Online Landscape Design Degree Programs and Courses
Many certificate and degree programs can give you the skills necessary to enter a career in residential and commercial landscape design. Keep reading to learn more about the field, program options, online availability and coursework.
What You Need to Know
Landscape designers envision and shape outdoor living spaces using aesthetic creativity and artistic concepts. Using elements such as natural lighting and physical layout, you enhance an area by introducing new dimensions, functional structures and floricultural ambiance. Unlike a landscape architect, landscape designers need less education, do not require state registration and typically work on smaller-scale projects.
<table border="1"><tr><td> <b>Online</b></td><td> Some options exist, hands-on experience coursework necessary</td></tr>
<tr><td> <b>Programs</b></td><td> Online career diploma or certificate; on-campus certificate or associate's, bachelor's or master's degree</td></tr>
<tr><td> <b>Courses</b></td><td> Planting and gardening, structural layout, maintenance, plant differentiation, soil types, irrigation methods, drainage techniques, fertilization, pest management, erosion prevention, site and layout analysis, outdoor room construction, site engineering, computer-aided design</td></tr>
</table><h3 id="section---WhatOnlineDegreeOptionsAreAvailableToMe">What Online Degree Options are Available to Me?</h3><p>If landscape design is your passion, a career diploma or certificate program may be enough for you to begin working in the field. This field of study is not widely available via online education since it's so focused on hands-on work in the outdoors, but a few schools do offer online options. Online credentials that you can earn include the following:
</p><ul><li>Landscape Design Career Diploma
</li><li>Certificate in Landscape Design
</li></ul><p>Most undergraduate and graduate degree programs require that you attend courses on campus, though you may find that several are offered in the evenings and on weekends. Hands-on training is often necessary for you to master the design and construction processes. On-campus degree and certificate options include the following:
</p><ul><li>Certificate in Horticulture and Landscape Design
</li><li>Master Home Gardener Certificate
</li><li>Certificate in Ecological Landscape Design
</li><li>Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Landscapes
</li><li>Associate of Technical Arts in Landscape Design
</li><li>Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Design
</li><li>Bachelor of Science in Horticulture
</li><li>Master of Arts in Landscape Design
</li></ul><h3 id="section---WhatSTheBenefitOfAGraduateProgram">What's the Benefit of a Graduate Program?</h3><p>Graduate courses may help you update knowledge and skills you learned in a landscape design undergraduate or diploma program. Like many professions, a master's degree or graduate certificate may allow you to advance in a career, earn a higher salary or start your own business.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatWillALandscapeDesignProgramTeachMe">What Will a Landscape Design Program Teach Me?</h3><p>Most certificate and degree programs cover planting and gardening, structural layout and maintenance. A landscape design program builds on your natural creativity, allowing you to turn your landscaping vision into a reality.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatWillILearnAboutPlants">What Will I Learn About Plants?</h3><p>Introductory courses teach you to distinguish between woody, floral, perennial and annual plants. During your first year, you'll also learn about the following fundamentals:
</p><ul><li>Soil types
</li><li>Irrigation methods
</li><li>Drainage techniques
</li><li>Fertilization applications
</li><li>Pest management
</li><li>Erosion prevention
</li></ul><h3 id="section---WhatAboutBuildingCourses">What About Building Courses?</h3><p>In structural courses, you'll learn how to draft and layout gardens and outdoor rooms using computer-aided software. In on-campus programs, you'll also use hand and power tools to construct patios, gazebos, rock gardens and retaining walls out of stone, brick and wood. Lighting courses teach you how to use natural and artificial illumination to enhance your environment. Courses you may take in a landscape design program include the following:
</p><ul><li>Site and layout analysis
</li><li>Plant types and planting methods
</li><li>Outdoor room construction
</li><li>Computer-aided design
</li><li>Site engineering, lighting and structures
</li><li>Ecological planting, irrigation and drainage
</li><li>Softscapes (natural materials) and hardscapes (structural elements)
</li><li>Landscape and garden maintenance</li></ul>