Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design
Student type:
Quick facts
-
Duration
Full-time 3 years -
Location
Melbourne City -
Fees
Next intake
February Duration
Full-time 3 years Location
Melbourne City
Overview
Landscape architecture is a design discipline that works across a range of creative ideas, living systems, physical materials and future possibilities. It is about envisioning, investigating and proposing better ways of living in a complex and rapidly changing world.
RMIT offers a distinguished professional education consisting of a Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design degree (3 years) and an accredited Master of Landscape Architecture degree (2 years). Our degrees are recognised as a world-class facility which fosters design knowledge, critical thinking, and design advocacy through innovative teaching and research.
Details
Your studies will centre around design studios which provide a unique way of exploring ideas and creative practice
Design studio typically makes up half the degree each semester and is taught in small groups. You will focus on a particular design theme and project each semester. After the first semester, you’ll select from a range of studio offerings and learn specific design techniques to develop ideas and outcomes in relation to a project brief. Studios are vertically integrated, i.e. grouped with students from various year levels.
Design studios are supported by core subjects to develop specialised skills and knowledge in the following three areas:
Communications
Learn how to link design thinking, physical prototyping and digital experimentation to represent landscape in two, three and four dimensions.
Environments
Develop skills in analysing and constructing landscapes through mapping, modelling and fabrication.
Theoretical Frameworks
Interrogate design ideas in history and theory through creative and critical thinking and drawing.
Acclaimed and award winning international and Australian landscape architects, architects, urban designers and experts in related fields are consistently involved with the teaching and research projects undertaken within this degree.
Design studios provide strong engagement with industry. Some projects may involve clients or actual projects where you will develop your design proposals within a scenario-based, simulated design practice environment. Professional designers may also form part of your review panel at the end of semester.
Many public lectures are also held throughout the year, led by prominent local and international landscape architects and urban designers.
RMIT University is committed to providing you with an education that strongly links formal learning with professional or vocational practice.
International exchange options are available to Universities in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the USA and across Asia.
A range of design studios also offer travelling opportunities overseas to engage in field work, workshops and design projects. Previous locations include Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, France, Spain and Uganda.
International Internships
Internship placements are offered to selected students in both the Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design and Master of Landscape Architecture degrees each year, allowing students to gain work experiences at acclaimed and award-winning practices overseas. Current internship partners include Stoss LU in Boston and EMF in Spain.
Choose a program structure
| Title | Location | Duration | Plan code | CRICOS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design | City Campus |
3 Years Full-Time
|
3 Years Full-Time
|
BP256P15 | 066833B |
Choose a program structure
Program code: BP256
Career
The Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design is a stand-alone award that provides employment options for those who seek to work in landscape design, or design more generally, in roles that do not require professional registration. To be eligible to become accredited as a landscape architect you must complete the Master of Landscape Architecture.
Landscape architects work in fields such as site design, urban design, park and recreational design, regional planning, ecological design and restoration.
Admissions
RMIT is committed to providing transparency to the admissions process. In line with this commitment, we provide you with information that will help in making informed choices about your undergraduate study options. Find out more about RMIT’s commitment to admissions transparency.
You must meet the minimum academic entry requirements for this program. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee you entry due to the competitive nature of this program. Overseas qualifications will be assessed for Australian equivalence.
RMIT’s selection criteria, outlined below according to your highest completed level of education, will provide you with a better understanding of the minimum admissions requirements needed for this program.
Selection criteria
This information is for applicants who are currently undertaking an Australian Year 12 or equivalent or whose highest qualification is a completed secondary education within the last two years (2017, 2018).
Selection criteria
You are required to meet the following minimum academic requirements:
- successful completion of an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent) including units 3 and 4 with a study score of at least 30 in English (EAL) or at least 25 in English other than EAL
Important! You must also complete additional requirements for admission to this program. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional requirements for admission'.
You may be eligible for adjustment factors which will be applied to your selection rank. You can find more information under the heading 'Adjustment factors'.
This information is for applicants who have completed an accredited award at an Australian Registered Training Organisation.
