Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design (MC-LARCHUD)
Masters (Coursework)Year: 2025 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
Contact
Course Coordinators
Master of Landscape Architecture
Wendy Walls
Master of Urban Design
David Mah
Currently enrolled students
Future Students
Overview
| Award titles |
|
|---|---|
| Year & campus | 2025 — Parkville |
| CRICOS code | 105521B |
| Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
| Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
| AQF level | 9 |
| Credit points | 400 credit points |
| Duration | 48 months full-time or 96 months part-time |
The Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design is a double degree, that will allow students to complete two professionally accredited graduate programs in a reduced timeframe.
Landscape architecture is a unique discipline that acts as a bridge between the arts and sciences, design and environment. Landscape architecture engages with core ecological, cultural and social issues in both urban and rural societies.
The Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Melbourne is underpinned by a strong grounding in design, ecology and urbanism. These strengths are paralleled by a comprehensive history and theory stream encompassing contemporary landscape architecture, architecture and urban design theory, cross cultural issues, including indigenous perspectives for sustainable societies.
Students with no undergraduate background in landscape architecture are permitted to enrol in the Master of Landscape Architecture which is a distinctive feature of the University of Melbourne. The first year of study is carefully structured to allow students from diverse backgrounds to develop the required knowledge and foundations in design, history and physical systems before joining second year entry point students (with a cognate background).
The Master of Landscape Architecture is also available to students who have an undergraduate background in landscape architecture, including graduates with a Bachelor of Environments from the University of Melbourne with a major in Landscape Architecture, most often with 100 points of advanced standing.
The Master of Urban Design at the Melbourne School of Design develops professionals who are capable of seeing the city from multiple viewpoints and who relish working with interdisciplinary teams.
The strengths of this course are the people it involves and the atmosphere they create. People who make urban design at the Melbourne School of Design what it is are the staff and students. Our core group of staff brings together experience and active involvement in current urban design research, design research and education. A broader teaching team with expertise in landscape architecture and urban planning adds diversity and richness. Urban design students contribute their own experiences, energy, new themes and aspirations and add to a multicultural complexity that make our courses special.
The Master of Urban Design encourages interaction and an appreciation of creativity and difference, which creates an atmosphere of collegiality and common endeavour.
Entry requirements
1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
- an undergraduate degree in any discipline with a weighted average mark of at least H3 (65%), or equivalent; and
- a portfolio of recent design work, submitted in accordance with the requirements of the Selection Committee; and
- a personal statement which outlines relevant prior study, work experience and motivation to undertake the course; and, for students not seeking credit;
- a 250-word essay on one designed or vernacular work of landscape architecture that the applicant has seen and found significant.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.
2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
- prior academic performance; and
- the personal statement; and
- the design portfolio.
3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.
Note.
Applicants with the following may be awarded up to 100 points of credit:
- an undergraduate degree with a major in landscape architecture with a weighted average mark of at least H3 (65%), or equivalent.
Graduate Degree Packages for School Leavers
The University of Melbourne offers Graduate Degree Packages to high achieving school leavers, allowing them to secure places (Commonwealth Supported places for domestic students or International fee places) in the Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design provided that they meet certain requirements.
For a Commonwealth Supported Place or an International Fee Place, the applicant must:
- complete an Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2018 or later either:
— in Australia; or
— outside Australia and be an Australian citizen;
- achieve an ATAR (or notional ATAR) of at least 98.00;
- apply for a University of Melbourne Articulated Degree Pathway for commencement in the year following completion of Year 12 or IB via VTAC;
- enrol immediately or be granted deferral in the year following Year 12;
- successfully complete a Bachelor of Design (majoring in landscape architecture) at the University of Melbourne including all the specified prerequisite subjects;
- achieve a minimum weighted average mark of H3 (65%) in their undergraduate degree; and
- commence the Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design within 18 months of completing the undergraduate degree.
Applicants eligible for entry via the Graduate Degree packages will not be required to complete a portfolio or personal statement as part of their application.
Applicants should refer to the University handbook for the additional entry requirements for the Bachelor of Design.
Additional notes:
(a) Portfolio format for applicants not eligible for credit allowed under the Resolution on Selection.
