Academic Programmes

​Master of Landscape Architecture (International) Launched by the Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design

Program Features

Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design is now launching an international English language based full-time Master in Landscape Architecture program, M. LA. (International), relying on the advantages and characteristics of the university’s international educational environment. The program is focused on the global frontier and development trends. It was conceived in response to concerns shared in the advancement of human development, including those for health and safety, ecological civilisation, cultural services, urban and rural symbiosis, and other environmental issues arising in human settlements.

The program aims to achieve harmony between humans and nature through the comprehensive application of scientific, technical and artistic approaches. Students who graduate from the program will possess interdisciplinary, creative, and internationally experienced high-quality talent. They will be engaged professionally in the fields of landscape architecture planning, design, construction and management. 2021 will be the first year to recruit students for the M.LA. (International) program, with the formation of a single class.

The program aims to enable students both from home and abroad to receive a world-class landscape architecture education with Chinese characteristics and to cultivate leaders in the field of design without traveling abroad. It features the following elements:

A comprehensive and innovative curriculum system: 

The M.LA. (International) program utilizes a foundation built on the basis of its existing cooperation with well-established first-class professionals in the landscape architecture discipline worldwide to set up a full-time master's degree program taught in English and with an advanced and comprehensive curriculum. The program highlights  the features  of sustainable ecological design and cutting-edge intelligent design. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to establish a world-class international landscape architecture education.

Superior academic and educational resources

Taking advantages of the first-class “Innovative Design” discipline at SJTU, and aligned with major national strategic initiatives and the unique requirements of the Shanghai metropolis, our program aims to address the following key issue: Integrative innovation focusing on “high-density cities and towns in the Yangtze River Delta.” To achieve this goal, several major research initiatives have been established. , including landscape heritage protection and utilization in the South of the Yangtze River region, landscape architecture design and technology, urban landscape plants and application, and earthscape planning and ecological restoration.

First-class faculty

Professors and lecturers from Harvard University, Cornell University, and other world-leading universities and famous designers at home and abroad will be invited as course tutors. Semester-based external faculty from other world-class universities will account for nearly 50% of total faculty. This ensures the program’s international standard and the fulfillment of its unique endeavor.

Simultaneous enrollment at home and abroad

The program will consist of simultaneous enrollment both at home and abroad. The ratio of students (at home and abroad) will approach 1:1 as the program matures. This will enable the realization of a rich exchange and synergy of international design ideas.

The cultivation of cross-cultural cooperation and practical abilities

Various opportunities for study and exchange abroad will be provided in collaboration with first-class universities. This will allow students to promote their intercultural cooperation skills. Through cooperation with top-leading companies and institutions at home and abroad, students can receive both abundant internship opportunities and participate in large and medium-sized practical projects. The program will also promote learning through competition by accelerating active participation in international landscape design competitions every year. These activities will further strengthen the students' comprehensive and innovative practical abilities.

Program Advantages

Landscape Architecture (L.A.) at SJTU, established in the 1960s, is one of the very first programs in Landscape Architecture (L.A.) in China. It was approved as a key discipline in Shanghai in 1995. The master’s program was established in 2001. The program was ranked the 4th in the second-round evaluation (undergraduate level) by the Ministry of Education in 2002. In 2005 it was identified as one of the first institutions authorized to grant master’s degrees in L.A. The program was identified as a source for top-level academic master’s degrees in L.A. in 2011, and for top-level academic doctoral degrees in Design Science and Engineering in 2015. In 2017, L.A. became one of the national “Double First-Class” Independent Construction disciplines offered at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, serving as an important subject in the innovative design disciplinary cluster. In 2019, the doctoral program in design was established.

L.A. consists of four academic research areas: Landscape Architecture Planning and Design, History and Theory of Landscape Architecture, Landscape Plant Resource and Application, and Landscape Planning and Ecological Restoration. In 2015, the program was authorized to build “The first series of education training programs for outstanding talent in agriculture and forestry (landscape architecture) and “The first series of exemplary training sites for graduate programs in landscape architecture.” We also have built national and provincial research platforms, including: the Institute of Landscape Architecture Design, Center for Sustainable Ecological Design, Aroma Plant Research & Development Center, Shanghai Urban Development and Application of Plant Resources Engineering Research Center, Shanghai Urban Forest Ecosystem Stations (State Forestry Administration), and the Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture).

The school has earned first and second place prizes for its teaching achievements in Shanghai  multiple times. Many of our students were awarded the IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects), BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries), and other internationally renowned landscape design prizes.

Tuition fee

The tuition for the M.LA. program is RMB 48,000/year, the duration of the program is 2.5 years, therefore amount to RMB 120,000 in total.

• Excellent students can be granted with a School Scholarship (under the condition that haven't obtain any other type of scholarships).
• Excellent students can complete the program in 2 years (with full tuition fees paid).