Selection criteria
You are required to meet the following minimum academic requirements:
- successful completion of an Australian certificate IV or above (or equivalent)
You may satisfy the required English prerequisite by completing the STAT multiple choice. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional information'.
Important! You must also complete additional requirements for admission to this program. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional requirements for admission'.
You may be eligible for adjustment factors which will be applied to your selection rank. You can find more information under the heading 'Adjustment factors'.
This information is for applicants whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education program.
Selection criteria
You are required to meet the following minimum academic requirements:
- successful completion of at least two courses (subjects) at an Australian undergraduate level (or equivalent)
You may satisfy the required English prerequisite by completing the STAT multiple choice. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional information'.
Important! You must also complete additional requirements for admission to this program. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional requirements for admission'.
You may be eligible for adjustment factors which will be applied to your selection rank. You can find more information under the heading 'Adjustment factors'.
This information is for applicants who left secondary school more than two years ago and who have not undertaken VET or higher education study since then.
Selection criteria
You are required to meet the following minimum academic requirements:
- successful completion of an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent) more than two years ago, including units 3 and 4 with a study score of at least 30 in English (EAL) or at least 25 in English other than EAL
You may satisfy the required English prerequisite by completing the STAT multiple choice. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional information'.
If you would like your work and life experience to be considered, you should provide a copy of your curriculum vitae and a supporting statement from your employer.
Important! You must also complete additional requirements for admission to this program. You can find more information under the heading 'Additional requirements for admission'.
You may be eligible for adjustment factors which will be applied to your selection rank. You can find more information under the heading 'Adjustment factors'.
Selection task
If you are applying to RMIT through VTAC you must register and submit the Landscape Architecture selection task by the dates noted below for each VTAC round:
- early round (non year 12 only): 30 September 2019
- main round (all applicants): 27 November 2019
- all subsequent rounds (if places are available): 14 February 2020
Advisory letters will be sent in late October (early round) and late December (main round).
If you are a RMIT current or recent student, please select the apply button to submit your direct application. The link to submit your selection task will appear on the applicant dashboard after you have submitted your application. All tasks must be submitted by 28 February 2020 and will be assessed in the order they are received until this date unless places are already filled.
You are exempt from completing the selection task if you have successfully completed an Advanced Diploma of Building Design (Architectural) or Diploma of Drafting/Building Design or a minimum of one year tertiary study in a design discipline (e.g. architecture, interior design, industrial design, landscape architecture, graphic design, art or fashion design).
If you are shortlisted or exempted will be required to attend an interview. Interviews will be held in October (VTAC Early round) and early December (VTAC main round). For all subsequent rounds and direct applicants, interviews will be arranged after you have submitted your application.
Selection task requirements
You are required to provide the following:
- a statement outlining why you wish to study design. Consider elaborating on what interests you about design and what contributions you think design can make to our living environments (maximum 150 words)
- a creative exercise. Provide a single image of a key creative inspiration, influential creative work or an inspiring space. It can come from any field (e.g. landscape architecture, art, photography, architecture, etc) or be an example from your own work
- creative exercise questions. You will be required to submit responses to the following questions in relation to your image:
- what is the key idea that you want to highlight in the work? (Maximum 100 words)
- what about the image makes it inspiring to you? (Maximum 100 words)
- does it change the way you think about a particular issue, space, process or way of designing? (Maximum 100 words)
- what is the most successful element of the work? What is not as successful? (Maximum 100 words)
The creative exercise is an opportunity for you to communicate ideas and to express creativity using different media. There is no one correct answer and we do not expect you to have any prior knowledge of landscape architecture.
Art and Design application tips
View the following videos for some practical application advice:
Available only to applicants currently studying Year 12
School Network Access Program (SNAP)
The SNAP access scheme is designed to increase tertiary access and participation of eligible applicants by giving them priority access to RMIT diploma and degree programs to applicants currently studying Year 12 at a SNAP partner school.