The design portfolio is assessed digitally and must be saved as one PDF file in landscape format. The file size of the portfolio should not exceed 10 MB, and the number of pages should not exceed 15 pages. Note that as portfolios are evaluated digitally images should be reproduced at a sufficient scale and resolution to be easily readable with limited zooming or scrolling. The Selection Committee will look for evidence that the applicant has worked successfully in a studio learning environment. Any of the range of pedagogical approaches to the teaching of introductory design is appropriate, although the Selection Committee will be particularly interested in the exploration of 3D form and space, and evidence of other creative work
(b) Portfolio format for applicants who are eligible for credit allowed under the Resolution on Selection.
The design portfolio is assessed digitally and must be saved as one PDF file in landscape format. The file size of the portfolio should not exceed 10 MB, and the number of pages should not exceed 15 pages. Note that as portfolios are evaluated digitally images should be reproduced at a sufficient scale and resolution to be easily readable with limited zooming or scrolling. Elaborate formats that reduce the available page space for the design images should be avoided. The design portfolio should focus on design work rather than, for example, life or still-life drawing skills. Portfolios should be drawn largely from the design studio subjects the applicant has completed. Applicants submitting work done in the context of employment should explain their role in the work produced with brief notes. It would be helpful to see a variety of techniques of drawings and images: free hand diagrams, computer images, two-dimensional (plans, sections, elevations) and three-dimensional studies, photographs of physical models.
It is highly recommended that students obtain at least 16 weeks of documented relevant full-time professional work experience, before commencing the final 100 points of the degree.
Guaranteed Transfer into Commonwealth Supported Place
Students with a fee place in this course who complete 100 points of the course with a weighted average mark of at least H2A (75%) and who are eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place will be guaranteed a transfer to a Commonwealth Supported Place for the remainder of the course
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The Melbourne School of Design is the graduate school of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. It offers professional entry programs in Architecture, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, Property and Urban Planning. It offers specialist development programs in Property Valuation, Planning and Design and in Urban Design.
The Melbourne School of Design welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is the University and Faculty (Architecture, Building and Planning) policy to take reasonable steps to make reasonable adjustments so as to enable students’ participation in degrees offered by the Melbourne School of Design (MSD).
A candidate for degrees offered in the MSD must have abilities and skills which include the following: observation; communication; motor; conceptual, integrative, and quantitative; and behavioural and social. Adjustments can be provided to minimise the impact of a disability, however, particularly at Masters level, students need to be able to participate in programs in an independent manner and with regard to their safety and the safety of others.
(i) Observation: Candidates must be able to read text, diagrams, maps, drawings and numerical data. Candidates should be able to observe details at a number of scales and to record useful observations of environmental contexts.
(ii) Communication: Candidates should be able to communicate with fellow students, professional and academic staff, members of relevant professions and the public. Candidates must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing, presenting one's own work in front of a large group, receiving and responding to feedback about one's own work in a public setting. Assessment in studio subjects will involve 'crits' where students present their own work in front of a large group, where they will receive and respond to feedback about their work in a public setting. Crits are an integral part of working in the industry and are an inherent requirement of the course. The requirement to undertake public crits cannot be waived.
(iii) Motor: Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from environmental contexts. Off campus investigations may include visits to construction sites, urban, rural and/or remote environments. Candidates should have sufficient motor ability to prepare documentation of analytic texts, drawings and models of findings and for the reparation of proposals for environmental interventions via digital or other means. Candidates should have the ability to actively participate in appropriate site and/or design studio-based activities.
(iv) Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, synthesis and, importantly, the ability to interpret results of such work. Problem resolution, the critical skill demanded of graduates, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, given the disciplines pursued in the SD, candidates should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships in environmental structures of a wide range of scales – from smaller than the individual through individual buildings and urban spaces to large geographic areas. Further, graduate study entails learning to master one’s own abilities and skills and to deploy them strategically. This requires further developing skills in both reflective and reflexive thinking and being able to practice these skills.
(v) Behavioural and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students. Assessment in studio subjects will involve 'crits' where students present their own work in front of a large group, where they will receive and respond to feedback about their work in a public setting. Crits are an integral part of working in the industry and are an inherent requirement of the course. The requirement to undertake public crits cannot be waived.
Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit.
Professional accreditation
Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
Planning Institute of Australia
Intended learning outcomes
Graduates of the Master of Landscape Architecture/ Master of Urban Design will demonstrate:
Knowledge:
- Advanced design knowledge and skills from studio-based courses that contribute to the improvement of our built, social and natural environments.
- Advanced knowledge of design representation and communication medias.
- Knowledge of landscape architectural historical ideas and theory and critical skills to interpret historical ideas, environmental movements and contemporary trends.
- Knowledge of recent developments in the landscape architecture discipline and professional practice.
- Critical engagement with parameters of cross-disciplinary and international contemporary practice.
- Knowledge of landscape materiality, construction and documentation.
- Knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to the practice of landscape architecture.
- Knowledge in urban design and related areas, enabling them to play an integrating role between the built environment disciplines, including architecture, landscape, and planning.
- Understanding of a broad range of urban design theories, and their practical application.
- Knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to urban studies.
- Understanding of recent developments in the field.
Skills:
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex site attributes, information, challenges and opportunities to develop responsible and ecologically sound and novel design solutions.
- The ability to use resources, materials and technologies to develop responsible and ecologically sound and novel design solutions.
- Cognitive skills to demonstrate mastery of landscape architecture theoretical knowledge and to reflect critically on scholarship and professional practice.
- Communication and technical research skills to justify and interpret landscape architecture design propositions, methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
- The ability to develop design and research strategies within interdisciplinary teams supported by excellent communication skills.
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories and to apply established theories to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Communication skills to present projects that contribute to professional practice or scholarship.
Application of knowledge and skills:
- The ability to bridge between the arts and sciences, design and the environment, and engage in core ecological, cultural and social issues in both urban and rural societies.
- The ability to respond with creativity and initiative to new situations in professional practice and/or for further learning.
- The ability to work individually and collaboratively with high level personal autonomy and accountability.
- The ability to think strategically and creatively in addressing key urban design issues.
- The ability to work individually and collaboratively to establish and evaluate requirements and priorities in new project situations and effectively contribute to urban design projects.
- The ability to plan and execute a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or piece of scholarship.
Generic skills
Graduates of the Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design will demonstrate:
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, and an ability to communicate complex ideas to a range of audiences
- Critical and analytical skills to identify and resolve complex problems
- Ability to learn and use appropriate technologies
- Effective organisational, time management and planning skills
- Ability to work collaboratively and productively in groups
Graduate attributes
The Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design provides graduates with:
- design skills that will contribute to the improvement of our built environment;
- a grounding in the rich lessons of architectural history, theory and technology enabling them to develop innovative architecture, relevant to time and place, people and culture;
- the skills to manage an architectural practice and work within teams;
- the ability to use resources, materials and technologies to produce responsible and sustainable architecture.
Course structure
300 point program
All students must complete:
- 287.5 points core subjects in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
- 12.5 points elective
400 point program
All students must complete:
- 375 points core subjects in in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
- 25 points electives
Subject options
Students entering the Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design from a non cognate discipline will undertake the 400 point program
Year 1
First 100 points for students with an undergraduate major or degree in a non cognate discipline:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABPL90107 | Landscape Studio 1: Design Techniques | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
25 |
| HORT90033 | Plants in the Landscape | Semester 1 (On Campus - Burnley) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90271 | Shaping the Landscape | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90176 | Landscape Studio 2: Site and Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
25 |
| ABPL90283 | Ecology for Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Plus 12.5 points of Architecture or Landscape Architecture electives:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABPL90017 | Urban Design Theory | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90020 | Measured Drawings & Digital Heritage | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90075 | Urban and Landscape Heritage | September (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90085 | Construction History | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90086 | Environmental Systems | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90089 | Australian Architecture | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90120 | Building Sustainability | No longer available | |
| ABPL90121 | Compositional Analysis | No longer available | |
| ABPL90123 | Advanced Computational Design | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90124 | The Architecture of Wishful Thinking | No longer available | |
| ABPL90146 | Architectural Conservation in Asia | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90147 | Design Futures | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90149 | Contemporary Digital Practice | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90152 | Bower Studio - Community Development | November (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90153 | Complex Building Energy Modelling | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90173 | Advanced Planting Design | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90222 | F_Lab: Bespoke Furnitures |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| ABPL90236 | Design Approaches and Methods (PG) | No longer available | |
