Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning

The Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning degree program combines art and science, i.e. social, cultural, natural and engineering sciences. You will be able to develop your artistic creativity and conduct scientific research. You will examine and design landscapes, whether they are nature reserves, city parks or squares, gardens, energy parks, or brownfield sites. Your goal is to improve the quality of life for people and nature. This requires sociological knowledge, social commitment and artistic intuition. Planning and designing landscapes also requires knowledge of the physical conditions of the environment – ecology, geology, climatology, soil and vegetation science. You will cooperate with a team on a variety of project work and with little lecture-style teaching, and during your obligatory semester abroad you will learn that your work is also relevant internationally.

The main focus of landscape architecture is on creative and scientific fields of design, closely related to urban planning and architecture. Within this focus, the ecological and scientific planning aspects are in the foreground. The Bachelor's program is interdisciplinary and combines both disciplines. After a two-semester orientation phase during the study program, you can freely choose your specialization.

Graduates in Landscape Planning and Landscape Architecture are in great demand. "Landscape architect" is a protected professional title in Germany, secured by the federal states’ Chamber of Architects and the laws of the Building Chamber. With the additional proof of professional experience, you are entitled to be included in the lists of the Chambers of Architects or planner lists after graduation.

On the job market, you can aim for independent landscape architecture and planning offices as well as building and environmental administrations. Do you prefer to prepare ecological reports or to work in governmental and non-governmental nature conservation? How about environmental education, journalism, real estate, or project development? You are well prepared for these activities as well with the Bachelor's program in Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning.

As a graduate of a university for which the master's degree is the standard degree, we recommend our advanced master's programs in Landscape Architecture, Ecological Engineering, Urbanism, or Conservation and Landscape Planning.

During the first two semesters of project studies, you will focus on fundamental technical and methodological knowledge and get to know the specializations of landscape architecture and landscape planning. You will acquire essential knowledge in the fields of design, ecology and botany, and a foundation in natural and engineering sciences as well as in architecture and urban planning.

From the third semester onwards, you will expand your knowledge in complex project studies and core subjects. Further specialized required modules cover architecture, urban planning, soil science, geographical information systems, computer-aided design, spatial economics and planning law. Through various elective modules, you can set priorities according to your individual interests and thus build your professional profile. You can choose between fields such as urban planning, liberal arts, environmental sociology, spatial planning, hydraulic engineering, limnology, traffic planning, land management, forestry and agricultural sciences.

In the fifth semester, you will complete the obligatory stay abroad. During your internship, you can expand your skills and try out job responsibility in a planning office, national park or other public authority, or take interesting modules of your choice at an established partner university. Are you looking forward to broadening your horizons in an exciting intercultural working and learning environment? Thanks to TUM’s multitude of international contacts with foreign institutions, almost all options are open to you.

After your return from abroad, you will be able to return to intensive project studies and in-depth discussion of current issues in science and research. Numerous seminars will expand your theoretical and methodological repertoire and train you in modeling or research design. We offer access to special fields of landscape architecture and landscape planning, for example in landscape ecology, green technologies, land conversion, energy landscapes or urban redevelopment.

Your studies end with a bachelor’s thesis on a topic of your choice. Combine personal skills and preferences with the knowledge you have acquired and demonstrate your professionalism!

Interest aroused? Just take a look at an exemplary curriculum!

With a degree in Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning, you will be able to design open spaces, develop landscapes and master challenges for the protection of nature and landscapes. During your interdisciplinary university studies, you will learn many methods for analysis, evaluation, planning and design, and be able to apply them. Your knowledge of urban planning, botany, ecology, construction technology, plant use, CAD, garden design, design methodology and planning theory, instruments and law as well as project management will characterize your professional competence.

Depending on your individual interests and the focus of your studies, you will be particularly well experienced in architecture and urban planning or soil science and spatial development. Besides, you will be able to develop planning approaches, design solutions for complex problems, and check their structural feasibility. Alternatively, you could prepare expert reports and assess the condition and development goals of landscapes.

Overall, you will always aim to create sustainable living spaces for people and nature and never lose sight of the social, ecological and economic interrelationships.

Application requirements and admission requirements

The prerequisite for applying for the Bachelor's degree Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning is a university entrance qualification. This can either be a highschool degree qualifying for university entrance (e.g. Abitur, A-Levels), or a sufficient professional qualification. You can find all information on university entrance qualifications here.

