Department-based funding
Through the great generosity of our alumni and friends, our department is able to offer a variety of fellowships, scholarships, and prizes to qualified undergraduate and graduate students. These much-appreciated gifts make it possible for students to pursue education in landscape architecture, to travel, and to undertake independent research; they encourage students to pursue their unique interests more deeply; and they are an important, lasting recognition of excellence. Students in the department are notified in advance of awards requiring applications for consideration.
Awards for BLA students
Awards for BLA students
Brenton & Jean Wadsworth Undergraduate Recruitment Scholarship
Awarded to a newly-admitted BLA student ($1,000/year for 4 years, contingent on continuing enrollment in the BLA program).
Brenton & Jean Wadsworth Undergraduate Scholarship
Provides academic cost assistance to selected BLA students. Applicants/nominees must be in good standing and have a record of leadership in service organizations or projects and strong academic performance ($3,000).
Dan Ryan Memorial Award
Given in memory of BLA student Daniel J. Ryan (BLA 2002) to an undergraduate in LA 233 Foundation Design Studio who is nominated by peers based on exceptional ability in design and visual communications and for demonstrating willingness to help fellow students ($500).
North Shore Garden Club Landscape Architecture Scholarship
Awarded to a BLA candidate in LA 335 Community and Open Space Studio who demonstrates excellence in design, sustained throughout the semester, with an emphasis on creative expression in civic improvement ($1,000).
F. R. Vogelgesang Landscape Architecture Scholarship
Awarded to a BLA candidate in LA 437 Regional Design Studio who demonstrates excellence in leadership within the collaborative studio process throughout the semester as a whole ($1,000).
Bruce Borland Golf Course Scholarship
Supports the education of upper-level BLA candidates who share Bruce Borland’s interests, values, and passion for landscape architecture and golf. Applicants must have completed all Fall semester second-year core courses and be currently enrolled in, or have completed, all Spring semester second-year courses ($3,500).
Florence Bell Robinson Scholarship
Presented to the graduating BLA candidate considered by the faculty most likely to become a teacher ($1,000).
Awards for MLA students
Awards for MLA students
Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship
Awarded competitively to an incoming MLA student based on creative achievements (full tuition and partial fee waiver, plus stipend of $6,000, for one semester).
Cherie L. Kluesing Fellowship
Awarded to an incoming MLA applicant with extraordinary creative achievements in the fine arts, this fellowship extends Prof. Cherie Kluesing’s legacy of creative integration of fine arts in landscape design. Applicants wishing to be considered must upload with their materials a separate statement of interest (approx. 500 words) explaining the relevance of their background and objectives to the intent of the fellowship (full tuition and partial fee waiver, plus academic year stipend of $10,000, for up to three consecutive years of study).
Robert Riley Fund Fellowship
Awarded to an incoming MLA applicant, this recruiting fellowship honors the legacy of Prof. Robert B. Riley, who joined the Department of Landscape Architecture as Head in 1970, served in that capacity until 1985, and continued teaching, advising, and inspiring students and colleagues through retirement in 1996 and for many years thereafter as an emeritus faculty member. The fellowship includes a full tuition waiver, a partial fee waiver, and a stipend of $6,000 for each semester of the award term.
Awards for BLA and MLA students
Awards for BLA and MLA students
Landscape Architecture Renaissance Scholarship
Awarded to Landscape Architecture students achieving academic excellence and participating in 1) club sports, 2) a university-sponsored music ensemble, or 3) interdisciplinary study through a double-major ($1,000).
Gary Kesler Prize
Awarded annually to a student in LA 342 Site Engineering who exhibits excellence in the mastery of technical principles in landscape architecture ($500).
James Martin Family Scholarship in Landscape Architecture
Benefits students with a strong interest in and passion for landscape design with an emphasis on plants in design. Awarded annually to a BLA or MLA student based on a planting design competition within a course context ($2,500).
