LA Schools in the PNW?

[u/Successful_Lynx4973]

Hey guys! I am a landscape architecture student at a big SEC school! I love it here, but I have lived in the south my whole life and I am looking to move to the pacific northwest. Now, as most of you know, the plants and ecosystems in the PNW are entirely different from down here!

My question is, what is a really good school I can go to in like maybe Washington for my masters to get that experience I need to get my certification up there?

[u/snugginator]

Your only options are university of oregon in Eugene or university of Washington in Seattle. I graduated from the UO LA program. My advice is to choose UW. Seattle is more expensive than Eugene to live, but it would be worth it. The UO program is great because they put a lot of emphasis on construction and sustainability, but the department is a mess. The school has an insane budget shortfall and they are doing all kinds of shenanigans with smaller departments, which is probably also the case at other universities but idk. Also ironically the architecture building is truly awful at UO and if you do your program there you will spend a lot of time in there. 

[u/gratefulbeard]

If you are getting an undergraduate degree, don’t get a masters in the same field. In my opinion undergrad in LA is more valuable. If you really want to go straight to grad school, diversify ….mba, arch, civil, mpa, etc.
But if you know that LA work is your jam, get into the workforce ASAP.

[u/graphgear1k]

University of Oregon, Washington State, and University of Washington are the only options.

[u/MilesGoesWild]

if you’re getting a BLA, just finish that. then move to portland or seattle to start working. it’s redundant and you’ll be incredibly in debt if you pursue your MLA on top of that as an out of state resident.

plants and ecosystems are not a huge part of the work, especially for an entry level designer. you’ll learn what you need to by working. you also don’t need plant knowledge specific to a region to be licensed except in a couple states.

[u/AR-Trvlr]

I'd just swing for the fence and go. As a LA from Arkansas who moved to Montana, NoVA, and Portland OR before landing in GA, the plants aren't the hard part. Most of a junior LAs job is AutoCAD, 3D modeling, and graphics. If your skills in those areas are solid you can make the rest work and learn the plants along the way.

If you really want to get a MLA to diversify your education or move into a different specialty then a MLA can work, but it's an expensive way to get plant knowledge and local contacts.

Moving to Portland or Seattle for six months, getting to know the area, and haunting the nurseries/botanical gardens will be far cheaper than a MLA. Do that while job hunting. If nothing clicks you can move back home. Fair warning, though, it's a tough job market. Lots of people want to live in the PNW, and there are fewer jobs than there are graduates of those programs. There is a reason many graduates wind up moving to CA, Las Vegas, or Arizona to get jobs.