Available only to applicants currently studying Year 12 or whose highest qualification is a completed Year 12
Regional adjustments
RMIT automatically allocates adjustment factors to Year 12 applicants from a low socio-economic status area for all certificate IV, diploma, advanced diploma, associate degree and degree level programs that select primarily on ATAR. Low socio-economic status areas are determined by applying the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Education and Occupation.
Available to all applicants
Equity access schemes
Equity access schemes take into account personal information and location, difficult circumstances, disadvantaged financial background and disability or medical condition that may have impacted on an applicant’s most recent academic performance.
Find out more about the eligibility requirements for each Special Entry Access Scheme and RMIT access categories.
If you are applying through VTAC you should apply for the Special Entry Access Scheme.
If you are applying directly to RMIT you should apply for RMIT Access. The system will prompt you to do this during your application.
Elite Athlete Program
The RMIT Elite Athlete Program supports eligible elite and emerging athletes to achieve sporting and academic excellence, allowing students to balance the demands of both their studies and their athletic responsibilities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
The Indigenous Access Program supports you through an informal interview process where you will receive support from the Ngarara Willim Centre. Additional consideration will be given if you have relevant life, work, education or training experience.
Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)
If you are applying to RMIT as an applicant with vocational education training, higher education study or work or life experience, you may sit the STAT multiple choice if you:
- are 19 years of age or over as of 1 January in the year in which you will start your studies and
- have not been enrolled in secondary studies for at least two years and
- have no prior secondary school (Year 12), VET studies, HE studies or relevant work experience that can be considered for entry, or these do not meet the minimum academic requirements for the program
STAT results are valid for two years prior to the commencement of study and can be used to meet Year 12 English prerequisites. You are still required to meet all other program prerequisites or equivalents.
Learn more about RMIT STAT results including minimum STAT scores required to meet prerequisites.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent senior secondary school qualification) with a minimum 70% average.
Equivalent qualifications may also include completion of the RMIT Foundation Studies program or a recognised post-secondary diploma in the relevant discipline with the required grades.
Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee entry. Your application will still need to be assessed and accepted.
Folio: You must supply evidence of your creativity in the form of a folio that contains a variety of your personal work in art, design or media relevant to the program/s you are applying for. The folio should demonstrate your interests and creative thinking as well as your conceptual, design, problem solving and technical skills. You should include evidence of how ideas were developed as well as finished works.
Examples of work to include in your folio are drawings, paintings, graphic designs, photographs, digital images, models, sculpture, video, scripting, short stories, and/or 2D and 3D Flash animation.
We recommend you explain each work to help the Selection Officer understand the purpose and background of that work.
Folios should be submitted electronically with files in PDF, JPEG, SWF, DCR or QuickTime format suitable to be read on Mac OSX or later, unless otherwise specified. Each electronic file should be no larger than 10MB.
You must present your folio at an assessment session. If you are living outside Melbourne, this can be conducted via email, phone or video call.
To study this program you will need to complete one of the following English proficiency tests:
- IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 6.5 (with no individual band below 6.0)
- TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 79 (with minimum of 13 in Reading, 12 in Listening, 18 in Speaking and 21 in Writing)
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) (PTE (A)): minimum score of 58 (with no communication band less than 50)
- Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): minimum of 176 with no less than 169 in any component.
For detailed information on English language requirements and other proficiency tests recognised by RMIT, visit English language requirements and equivalency information.
Don't meet the English language test scores? Complete an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Advanced Plus Certificate at RMIT English Worldwide.
Pathways
Even though there are no formal pathways into this course, there are often other ways you can gain entry.
Depending on the course, this may include completing a certificate, diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree or undertaking recognised professional experience.
For more information, use our Pathways finder or contact Study@RMIT to discuss your options.
Credit and recognition of prior learning
Credit, recognition of prior learning, professional experience and accreditation from a professional body can reduce the duration of your study by acknowledging your earlier, relevant experience. Find out if you might be eligible.
Successful completion of the Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.5 out of 4 will guarantee a place in the Master of Landscape Architecture.
If you have successfully completed the Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design with a grade point average (GPA) of less than 2.5 out of 4, you may still apply for a place in the Master of Landscape Architecture. You will be required to undertake additional selection tasks (such as submitting a pre-selection kit and/or attending an interview). Selection via this route is competitive and not guaranteed.