Natalie B. Alpert Prizes in Landscape Architecture
The Alpert Prizes in the History of Landscape Architecture are awarded for the best research papers written in LA 314/LA 513 History of World Landscapes (up to $500 each). The Alpert Prize for Design is given as a “grand prize” to one of the finalists in the annual Sasaki Day Awards Competition ($1,000).
Awards for Ph.D. students
Awards for MLA and Ph.D. students
Vincent Bellafiore Fellowship
Provides an MLA or Ph.D. student with support for one full year of study, including tuition, partial fees, and a stipend of approximately $12,000.
Travel funding for BLA, MLA, and Ph.D. students
Travel funding for BLA, MLA, and Ph.D. students
George and Dorothy Fiel Fellowship
Supports student travel and research for the study of historical and contemporary works of landscape architecture in the United States. Awarded based on the academic merit of the student and the intellectual merit of their proposal (up to $6,500).
Pauline Tilton Kennedy Prize
Supports travel for independent study of contemporary and historical landscapes. Awarded based on the combined intellectual strength of a proposal and the academic merit of the student (up to $6,500).
Edward L. Ryerson Traveling Fellowship in Landscape Architecture
Promotes excellence in landscape architecture through travel and study outside of the United States. Awards are made based on academic record, promise for leadership, and the quality of submitted proposals (up to $6,500).
Assistantships for MLA and Ph.D. students
The department offers teaching and research assistantship opportunities to qualified graduate students. Assistantships at the 25%-level (10 hours/week) and higher included a full tuition waiver, a partial fee waiver, and a stipend correlated to the % level of appointment. Assistantships are employment contracts between a student and the department (teaching) or individual faculty members (research). They are typically awarded on a one-semester basis.
University- and college-based funding
Merit- and need-based funding is available from the University and the Graduate College.
For undergraduate students, the Office of Student Financial Aid provides a wealth of information about sources of funding.
For graduate students, the Graduate College provides support and resources for students seeking financial help: Financial Aid (including a Fellowship Finder) and Financial Assistance.
The Graduate College also offers various fellowships to support University of Illinois graduate students. Students do not apply directly for these awards. Instead, departments submit nominations according to the competition schedule set by the Graduate College. Students wishing to be nominated for these awards should contact the Chair of their program—MLA or Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture—for details.
Graduate College Major Awards: Doctoral-Level
Illinois Distinguished Fellowships
Doctoral recruitment fellowships for the University’s top incoming students.
Graduate College Fellowships for Underrepresented Students
Doctoral recruitment fellowships for the University’s top incoming URM students.
Distinguished Graduate Fellowships in the Humanities & Arts
Doctoral recruitment fellowships for the University’s top incoming students in select humanities and fine arts programs.
Aspire Fellowships or Underrepresented Students
Doctoral recruitment fellowships for participants in the Graduate College’s Aspire Early Application & Campus Visit program.
Travel Grants for Dissertation Research
Grants for students who need to travel off-campus to conduct dissertation research.
Dissertation Completion Fellowships
Fellowships supporting doctoral students as they finalize their dissertations.
Graduate College Major Awards: Master’s-Level
Graduate College Master’s Fellowships for Underrepresented Students
Master’s recruitment fellowships for the University’s top incoming URM students.
Aspire Master’s Fellowships for Underrepresented Students
Master’s level recruitment fellowships for participants in the Graduate College’s Aspire Early Application & Campus Visit program.
Travel Grants for Master’s Projects
Grants for students who need to travel off-campus to complete a master’s project.
Specialized Awards: Master’s and Doctoral Levels
Small grants supporting students traveling to professional conferences to present papers, posters, or other creative work.
Professional-development awards for underrepresented students in select STEM fields.
Fellowships supporting students from Missouri.
Fellowships supporting research in interpersonal communication.
Fellowships for underrepresented students facing acute and unexpected financial distress.
Small grants for students facing acute and unexpected financial distress.