Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.)
Option in Watershed Stewardship (CWS)
Option in Community and Urban Design (CUD)

Option in Watershed Stewardship

The Center for Watershed Stewardship at Penn State was established in 1998 as an intercollege initiative of the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Arts and Architecture with a major grant by the Heinz Endowments of Pittsburgh.

The Center's mission encompasses interdisciplinary graduate studies focused on team-oriented, real world problem solving within the context of community-based watershed planning and management engaging environmental, economic, and resource management interests.

Objective of the Graduate Option in Watershed Stewardship

A broad consensus points to strong future demand for natural resources professionals who can work effectively in multidisciplinary teams within communities to creatively solve the technical and social challenges of comprehensive watershed management. The watershed approach is being advocated by both governmental and private organizations nationwide as the best means of solving many water resource-related problems such as non-point source pollution control, stormwater management, and stream restoration.

The objective of the Graduate Option in Watershed Stewardship is to enhance the education opportunities of graduate students in community-based watershed planning and management. The option integrates creative problem solving, science-based knowledge, technical skills, and effective public communication and team leadership. It will help train graduate students from multiple disciplines as watershed-focused professionals for a variety of careers in watershed stewardship with government, business, and non-profit organizations.

Description of the Option

The Graduate Option in Watershed Stewardship is not a separate degree program. The option is taken as part of an existing graduate degree program within a participating academic unit. The option is a two-year curriculum consisting of a series of seminars, breadth courses and practica. Courses taken to fulfill option requirements may also count toward fulfillment of the credits required for a student's degree program as determined by the graduate program advisor and graduate committee. Degree programs that currently offer the option are:

Watershed Stewardship Seminars

Two watershed stewardship seminars are included in the curriculum. These courses provide students with an overview of relevant watershed issues and the watershed planning process and an opportunity to interact with each other and with practicing professionals. Leadership, team-building and communication skills are also addressed. Seminar courses involve assigned readings and group discussions, class exercises, field trips, guest speakers, and student presentations. A general description of the seminar courses follows.

Breadth Courses

Breadth courses are intended to provide students with training in various watershed-related disciplines. Students are required to take three credits of elective (400- or 500-level) coursework in each of the specified topical categories. Courses are selected from a list of approved courses offered on the Penn State University Park Campus (see list below). Students can petition to substitute higher level or equivalent courses in a major field to suit their specific backgrounds and goals. Breadth course categories and option requirements for each degree program are shown in the following table.

Watershed Stewardship Practica

The key element of the watershed stewardship graduate studies program is an eight credit, two-semester project in which students work in teams with community, government, and business leaders to analyze and understand natural resources problems in a selected watershed and creatively synthesize appropriate solutions in the form of a written watershed stewardship plan. These watershed planning projects, called Keystone Projects, provide students with a real world, hands-on education opportunity while also providing valuable service to Pennsylvania communities. The practica are taken in the second year of the option.

The practica are instructed by the director and associate director of the Center. Additionalfaculty and resource professionals are involved in Keystone Projects through Faculty Fellowship appointments to enhance the expertise available to the students in various disciplines related to the project.

Sequence of Courses

A typical scheduling of option courses is shown below. Individual schedules will vary depending on other degree requirements.

Approved Breadth Courses for the CWS Option
Recommended List of Breadth Courses

Graduate Option in Watershed Stewardship

*Cross-listed classes are offered together, but schedule numbers are different

+Special Topics Courses/taught on a one-semester basis

NOTE : Students may petition to substitute courses of their choice, consistent with the intent to provide breadth to their individual graduate objectives.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available on a competitive basis through the Center for a limited number of students. This might include a scholarship, assistantship, or tuition waiver. Initial awards are typically made in February-March in cooperation with participating academic units. Subsequent awards are made as funds are available.

Admission Process

Prospective MLA students seeking admittance to the Graduate Option in Watershed Stewardship must first apply and be accepted into the MLA Program. Applicants should include a statement of interest in the watershed stewardship option in their application material.

Requests by prospective MLA students for graduate application materials should be made to:

Brenda Ross, Department of Landscape Architecture, 121 Stuckeman Family Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Phone: 814-865-9511, email: blb1@psu.edu

Option in Community and Urban Design

The Community and Urban Design (C.U.D) Option provides students with in-depth inquiry into the theory and practice of community-based and urban design that responds to trends related to urban growth and change, the rise of the non-profit sector in community governance, and poverty and environmental degradation in urbanized and urbanizing areas. The intent of the C.U.D. Option is to introduce students to technical elements of professional practice, while fostering a critical perspective vis-à-vis the restructuring of urban and community space. Students undertake hands-on design work and research as well as coursework in methods and computer applications, planning and policy, and ethics and society. Exploration of relevant theories occurs throughout the curriculum. The goal is to produce a well-rounded and transdisciplinary practitioner able to work in a range of settings and across a variety of scales.

Urban design is the craft of city making-the public realm seen in physical terms. It is a result of human thought and creativity-consciously and intentionally-that shapes the built environment. Some of the design elements include streets, public and civic buildings, parks and open space, and entire districts and neighborhoods. The practice of urban design is multi- and trans-disciplinary in nature, a field shared by architects, landscape architects, urban, town, and transportation planners, engineers, geographers, and economists. While considering the design of three-dimensional space, urban designers also take into consideration the fourth dimension, time. As such, urban design is a guiding vision and framework for future action. Master plans, zoning codes, and design guidelines are some of the mechanisms used by urban designers to convey a specific intention or goal.