A further requirement is passing the two-stage Aptitude Assessment Procedure (AAP), in which it is determined whether you meet the qualitative requirements of the Bachelor's degree Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning in addition to possessing a higher education entrance qualification.

Language certificate

If you do not have a German university entrance qualification or German citizenship (in case you have an international university entrance qualification) and have not attended a German-language school for at least 2 years, you must provide proof of sufficient German language skills for the German-language Bachelor's degree program Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning by the end of the application period.

Semester fees and tuition fees at TUM

All students must pay a semester contribution to the student union.

++ NEW ++ International students from third countries, i.e. from countries that do not belong to the European Economic Area, will be charged tuition fees from winter semester 2024/25 onwards. All information on fee levels, waivers and scholarship programs can be found on the website on tuition fees for international students.

Application period and start of studies

The application period for admission-restricted Bachelor's degree programs at the TUM School of Life Sciences is from May 15 to July 15 of each year for the following winter semester. The program can only be started in the winter semester. You can find the semester dates here.

In the Bachelor's degree Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning, it is only possible to apply for  a higher semester in the summer semester.

Online application

You can only apply via our online application portal, for which you must set up an applicant account. You can find instructions for your online application here. You only need to submit your documents on paper once you have received a letter of admission. Please upload all documents to the TUMonline portal by the application deadline. Documents submitted by e-mail cannot be processed.

Please note: We can only consider your application if you upload all required documents and submit the complete application within the application deadline.

Aptitude Assessment Procedure

Admission to the Bachelor's degree Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning requires special qualifications. Our first-year students are therefore selected via a two-stage Aptitude Assessment Procedure.

First stage of the procedure:

In the first stage, the revceived application documents are assessed according to defined selection criteria using a points system. In addition to the average grade of the higher education entrance qualification (e.g. A-Levels), the grades listed in this document for the subjects English or a foreign language to be specified by the applicant (double) and one of the subjects biology, social studies, geography or art (triple), are included in the assessment.

If the A-Levels grades alone are not sufficient to achieve the required number of 85 points for direct admission, this value can be improved by providing evidence of additional extracurricular qualifications relevant to the course, such as a relevant, completed vocational training or apprenticeship, an internship of at least four weeks, or a voluntary ecological year. For proof of relevant vocational training or other practical work experience, please submit certified copies. 

Applicants who achieve the specified minimum score of 85 points will be admitted into the course immediately.

If the assessment in the first stage results in 49 or fewer points, the applicants are deemed unsuitable and are rejected. If more than 49 but less than 85 points are achieved in this first stage of the procedure, this leads to participation in the second stage. The aptitude committee decides on the recognition of the additional qualifications.

The exact calculations and regulations can be found in the statutes on the aptitude assessment for the Bachelor's degree Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning here.

Second stage of the procedure (aptitude assessment interview):

The remaining applicants who are neither admitted nor rejected on the basis of their score achieved in the first stage will take part in a short (20-minute) aptitude assessment interview with members of the aptitude committee.

The dates for the interviews can be found here.

At least one week before your appointment, you will receive an invitation and all the important information about participating in the aptitude assessment interview by e-mail. In the case of an online interview, it is very important that you have a stable internet connection and that your IP address remains the same during the interview.

The main purpose of the interview is to assess the applicant's personality and motivation and to find out their understanding of the course as well as their expectations and career goals. The compilation of the application documents is usually sufficient as preparation for this interview, as this requires students to inform themselves in detail about their desired course of study. At the same time, topics discussed during the interview can be influenced by the documents submitted by applicants. This can be done in particular through a portfolio which hast to be personally compiled by the applicant, and must be presented at the interview. This portfolio should contain samples of work (written or graphic, e.g. relevant technical papers, drafts, drawings, collages and photographs) and/or texts (e.g. on topics relating to ecology, city and landscape, nature conservation and environmental protection, e.g. in the form of personal descriptions and reflections on the applicant's own perception of landscape, practical and experience reports) that demonstrate the following:

- own ideas about landscape architecture and landscape planning

- special skills in relevant competencies (listed here)

- individual goals for your studies and professional career

The portfolio must contain an assurance that it was prepared independently and without outside help, and that ideas taken from outside sources are marked as such. 

