MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
MASTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Overview

This past year has seen many important changes for Virginia Tech. With university reorganization, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Natural Resources have become more complex.  They have also become better positioned to meet the demands of an increasingly complex society focusing on the planning, design, and management of the built environment.  Two new schools have been formed within the College, and units outside those schools have become stronger in both colleges.  The administrative framework guiding the Colleges’ activities over the next generation has been largely completed.  Now is the time to connect the disciplines and fields of study so that synergies promised by reorganization can be achieved.  Toward this end, what follows is a proposal to create dual master degree program between the two involving the Master of Landscape Architecture and the Master of Natural Resources.

Introduction

Many professions and advanced nonprofessional studies are intertwined in numerous ways. Very few persons achieve professional competence in more than one field. Many positions in allied professions especially among those represented within the Colleges can best be filled by persons who possess the knowledge and skills of multiple fields.  Those who master core material in more than one field acquire the flexibility to engage in a wide range of activities within multiple fields and become bridge-builders between them.  Many rise to leadership positions because of their multi-disciplinary perspective.

This proposal for a dual degree between allied professions and advanced studies recognizes the value gained by mastering core knowledge and skills in two areas in less time than needed to master core and specialized material in individual fields separately especially where electives in one field are closely aligned to the core material of an allied field.  The proposal eliminates the potential for duplicative coursework in analytical methods and general electives.

The success of the proposed dual degree program is in the effective coordination of course requirements in two fields that assures the integrity of each while also saving time and cost to the student.  This coordination may consist in the effective sharing of electives and/or substitution for one field of significantly relevant courses from another. It cannot be driven by arbitrary or mechanical reduction of course requirements just for the sake of saving of time and cost, however, which would compromise the integrity of both degrees. Any reduction of credit requirements by virtue of substitution must be based on the significant relevance of the courses to the program for which they are being accepted. Significant relevance may be indicated by the close relationship of content, complementary between the fields, methodological relevance, and other criteria of intellectual relevance.

As a general proposition, the integrity of each field is assured when students master the core material in each, and choose electives that integrate understanding of each.  At Virginia Tech, the minimum requirement for a masters degree is 30 credit hours and the minimum requirement for two is twice this, less six credit hours for a total of 54 credit hours.  The Graduate School has indicated it will award dual masters degrees for a minimum of 54 credit hours provided the core material for each degree has been mastered and there is a capstone product for each (that is, not one product meeting capstone requirements of both degrees).  Individual colleges are free to supplement these minimums for a variety of reasons especially when related to accreditation. 

Administration of dual degree programs will be negotiated between the participating units if the recommendation is approved.  Generally, the following administrative procedures are expected:

Dual degree students must be admitted to both programs following the admissions procedures in each.

Students may apply for admission to both programs before enrolling in either, or they may apply after first being admitted to and enrolling in one.  In the latter case, application to the second program should be made before half the coursework in the first has been completed.

Following university guidelines, the capstone product required of each program will remain in effect.  However, it is recognized that the capstone product for both may bridge the fields of each degree.

Dual degrees must be earned simultaneously although a student could opt out of one degree program to receive the other masters degree provided requirements of that degree are fulfilled. 

All grades earned in dual degree status are used for purposes of determining academic good standing, academic probation and graduate requirements.

Students must be in good standing in both programs to continue in a dual degree program. Students who are dismissed from either program are no longer considered to be in a dual degree program. These students may enroll in and use courses for credit toward the degree program in which they are in good standing only. Students may not take courses in the program from which they have been dismissed and may not use such courses for dual degree credit.

Other requirements of the Graduate School or participating units.

Dual Degree

There are few fields of study so intertwined as landscape architecture and natural resources.  The proposed dual MLA/MNR degree recognizes this and puts Virginia Tech at the forefront of integrating knowledge to improve management of the environment.

The MLA program has three options more particularly described in the Graduate College than offered here.  In general, students are admitted to one, two, or three year graduate study options (MLA 1, MLA 2, MLA 3) depending on the nature of their undergraduate studies in landscape architecture.  The MLA 1 option is rarely, if ever used and so this proposal focuses on the MLA 2 and MLA 3 options, with MLA 3 being the most popular.  Students can choose where they do their graduate work, either Blacksburg or Alexandria but the curricular requirements are similar.  The MLA 3 option requires 80-84 credit hours of coursework, with 18 elective credit hours, while MLA 2 requires 50-54 credit hours with 15 elective credit hours. 

The MNR is a 33 credit hour program composed of 12 hours in core courses, a six credit hour professional paper, nine hours in a concentration, and six hours of electives.

The proposed dual degree includes the core courses from the MLA and MNR degrees, along with the capstone requirements of each.  The concentration requirement in MNR is reduced to six hours recognizing the numerous MLA courses related to MNR dual degree students will take.

Depending on the MLA option, the dual MLA/MNR degree can be awarded after 86 to 90 credit hours for MLA 3, or 59 to 63 hours for MLA 2.

The following is the recommended dual MLA/MNR degree program of study beginning with the individual requirements of each degree.