Landscape Design Degrees

What are landscape design degrees all about> Landscape design is seen as the architecture of the outdoors.

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Landscape architects design to make them beautiful and functional. If you are creative and love to work outdoors, a career in landscaping design might be for you. Landscape Design degree and diploma programs, for example at Penn Foster Career School will provide you with the education and training in large and small scale landscaping, pest management, soil classification and selection, and plant health to lay out, groom, and maintain grounds for public parks and modified natural spaces or institutions such as universities, corporate campuses, or commercial properties.

Education and Training

Landscape design is a profession that focuses on designing gardens and residential landscapes as well as commercial landscape. Students are exposed to courses such as:

• History and theory of garden design
• Plant vocabulary
• Horticulture
• Landscape architecture

Students get to gain a deeper understanding of how space and plant materials may be creatively used to express human values and emotions. The curriculum is designed to develop students’ technical and design competence and to enable them to begin professional practice upon graduation. You also learn how to select, grow, and maintain flowers, trees, shrubs, and ground covers. Throughout the phases of planning and design, landscape architects work in collaboration with professionals e.g civil engineers, hydrologists, and architects. Landscape architects also spend time creating plans and designs, preparing models and cost estimates, and doing research.

Most states require you to be licensed or registered. This is based on the results of the Landscape Architect Registration Examination, administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. Registration for the exam usually requires one to have attained a degree from an accredited college or university and having one to four years of work experience under the supervision of a registered landscape architect.

Expected Salary and Projected Career Growth

Upon graduation, you would be ready to work for a full-service landscape company, plant nursery, gardening shop, or you could start your own landscape design service or business. As a landscape artist you can expect to earn an average annual salary of about $35,000. Those working for high profile clients in business, industry, and high-end homes can earn over $100,000 a year. The U. S. Department of Labor projects that the industry will continue to grow over the next decade. Those living in the Southern U.S. have better career prospects as the weather is warmer and there is a longer growing season.

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