Public Information: BLA program
a. Mission, objectives, and goals:
Please click here to access our departmental Mission Statement and here to access our Strategic Plan for 2025-2030.
b. BLA program accreditation status:
All of our department’s programs are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which is in turn overseen by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Our BLA program is also professionally accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB). Current status: Our BLA program is fully accredited. Next review: Spring 2026.
c. Estimated cost of attendance, including fellowship, assistantship, and scholarship opportunities and other financial support options to reduce the cost of attending:
For the current estimated cost of attending our BLA program, please click here. Select your residency status, then select your date of enrollment. Just below the heading “Estimated Cost Comparison,” click “View Yearly Cost,” then scroll down to “Fine & Applied Arts.”
Please click here for detailed information about awards and assistantships at the departmental, college, and university levels.
Percentage of BLA students receiving need-based aid:
- 2021-22: 63.4%
- 2022-23: 61.1%
- 2023-24: 56.9%
d. Student retention and graduation rates:
Undergraduate freshmen retention rate (campuswide):
- AY 2021-22: 93.4%
- AY 2022-23: 93.3%
- AY 2023-24: 94.3%
e. Number of degrees granted per year:
- AY 2021-22: BLA 22
- AY 2022-23: BLA 18
- AY 2023-24: BLA 19
f. Percentage of students with timely graduation:
Four-year graduation rate (campuswide):
- AY 2021-22: 72.1%
- AY 2022-23: 73.5%
- AY 2023-24: 73.2%
Five-year graduation rate (campuswide):
- AY 2021-22: 83.1%
- AY 2022-23: 83.2%
- AY 2023-24: 83.2%
Six-year graduation rate (campuswide):
- AY 2021-22: 84.7%
- AY 2022-23: 84.9%
- AY 2023-24: 85.1%
g. Required and optional materials and equipment with estimated costs and shared resources/alternative access:
To carry out their work, all BLA students need to have a laptop computer capable of running software platforms widely used in contemporary practice, such as AutoCad, GIS, Rhino, Grasshopper, and the Adobe Suite. PCs are preferred for software compatibility. All students have access to general use computer labs across campus. Students can also access a powerful suite of software applications free of charge and from anywhere on- or off-campus through the Illinois AnyWare virtual desktop service. Landscape Architecture students have access to a print/plotter lab in our main building, Temple Buell Hall, and exceptional 2D/3D printing and fabrication resources in close proximity, including but not limited to the Siebel Center for Design, the labs of the School of Art and Design, the Illinois School of Architecture Woodshop and DigiFab Shop, and the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab. Please see each web link above for information about flat rate and per-use fees. BLA students are given an analog tool and supply kit at the start of their first-semester foundation studio course.
h. Supplemental and experiential learning opportunities, associated costs, and potentially available subsidies:
Thanks to the ongoing, generous support of our alumni and friends, we are able to cover travel costs for field trips and site visits in all of our studio and technical courses. We are also able to subsidize travel costs for students attending the annual disciplinary conferences of ASLA, CELA, EDRA, and LABash. Similarly, all costs of attendance are covered for our annual and biennial professional development opportunities, including our Career and Networking Fair, Speed Networking Mixer, Job Shadow Day, online portfolio reviews, and All-Department Charrette. Through the generosity of Brenton and Jean Wadsworth, our range of scholarships includes merit-based support for students undertaking internships focused on business and non-profit sectors.
j. Number of licensed faculty:
Among our full-time faculty members, three are licensed professional landscape architects.
k. Educational requirements for licensure eligibility:
Our BLA program meets the educational requirements for licensure eligiblity throughout the United States.