Admission Requirements + Application Process

Our program welcomes applicants with diverse professional and academic backgrounds, including the social and natural sciences, ecology and environmental studies, as well as the visual arts and business. The GRE is not required. 

Regular Admission
If you earned a bachelor's degree with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher, you are eligible to be considered for regular admission.

Conditional Admission
If your cumulative undergraduate GPA was between 2.5 and 2.99, you can be considered for admission on a conditional basis. Students admitted on a conditional basis must achieve a 3.0 GPA by their second term.

Admission with Advanced Standing
If you earned a professional degree in architecture, planning, or have substantial coursework in a design field, you may be eligible for admission with advanced standing. In such cases, we will review your transcript and determine if your previous coursework is equal in scope and content to that offered in our core curriculum. For master's candidates, Morgan State will consider external transfer credit up to a maximum of twenty percent (20%) of a required curriculum.

Accelerated 3+2
This combined Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design + Master of Landscape Architecture is open to undergraduate students in their second year of an associate degree program in architecture, and second and/or third year students in Morgan State's AREN (Architecture and Environmental Design) program. Students pursuing this track can earn their accredited professional degree in landscape architecture within five years of full-time study. For more information contact Graduate Program Director Laurel McSherry at laurel.mcsherry@morgan.edu.

Applications to each of the degree tracks utilize the School of Graduate Studies online system, Recruit.

This system will ask you to provide: a copy of your undergraduate transcript(s), a statement of your professional/academic goals, three (3) letters of recommendation, and pay a non-refundable $50 application fee. (If you are an international applicant, you will also be asked to provide evidence of English proficiency, and an official, third-party translation of your undergraduate transcript(s).

An interview is not required. However, we encourage all applicants, if possible, to visit our campus and tour our facilities before or after you apply. To schedule a visit, please contact Graduate Program Director Laurel McSherry at laurel.mcsherry@morgan.edu.

Below are some tips to help you prepare items for uploading into "Recruit."

Transcripts
You will be asked to provide the names of all previous academic institutions that you have attended. You will also be responsible for arranging to have official copies of your transcript(s) from these institutions sent directly to Morgan State University. Official copies must be sent directly from the Registrar of the issuing institution (hard copy or digital) to the School of Graduate Studies (see below). Copies of transcripts delivered by any other means (i.e., hand delivered by applicant, mailed in by applicant, etc.) are not considered official. The institutional code for the Morgan State University School of Graduate Studies is "5416G." Registrar offices utilizing email should send copies to: gradapply@morgan.edu.

Morgan State University
School of Graduate Studies
310 McKeldin Center
1700 East Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21251

website: http://www.morgan.edu/School_of_Graduate_Studies.html
email: gradapply@morgan.edu or gradhelp@morgan.edu
phone: 443-885-3185
fax: 443-885-8226

Statement of Academic and Professional Goals
You will also be asked to upload a statement describing your academic and professional goals (500 words max.), which includes your background as it relates to your interest in landscape architecture, your motivation for graduate study at Morgan State and, if applicable, any areas of potential specialization.

Letters of Recommendation
Recruit will also ask you to provide the names and email addresses of three (3) individuals (such as college instructors or previous employers) knowledgeable about your academic record and/or professional experience, and your potential for graduate study. (Letters from personal acquaintances are not suitable.) Although letters from your former instructors are preferred, if it has been some time since you received your undergraduate degree, you may ask a current or former employer or another person able to evaluate your abilities. Individuals whose names are entered into "Recruit" will automatically receive an email with instructions for writing and uploading their recommendation letters to the online system.

Additional Requirements for Applicants Seeking Admission with Advanced Standing
If you are seeking admission to the 3-year, first-professional degree MLA program with advanced standing, we would also like to see examples of your design work in the form of a personally authored digital portfolio. This portfolio is in addition to the application materials described above, and is only required if you have an academic background in design, landscape architecture, architecture, or planning and are seeking advanced standing in the MLA program. The portfolio (8.5" x 11" or A4; 8 sheets max; double-sided) should demonstrate your aptitude for design and/or creative work beyond the academic transcript. Include representative academic and/or professional design work, and other work in the visual arts (e.g., drawing, painting, sculpture, photography). If you are applying from another graduate-level design program, please include examples demonstrating your skills in design, freehand drawing, site analysis, site engineering, and digital representations, and provide context for each item that you include in the portfolio (e.g., project description; academic, professional, personal).

International Applicants
If you attended a university outside of the United States, you must arrange to have a third-party transcript report prepared. International transcripts, diplomas, certificates, mark sheets, etc. or copies of these documents are not admissible in the graduate admission process and will not be accepted. The School of Graduate Studies at Morgan State University will only accept official course-by-course evaluations received directly from World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE).

Evidence of English Proficiency
Morgan State University requires evidence of English proficiency for all graduate applicants, such as an official undergraduate transcript from a U.S. college or university, or an international college or university where English is the principal language of instruction. English proficiency testing is not required for applicants from the British Commonwealth, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania.

If you are an applicant from a county where English is not the medium of instruction, you will need to demonstrate your ability to use the English language by scoring a minimum of 550 (paper); 213 (computer); 70 (internet) on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). For information on this examination, write to: TOEFL, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6155, Princeton, NJ 08541-6155, USA, inquire at the U.S. Consulate nearest to you, or visit TOEFL's website at (www.toefl.org). IELTS (International English Language Testing System) minimum score is 6. For information on this examination, visit IELTS's website at (http://www.ielts.org). The School of Graduate Studies does not accept IELTS or TOEFL scores sent via email or delivered in person. Official scores must come directly from the testing agency.

View more information about applying to Morgan State University as an international student.

Fall Application Deadline: July 1

Begin the application process at any time. Completed and submitted applications are forwarded to the Landscape Architecture Graduate Program Director for review. Applicants will be notified of admissions decisions by email from the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.