Community design is practice and praxis-an approach to design that is collaborative and participatory in nature, and requires listening, mutual engagement, and reflection. In cities throughout the United States and abroad, efforts in community (re)generation are reshaping the public process and institutional framework for planning, design and community development. The rising influence of multi-sector coalitions, governance networks and the growing practice of community-based design signal a need to re-examine the role of state and civil society in the making of the public realm. The mechanism of how designers engage in the active construction of place further sets a stage for examining the practice of design in urban and community settings.

Objectives of the Graduate Option in Community and Urban Design

The philosophy of the M.L.A. Community and Urban Design (C.U.D.) Option grows out of these two equally important (and often intertwined) areas of design: urban and community. The Option curriculum focuses on hands-on, studio-based projects sponsored by the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture's (SALA) Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance, complemented by independent research on a related topic, rounded out by breadth electives in key topical areas. The M.L.A. C.U.D. Option is also closely aligned with the M.Arch. SUD Option, providing students the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. This strategy cumulatively provides an integration of depth, breadth, interdisciplinary perspective, and hands-on experience in this growth area of professional and scholarly practice.

Description of the Option

The C.U.D. Option offers a topical curricular "track" within the existing Master of Landscape Architecture program. The degree requirements for the C.U.D. Option are the same as for the "non-option" M.L.A.: 44 credits, comprising seminars, electives, design, and research. The C.U.D. Option directs 24 credits of coursework within the 44-credit M.L.A. as follows:

• Depth and Hands-on Experience in 15 credits of Design and Research Inquiry (8 credits in studio-based design projects, 7 credits in research-based independent inquiry)

• 9 credits of breadth at 400 - 500 level are required in the following subject areas:

              3 credits in Methods and Computer Applications
              3 credits in Community and Urban Design in Planning
              3 credits in Ethics and Society

Additional C.U.D.-oriented breadth electives are recommended, but optional, within the remaining 6 elective credits required in the M.L.A.

A sample list of C.U.D. approved electives appears below. C.U.D. electives are not limited to that sample list; students may petition to substitute equivalent courses to suit their specific backgrounds and goals, subject to approval by the Graduate Program Coordinator and the student's advisor.

The C.U.D. Option also provides students the opportunity to participate in off-campus study programs. As of this writing, opportunities exist for C.U.D. student exploration through SALA's existing Sede di Roma program, focused on addressing urban design within a complex historical fabric; through the recently created International Consortium of Sustainable Urban Design focused on building community capacity through participatory planning and design strategies with partners in Brazil; and through the American Indian Housing Initiative, a community design/build partnership project with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana. Specific opportunities will continue to evolve, but the commitment to providing students hands-on experiences in meaningful venues is integral to the C.U.D. Option.

Students are expected to complete the requirements of the M.L.A. in C.U.D. Option in four semesters. A representative pattern of scheduling for the M.L.A. C.U.D. Option might be as follows, (C.U.D. Option requirements appear in bold italics):

Approved Electives for the C.U.D. Option

Abbreviations: Theory (T)
                      Methods & Computer Applications (M&CA)
                      Community & Urban Design in Planning (CUDP)
                      Ethics & Society (E&S)

Note: This listing does not include elective courses available in the Department of Landscape Architecture

Architecture
Architecture 542: Topics in Community and Urban Design (CUDP)
Architecture 511: Theory (T)

Geography
Geography 418: Urban/Historical Geography (T)
Geography 419: Urban Social Issues (E&S)
Geography 415: Gender and Geography (E&S)
Geography 458: Geographic Information Systems (M&CA)
Geography 518: Space and Time (T)

Sociology*
Sociology 405: Sociological Theory (T)
Sociology 408: Urban Ecology (E&S)
Sociology 409: Racial and Ethnic Inequality in America (E&S)
Sociology 419: Race and Public Policy (E&S))
Sociology 420: Energy and Modern Society (E&S)
Sociology 428: Homelessness in American (E&S)
Sociology 429: Social Stratification (E&S)
Sociology 454: The City in the Post-industrial Society (E&S)

*Prerequisite: 3 credits in Sociology

Dept of Ag. Econ, and Rural Sociology
CE Dev 417: Power, Conflict, and Comm. Decision Making (CUDP)
CEDev 430: Principles of Economic Development Planning (CUDP)
CEDev 452: Rural Organization (CUDP)
CEDev 460: Introduction to Community Information Systems (CUDP)
CEDev 470: Comparative Community Development (CUDP)
CE Dev 500: Principles of Comm. and Econ. Development and Leadership (CUDP)
CE Dev 509: Population, Land Use, and Municipal Finance (CUDP)
CEDEv 575: Methods and Techniques for Community and Econ. Development (CUDP)

Civil Engineering
CE 422 Transportation Planning (CUDP)

Philosophy
Philosophy 445/545: Ethics I (E&S)
Philosophy 470/570: Philosophy of Science (E&S)

American Studies
Am. Studies 405: Ethnicity & American Experience (E&S)

Admission Process

Prospective M.LA. students seeking admittance to the Graduate Option in Community and Urban Design must first apply and be accepted into the M.L.A. Program. Applicants should include a statement of interest in the C.U.D. option in their application material.

Requests by prospective M.L.A. students for graduate application materials should be made to:

Brenda Ross, Department of Landscape Architecture, 121 Stuckeman Family Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Phone: 814-865-9511, email: blb1@psu.edu