students with hands-on learning experience in plant propagation or plant sales, which support the Ornamental Horticulture program.
Foothill College, Los Altos Hills
Frank Niccoli, Environmental Horticulture & Design Department Chair, niccolifrancis@fhda.edu
Foothill College is a beautiful community college located in Santa Clara County on 122 acres in Los Altos Hills and has an enrollment of about 16,000 students.
The school’s Environmental Horticulture & Design program is described as a broad field that teaches students how to combine the principles of environmental design, construction, and maintenance practices for urban, rural, and natural landscapes. Courses prepare students for careers in arboriculture, environmental management, historic garden and estate management, horticultural consulting and fine gardening, horticultural therapy, interiorscaping, landscape construction, landscape design, and park and golf course management. The program is particularly well known for the landscape design and construction portions of their curriculum and have won numerous awards for their entries at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.
For more information on current Summer 2022 classes, click on this link.
Fullerton College, Fullerton
Jeff Feaster, Department Coordinator, jfeaster@fullcoll.edu
Fullerton College is in the city of Fullerton on 83 acres in northern Orange County and has a student enrollment of nearly 25,000. The school was established in 1913, making it the oldest community college in continuous operation in California.
The school has a robust CTE (Career and Technical Education) program that provides hands-on training in various industry sectors, including landscape design.
Las Positas College, Livermore
Tom Fuller, Horticulture Instructor, tfuller@laspositascollege.edu
The 147-acre campus of Las Positas College is located about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco in a suburb of Livermore and has an enrollment of nearly 8,500 students.
The school’s horticulture program prepares students for careers in all the major horticultural disciplines–including landscape design and construction, nursery and greenhouse management, floral production and design, turf management and arboriculture. New classes have been added in California Native Plants and Dry Landscapes, Interior Plantscapes, Fundamentals of Hydroponics and Aquaponics, and Sustainable Landscape.
Merritt College, Oakland
Landscape Horticulture Dept co-chairs are Lawrence Lee, lelee@peralta.edu, Laura Forlin, lforlin@peralta.edu,and Chris Grampp, cgrampp@peralta.edu
Merritt College has an enrollment of about 6000 students and is home to one of the largest horticulture facilities in northern California. Their 7.5-acre facility includes 10,000 s.f. of greenhouse and lath house space; drafting and floral design labs; and the Emile Labadie Arboretum.
The Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department programs are designed to prepare students for work in all horticultural fields: Arboriculture; Landscape Design & Construction; Landscape Architecture; Parks & Maintenance; Nursery & Greenhouse Management; Floral Design; Aesthetic Pruning; Permaculture; and Urban Agroecology.
MiraCosta College, Oceanside
Megan Allison, Department Chair, mallison@miracosta.edu
MiraCosta College is located in coastal North San Diego County and has two campuses, one in eastern Oceanside and the other in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The Horticultural Department is located in new state-of-the-art facilities on the 121-acre main campus in Oceanside. The school’s enrollment is about 17,000 students.
MiraCosta's Horticulture Program includes landscape design and architecture, irrigation, sustainable landscape and turf management, nursery crop production, sustainable agriculture, PCA (pest control advisor) preparation, and wine technology.
Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara
Dr. Michael Gonella, Department Chair, gonella@sbcc.edu
Santa Barbara City College was established in 1909 and discontinued after World War I then reorganized in 1946. The campus is on 74 acres of oceanfront property and has an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students.
The Environmental Horticulture Program at SBCC teaches students the skills and knowledge required for success in the professions of landscape design, landscape maintenance, permaculture, nursery and greenhouse work, and ecological restoration. The program encourages professional standards, a strong work ethic and environmentally sound practices.
Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa
Joel Grogan, Environmental Horticulture Program Coordinator, jgrogan@santarosa.edu
The 80-acre campus of Santa Rosa Junior College is located 52 miles north of San Francisco within the City of Santa Rosa and has an enrollment of 26,700 students.
The Environmental Horticulture Program at SRJC prepares students to step into a broad range of career opportunities available in this field with two different Associate in Science degrees and transfer programs and two career certificate programs.
Landscape Design Certificate
Click on this link for a listing of Fall 2022 horticulture classes.
Southwestern College, Chula Vista
Mark Valen, mvalen@swccd.edu
Southwestern College is located in the south county of San Diego on 156 acres in Chula Vista and has an enrollment of about 19,000 students.
