The University’s landscape architecture program is the best in the nation, according to DesignIntelligence magazine.
The Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture undergraduate program has received the award five times since 2007.
The November-December 2014 edition of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools, published by DesignIntelligence, also ranked the graduate program fifth in the country. Both programs were ranked first in the region.
The rankings came from an annual review by 1,426 national hiring firms drawn from the Greenway Group database. A 15- to 20-question survey asked participants which schools they thought produce graduates best prepared for fieldwork.
The University’s program also was ranked among the top five in categories like communication skills and cross-disciplinary teamwork, sustainable design practices and principles, and research and theory.
“It’s really telling that we’re up there with schools that LSU normally couldn’t compete with on the same level,” said Angela Harwood, College of Art and Design communications coordinator. “We’re up there with Harvard and Cornell, and it’s just really prestigious to be on that list.”
DesignIntelligence reaches out to deans, department chairs and students of programs throughout the country through its five-month research process. Though the feedback is not used in the ranking process, the information can be found elsewhere in the magazine.
Harwood said part of the reason the program ranks so high is because of its extensive alumni network. As one of the oldest programs of its kind in the country, Harwood said there is a large alumni presence in every major landscape architecture firm nationwide.
“Our alumni are just extremely loyal,” Harwood said. “So they take the survey and have a lot of praise and support our graduates really well.”
Harwood thinks student representation of the program in the work force also boosts the rankings.
During the spring semester of their fourth year, students are required to take an internship. Many companies ask the interns to stay on through the summer, and last year, 93 percent of landscape architecture graduates were employed before graduation, Harwood said.
“It’s a great networking opportunity, and people are getting to know our students,” Harwood said. “It is a lot of how our students and our graduates are representing the program.”
The win was made sweeter for students, considering the school currently has no director, and the news was announced just before the annual national landscape architecture conference, said Harwood.
“I think it’s just telling that we rank this highly, because the firms are participating in the survey and saying our students are the best,” Harwood said. “I think it’s very helpful for them, and it’s something they are very proud about.”

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Professor Justine Holzman (left) works with her student after their final review in the Design Building December 3, 2014.