When you successfully complete the Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design and achieve a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5, you are guaranteed entry into the Master of Landscape Architecture. If you achieve below the minimum GPA, you may still apply and will need to submit a folio. Applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
When you successfully complete this program, you may be eligible for entry into an RMIT honours or postgraduate program.
Fees
2020 indicative fees
In 2020, the annual student contribution amount (tuition fee) you will pay for a standard year of full-time study is between AU$6,684 to AU$11,155*.
Additional expenses
- Student services and amenities fee (SSAF): AU$308 maximum fee for 2020.
- Other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment.
Annual fee adjustment
Amounts quoted are indicative fees per annum, and are based on a standard year of full-time study (96 credit points). A proportionate fee applies for more or less than the full-time study load.
Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide.
Defer your payment
You may be eligible to apply for a HECS-HELP loan, which can be used to defer payment of up to the full amount of your student contribution fees. You may also be eligible to apply to defer payment of your SSAF through the SA-HELP loan scheme.
Learn more about fees for undergraduate study.
All undergraduate and honours degrees have Commonwealth supported places (CSP) available. In 2020, the annual student contribution amount (tuition fee) you will pay for a standard year of full-time study is between AU$6,684 to AU$11,155.
In a CSP, your tuition fees are subsidised by the Australian Government. Your share of the fee (student contribution) is set each year by the Australian Government and is determined by the discipline areas (bands) of the courses in which you enrol, not the overall program.
How much can I expect to pay for my Commonwealth supported place?
Courses (subjects) fall into one of three bands. The band determines the student contribution amount for the course.
Amounts listed in the table below are based on a standard, full-time study load (96 credit points per year) with all courses in the same band. A proportionate fee applies for more or less than the full-time study load or for enrolment in courses (subjects) from a combination of bands.
You can learn how to calculate your exact tuition fees for units from different bands at fees for Commonwealth supported students.
Maximum student contribution amount for Commonwealth supported places in 2020
Student contribution band by course (subject) |
Maximum annual student contribution amount in 2020 |
Band 1: humanities, behavioural science, social studies, clinical psychology, foreign languages, visual and performing arts, education, nursing |
$6,684 per standard year $835 per standard (12 credit point) course |
Band 2: mathematics, statistics, computing, built environment, other health, allied health, science, engineering, surveying, agriculture |
$9,527 per standard year |
|
$11,155 per standard year |
HECS-HELP Loans
The Australian Government provides financial assistance via the HECS-HELP loan scheme, which allows eligible students (such as Australian citizens or holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa) to defer payment of up to the full amount of their student contribution.
SA-HELP Loans
You may be eligible to apply to defer payment of the Student services and amenities fee (SSAF) through the SA-HELP loan scheme. If you use SA-HELP, the amount will be added to your accumulated HELP debt.
How does a HELP loan work?
If your HECS-HELP and/or SA-HELP loan application is successful, the Australian Government will pay RMIT, on your behalf, up to the full amount of your fees. This amount will become part of your accumulated HELP debt.
You will only start repaying your accumulated HELP debt to the Australian Government once you earn above the minimum income threshold for repayment, which is set each year by the Australian Government (this also applies if you are still studying).
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will calculate your compulsory repayment for the year and include this on your income tax notice.
For more information about loan repayment options see Commonwealth assistance (HELP loans) or Study Assist.
In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF), which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student.
The SSAF is calculated based on your enrolment load and the maximum fee for 2020 is $308.
For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.
You may also be required to purchase other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment. These additional fees and expenses vary from program to program.
The annual tuition fee for 2020 is AU$38,400.
The total indicative tuition fee for 2020 commencement is AU$120,960.
In addition to tuition fees you also need to pay for:
- Student services and amenities fee (SSAF) in each calendar year.
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) - Student visa holders must have cover for the total duration of their visa.
- Some programs incur additional expenses.
You also need to account for your living expenses. Estimate the cost of living in Melbourne.