The school’s Landscape & Nursery Technology program has been training students in various horticultural trades since 1979. Degrees are offered in Sustainable Landscape Practices, Floral Design, Landscape Occupations, Landscape Architecture, Golf and Sports Turf Management, and Nursery Occupations.
The Landscape and Nursery Technology program also participates in the promotion and advancement of the South Bay Botanic Garden. Located on the campus, the four-acre garden consists of trees, shrubs, flowers, grounds covers, various turfgrasses, plant collections, and water features. It is open to the public and serves as a learning facility for students pursuing degrees in the horticultural fields.
If you are looking for a higher degree in Landscape Architecture, California has five public universities, and one private, that offer LAAB-Accredited Programs in Landscape Architecture.
Academy of Art University, San Francisco
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
University of California, Davis
University of California, Berkeley
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Program, Los Angeles
Stephanie Landregan, Program Director and Instructor, landscapearchitecture@uclaextension.edu
UCLA Extension is a public continuing education institution headquartered in Westwood, Los Angeles, on the 419-acre campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, and offers more than 5,000 courses and more than 100 certificate programs. Classes are held at UCLA, in Downtown Los Angeles, and other locations throughout Los Angeles County.
The UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Certificate program is designed for working professionals who already have at least a bachelor’s degree. The rigorous, 3-year program consists of 111 quarter units of curriculum and is structured as a series of design, technical, and theoretical courses that begins in the Summer and Fall quarters.
Click on this link for more information about the program and a listing of courses.
Stephanie Landregan, FASLA, MSPM, is the Director for the UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Program and the Horticulture & Gardening Program and gives us her perspective on the future for students of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Design. She is also happy to share work done by her students, Janet Teller and Scotty Shoemaker, for their Capstone Projects.
Q: Where do you think the industry of Landscape Design/Architecture is headed? How will it need to change for the future?
A: I believe we are heading to more inclusive team design. Left and right brains working together will bring about collaborative design and innovations in designing WITH nature and natural processes.
Q: What programs are your current students most interested in and why? (i.e., arboriculture, turf management, nursery technology, sustainability, etc.)
A: Our current students are taking supportive classes in arboriculture and plants. We also offer courses in stormwater design and management that are popular and extremely relevant in our drought. We teach planting design, irrigation and water conservation classes and our advanced design classes incorporate new sustainable practices and metrics.
Q: How can associations, such as APLD and ASLA, assist students with their transition into their new career?
A: Associations such as APLD and ASLA should encourage students to participate in their organizations. ASLA has free student memberships and discounted events, APLD has offered student discounts. We invite individual architects and designers to offer free seminars for our students to supplement their core curriculum. These events greatly enhance the basic required landscape architecture curriculum, giving our students more breath and information than we can offer in the intense 3 year curriculum.
Q: What excites you the most about the fields of Landscape Design and/or Landscape Architecture? What opportunities do you believe they offer your students?
A: Creating spaces for respite and recreation excites me. With the pandemic, residential design has boomed, people are aware of how important their own “yards” can be, inviting birdsong, and pollinators. Creating a yard that gives children an introduction to nature. We have so far to go, but the silver lining of the pandemic and the drought has been an increased awareness of the precious resource of water, and also our own outdoor environment.
On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, Ms. Landregan, will hold a virtual information session from 6:00 to 8:00 pm PT to discuss Landscape Architecture licensure, program curriculum, financial aid, and career opportunities. If you would like to attend this free event, register at this link.
Ms. Landregan will also hold a session on the Horticulture & Gardening program on Thursday, July 28, 2022, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm PT. Click on this link for more information and registration.
The UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Program Capstone Project marks the completion of the student’s coursework with a 12-week assignment project demonstrating their mastery and knowledge of Landscape Architecture. The final design class culminates in a self-directed project that demonstrates competency in site selection, analysis, programing a site, conceptualizing a design, and rendering a final conceptual design proposal booklet.
We are pleased to showcase images of Capstone Projects from students Janet Teller and Scotty Shoemaker.
Present and future Landscape Designers and Architects will certainly face many challenges in regard to mandates and restrictions being imposed by the state for the sake of water conservation, fire suppression, carbon sequestration, and more. However, the upcoming generation of LDs and LAs will be ready and equipped to successfully meet these challenges and continue to build beautiful landscapes for everyone to enjoy.