| ABPL90241 | Representing Heritage | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90268 | Facade Design and Construction | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90272 | Regenerative Sustainability | No longer available | |
| ABPL90282 | Principles of Heritage and Conservation | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90304 | Flexible Urban Modelling | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90305 | Design Research | No longer available | |
| ABPL90310 | Construction Industry and Environment | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90316 | The Shaping of Urban Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90319 | GIS In Planning, Design & Development | June (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90321 | Building the Brief: People Process Place | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90322 | Human Environments Relations | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90336 | Craft in Traditional Asian Architecture | No longer available | |
| ABPL90340 | Landscape Materialities | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90341 | Urban Environmental Policy and Planning | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90354 | Robin Boyd Studio | No longer available | |
| ABPL90355 | Issues and Techniques in Global Heritage | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90357 | Forms and Politics in Architecture | No longer available | |
| ABPL90361 | Ex_Lab: Experimental Furniture Futures | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90366 | Urban Informatics | No longer available | |
| ABPL90367 | Critical&Curatorial Practices in Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90368 | Architecture and Media | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90369 | Architecture as Spectacle | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90370 | Design Management | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90371 | Design Activism | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90373 | Digital: Craft, Design and Make | No longer available | |
| ABPL90377 | Design for Ageing | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90378 | DF_Lab: Designing Making | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90380 | Designing for Heat in the Public Domain | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90385 | Applied Heritage Conservation Techniques | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90386 | AA Visiting School Graduate | Winter Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90388 | Polemic Design in East Asia | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90394 | ZEMCH Sustainable Design Workshop | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90403 | Visions and Agendas in Architecture | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90404 | Place Making for The Built Environment | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90405 | Energy & Carbon in the Built Environment |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| ABPL90412 | R_Lab: Made by Robots | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90417 | Environment Behaviour Methods for Design | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90418 | Asian Built Environments Design Legacies | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90419 | Contemporary Architectural Archives | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90420 | Interactive Architecture | Not available in 2025 | 12.5 |
| ABPL90421 | Design - Philosophy - Architecture | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90422 | SI_Lab: Spatial Information | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90429 | Venice Studio | No longer available | |
| ABPL90430 | Design with Country: Resilience Studio | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
25 |
| EDUC90728 | Innovative Spaces and Pedagogy | No longer available | |
| EVSC90022 | Bushfire Urban Planning | April (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| EVSC90023 | Building Behaviour in Bushfires | September (Online) |
12.5 |
| LARC90001 | Placemaking : Design for Landscape | No longer available | |
| PLAN90002 | Comparative Urban Planning | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students entering the Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design from a cognate discipline (Landscape Architecture major) with 100 points of advanced standing (above subjects) will undertake the 300 point program (starting point for students with a Landscape Architecture major)
Year 2
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABPL90078 | Contemporary Landscape Theory | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90061 | Urban Design Studio A |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
| ABPL90170 | Landscape Studio 4 Strategies | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
25 |
| ABPL90074 | Landscape Detail Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90265 | History of Landscape Architecture | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Plus 12.5 points of Urban Design electives:
https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/2024/courses/mc-urbdes/course-structure
Year 3
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABPL90172 | Landscape Studio 3 Speculations | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
25 |
| ABPL90263 | Constructed Ecologies | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90017 | Urban Design Theory | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90273 | Urban Design Studio B |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
| ABPL90131 | Strategic Plan Making | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90048 | Landscape Practice | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Year 4
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABPL90389 | Urban Design Studio C |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
| ABPL90246 | The Economies of Cities and Regions | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90130 | Planning Law & Statutory Planning | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ABPL90375 | Landscape Architecture Design Thesis |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
| ABPL90376 | Urban Design Thesis |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
Further study
Students undertaking the The Master of Landscape Architecture/Master of Urban Design will undertake research subjects which enable progression to further studies as a PhD candidate.
Last updated: 16 April 2025