Landscape Design Certification Overview
Our world needs more landscape designs that work with nature, not against it. As a student in Bastyr’s Holistic Landscape Design Certificate program, you’ll experience a green education that connects you emotionally, physically and intellectually to the earth. You will take courses such as soil ecology, mycology and medicinal and edible plants in the landscape. This program will give you the guidance and resources needed to launch a career creating self-sustaining, efficient landscape systems for community settings as well as private residences. Further, the permaculture series in the curriculum earns students a certificate from PINA - Permaculture Institute of North America.
Landscape Design Certificate Program Highlights
12
Month Evening and Weekend Course Schedule
Focus on the Therapeutic Value of Medicinal and Edible Landscapes
18:1
Student to Teacher Ratio
Holistic Landscape Design Expected Outcomes
Upon completion of Basytr’s landscape design certificate, students will be prepared to:
- Create site specific landscape designs that utilize graphic representation to communicate effectively about design ideas
- Apply sustainable landscape measures creatively, designing for multiple functions, including biodiversity, therapeutic utility, and aesthetics
- Integrate permaculture ethics, principles, and techniques for sustainably modifying land and implementing designs using the permaculture design process
- Utilize knowledge of soil science and mycology to create healthy soil systems
- Practice client interaction and professional presentation through engagement with implementation, design and internship sites
- Demonstrate horticultural techniques, including plant propagation and cultivation from native and analogue climates for landscape design, nursery or market production
- Evaluate professional and community applications of holistic landscape design through exposure to research, grant writing and business planning
Landscape Design Program Details
The curriculum tables that follow list the tentative schedule of courses each quarter.
YEAR I
Fall
BO4118 Botany and Plant Identification (1.5 credits)
BO4123 Soil Ecology (1 credit)
BO4127 Mycology (1 credit)
BO4131 Permaculture 1 (3 credits)
BO4141 Medicinal and Edible Plants in the Landscape 1 (1 credit)
Winter
BO4132 Permaculture 2 (3 credits)
BO4135 Organic Greenhouse and Nursery Management (1 credit)
BO4137 Horticulture Research and Grant Writing (1 credit)
BO4142 Medicinal and Edible Plants in the Landscape 2 (1 credit)
Spring
BO4124 Medicinal Plant Harvesting, Processing and Use (1.5 credit)
BO4133 Permaculture 3 (3 credits)
BO4143 Medicinal and Edible Plants in the Landscape 3 (1 credit)
BO4809 Holistic Landscape Design Internship (1 credit)
Summer
BO4134 Organic Seed Production (1 credit)
BO4138 Biointensive IPM and Plant Health (2 credits)
BO4139 Permaculture in a Global Context (1 credits)
BO4144 Horticultural Business Practices (1 credit)
BO4810 Holistic Landscape Design Practicum (1 credit)
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Complete one Botany course*
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Have completed 90 quarter credits (60 semester credits) of college-level coursework.
Reference our curriculum table for full prerequisites.
*Must cover basic plant morphology and physiology, classification, plant evolution, terminology, and ecology, no labs required.
Strongly Recommended Courses
Though not required for admission, the faculty recommends that students complete biology, chemistry, public speaking, and general education coursework in addition to the botany prerequisite requirement. These courses will substantially enhance students’ ability to be prepared for the concepts covered in the holistic landscape design program. Please see additional details regarding these recommendations:
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Biology – covering cell and plant biology, no labs required
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Introduction to Botany – basic plant morphology and physiology, classification, plant evolution, and ecology, no labs required
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Chemistry – survey-level to cover general inorganic and organic concepts, no labs required
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Public Speaking - coursework or experience
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General Education - including some humanities, English, natural sciences and social sciences courses
Bastyr accepts graduate and undergraduate transfer credits earned at accredited colleges and universities. Learn what you need to make this process go smoothly.
For more information, visit Tuition and Fees.
For nearly a decade, Bastyr has been certifying professional permaculture practitioners.
The future looks bright for careers in environmental sustainability. The US Department of Labor's occupational handbook lists a number of rising professions in the Holistic Landscape Design arena:
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
- Industrial Ecologist
- Nursery and Greenhouse Manager
- Soil and Water Conservationist
- Landscape Designer
Entering the CHLD program was a pivotal choice for me and changed the whole trajectory of my life. I gained so much confidence!
Caitlin Gilson
MA
Caitlin is a permaculture designer who strives to help connect humans to the environment. Prior to her work at Bastyr, she directed the educational programming for the 176 community…