The overall assessment of the second stage is the sum of the A-Levels points multiplied by 0.8 and the points from the selection interview. Applicants who have achieved at least 115 points in the overall assessment will be admitted. Applicants with a score of 114 or less are considered unsuitable for the degree program and will receive a rejection. 

You will receive notification of rejection or admission to the program via your TUMonline account. More detailed information on the procedure can be found here in the statutes on the aptitude assessment for the Bachelor's degree program Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning.

Enrollment

As soon as you have been admitted to this degree program, you must accept the offered place of study in your applicant account. You must then submit your certified copies etc. for enrollment in paper form and pay the semester fees. All relevant information will be displayed in your TUMonline applicant account. Details on the enrollment procedure can be found here and the glossary of documents here.

Please note that from the time of admission, we will only contact you via your tum.de/mytum.de e-mail address, which you can find in your applicant account. Make sure that you are able to receive these emails. Instructions on how to set up your e-mail address at TUM can be found here.

• Curriculum
  The degree chart gives you an overview and recommendation, which modules you should take in which semester according to academic and examination regulations (FPSO).
   
• Timetable (TUM ID required for login):
  This timetable is intended to give you an overview of the planned compulsory and elective modules of a semester. It is for orientation purposes only and will not be updated during the semester! 
  
  Via TUMonline you can have a timetable created for each semester according to FSPO.
  
  You can also create your own individual timetable, which can contain not only the dates of the selected courses, but also your personal appointments.
  
  First steps with TUMonline

• General Academic and Examination Regulations at TUM (APSO)
• Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO)
  • Regulations on the aptitude assessment
  • Academic and Examination Regulations 20231 (from start of degree program WS 23/24)
  • Academic and Examination Regulations 20181 (from start of degree program WS 18/19)

• Examination dates & registration via TUMonline
  In TUMonline you can register for the module examinations that accompany your studies. 

  Important: You can only take most of the exams if you have actively registered yourself via TUMonline within the registration period. The registration and deregistration period will be displayed at the exam date.

• Further examination matters
  • Academic progress check
  • Examinations
  • Recognitions
  • Theses
• Board of Examination
  The board of examination is a committee consisting of university professors and lecturers of the degree program. The chairperson of the board of examination of your degree program is Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Pauleit. Applications to the board of examination are received by the secretary and submitted to the board of examination for decision. You can reach the secretary by sending an email to examination.co(at)ls.tum.de.
   

• General Education occupancy

  Unfortunately, there have been discrepancies in last weeks concerning the General Education ("General Education Subject") for students between 2018 and 2022 valid Academic and Examination Regulation (FPSO). According to FPSO 20181, valid from the start of studies WS2018/19, the following applies:

  "Students do not have to choose General Education, but if General Education was choosing, then at least to the extent of 5 credits."

  In the past, there have been discrepancies and misinterpretations regarding the 5 credits of General Education. Covered students, who would like to complete their studies this summer semester 2023 were unable to do so because the TUM online system did not positively set the Elective Area II - Disciplinary Basics for them. For these students, who have less than 5 credits in General Education, the examination board approved the following special regulation for General Education on 05.09.2023:

  "Students, who complete their studies in the summer semester 2023 by taking the last examination (i.e., up to the end of the first week of lectures in the winter semester 2023/24) may also contribute General Education Subject with less than 5 credits (i.e. 1-4 credits) in order to complete their course of study.”

  Furthermore, according to the examinations board, the following applies:

  Students, who will not finish until the winter semester 2023/24, still have the opportunity to complete the 5 credits of General Education subject or to take another elective module from this area."

  With this special regulation for General Education in the summer semester 2023, it is possible for all students to finalize their studies. If there is still a need for clarification or advice in this regard, students are encouraged to contact their student advisor.

A subject-specific stay abroad is planned for the 5th semester. This can be a course of study at a foreign university, a research stay or an internship. Thanks to a variety of contracts and partnerships with foreign institutions, as well as specific support and advice, there is a worldwide selection.

• Information about the stay abroad (with TUM login only)
• To the map with the partner universities
• Internship database of the TUM School of Life Sciences

The internships of the Vocational Field Orientation module can be completed in Germany or abroad. There are numerous support possibilities for the stay abroad. Just ask at our International Center.

The Weihenstephan Internship Office can offer further information and support in your search for internship companies.

More information about

• Internships
• Excursions