Course Overview

As global awareness of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis intensifies, the demand for skilled landscape architects has never been greater. The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) at Manchester School of Architecture is a future focused programme that equips you to design inclusive, climate resilient places where social needs, ecological integrity, and imagination meet. Through a dynamic combination of hands-on design exploration, critical engagement with theory and research, and real world site-based investigations, you'll develop the expertise needed to shape meaningful, sustainable landscapes in a rapidly changing world.

You will have opportunities to learn from industry partners, collaborate across disciplines with architects and urbanists, and conduct ambitious academic research, preparing you for a future in practice or further academic studies. You’ll explore themes of environmental and social justice, designing landscapes that serve both people and planet. Joining one of our internationally recognised ‘Ateliers’, you will pursue a research-led design project, alongside developing an individual dissertation topic.

The MLA is professionally accredited by the UK Landscape Institute (LI) and recognised by the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), giving your qualification global recognition. Delivered jointly by The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, the programme provides a unique dual qualification and learning experience. As a student, you will benefit from the combined expertise of staff across both universities and enjoy access to specialist workshops, studios, libraries, and comprehensive support services.

There are three routes into studying the Master of Landscape Architecture. MLA Year 1 offers a transformative education in the core skills essential to landscape architecture, designed for those changing careers or joining from related disciplines. The Architect Conversion Route is designed for undergraduate architecture graduates, building on the shared foundations of landscape architecture and architecture, while introducing the ecological, environmental, and cultural factors that shape the discipline of landscape architecture. Those who have previously studied or worked in landscape architecture can join MLA Year 2 directly and will develop specialist expertise, design excellence, and academic research whilst working in the atelier system.

As well as having the opportunity to become a fully chartered landscape architect with the Landscape Institute, graduates of the MLA programme have broad employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, in areas such as urban design, environmental conservation, sustainable development, landscape planning, policy and placemaking, and the creation of innovative green spaces.

Features

• The Manchester School of Architecture is a global top 5 school of architecture (QS World Rankings 2025).
• The MLA is professionally accredited by the UK Landscape Institute (LI) and recognised by International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) giving your qualification global recognition.
• The MLA is delivered jointly by The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, with graduates receiving a unique dual award. The joint award certificate includes each institution’s crest and awarding body title. 
• Benefit from access to specialist workshops, studios, libraries, and support services across both universities. This includes an industry-standard Model Making Workshop, for the production of scale development and presentation models. The workshop contains digital fabrication technology, alongside equipment for core manufacturing techniques.
• Learn to design sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible landscapes that address real-world challenges and make a meaningful impact.
• Learn from a dedicated team of landscape architecture staff, enriched by practitioners and academics from across MSA and both The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University – offering the depth and breadth of expertise that defines the profession
• Choose from three distinct pathways designed around your academic and professional background, ensuring a flexible and personalised route into landscape architecture.
• Access a dedicated MSA Advanced Digital Design team who provide workshops and tutorials covering all the essential software plus a range of more specialist programmes and cutting edge workflows.  
• Participate in MSA Live, our annual programme of student-led, real-world design projects in MLA Part 1.
• In MLA Part 2, become a member of one of our research-led ateliers and work collaboratively with architecture students from the MArch and BA Architecture. 
• Exhibit your work at the renowned MSA Degree Show, a high-profile platform attended by leading practitioners and industry professionals.
• Boost your employability with dedicated career support and a unique offering of MSA employability events, including portfolio development, networking opportunities, and tailored advice for entering the landscape profession.
• Join the MSSA, the UK’s largest student-led architecture society, and build valuable connections across the profession. 

Duration

MLA Part 2 direct entry

1 year, full-time

2 years, part-time

Architects' Conversion Route

1.5 years, full-time Architects' Conversion Route progressing into full-time MLA Part 2

2.5 years, full-time Architects' Conversion Route progressing into part-time MLA Part 2

MLA Part 1

2 years, full-time MLA Part 1 progressing into full-time MLA Part 2

3 years, full-time MLA Part 1 progressing into part-time MLA Part 2

Students with a 2:2 or above undergraduate degree in an accredited Landscape Architecture course may apply to enter directly into Part 2 of the programme.

Course Content

There are three routes into studying the Master of Landscape Architecture at Manchester School of Architecture. 

MLA Part 1

MLA Part 1 offers a transformative education in the core skills essential to landscape architecture. Designed for those changing careers or joining from related disciplines, you will engage with diverse learning environments, global perspectives, and dynamic landscape typologies, discovering the full breadth of the discipline. Alongside building expertise in landscape architecture, you will have the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary, collaborative setting with students and experts from MSA’s architecture, adaptive reuse, and urbanism programmes, drawing on the diverse range of expertise the programme offers. Throughout your modules, you will explore the intersection of professional design practice, critical theoretical inquiry, and technology and experimentation. This foundational year equips you with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complexities of the field, preparing you effectively for Year 2 of the programme. This route has September entry, with students going into MLA Year 2 in September of the next year.

Architect Conversion Route

The Architect Conversion Route is designed for undergraduate architecture graduates seeking to transition into the dynamic and evolving field of landscape architecture. Building on the shared foundations of architecture and landscape design, the programme enhances your spatial design skills while introducing the ecological, environmental, and cultural factors that shape the discipline of landscape architecture. Through a combination of theoretical learning, site-based investigations, and hands-on design exploration, you will engage with the complexities of working with living systems, developing strategies for long-term ecological and climate resilience while addressing community needs. This foundation will prepare you to develop innovative solutions to contemporary landscape challenges and advance to Part 2 of the programme. This route has January entry, with students going onto MLA year 2 in September of the same year.

MLA Part 2

MLA Part 2 offers an opportunity for professional development, design excellence, critical inquiry, and academic research that challenges the status quo in landscape architecture. You will join one of the school’s internationally recognized ‘Ateliers’ to pursue a research-led design project, alongside developing an individual dissertation topic, supported by leading academics and researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester. You will also learn from experts in related disciplines such as ecology, horticulture, landscape management, water management, engineering, and soil conservation to enable you to engage with both the breadth and depth of the field. Modules will equip you with the skills required to achieve professional excellence, collect real-world experience in working with industry partners, conducting ambitious, independent, and academic research, effectively preparing you for a future in practice or further academic studies. This route has September entry, and is available to study full-time or part-time.

Professional Engagement

The course has a very close relationship to practice and students are exposed to practitioners in a wide range of ways throughout the syllabus. The Landscape Practice and Profession module generates understanding of the ethical, legal and professional context of the subject through a range of visiting lectures and workshops, as well as visits to practices and sites and direct personal experience. This may be through involvement in a live client-led brief, or an external competition. 

Employment

The vast majority of our graduates go on to find employment in landscape architecture, either in the UK or abroad, many due to connections established during the course. Outside London, the North West of England is the base for more landscape practices than anywhere else in the country. Opportunities exist in a wide range of organisations, from small private practices to international, multi-disciplinary firms. Alternatively, landscape architects are also employed in the public sector or non-profit making organisations. Many alumni have gone on to positions of responsibility in major international firms and have been involved in the delivery of landmark projects around the world.