Education of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning

The Bachelor thesis is the completion of the BLP program Landscape Architecture. The thesis effectively involves research-based design dealing with a societal problem. The assignment, to be offered by the staff, meets the required complexity for BSc level and enables students to demonstrate BSc level competences with regard to their academic knowledge and skills. The assignment is chosen so students can independently conduct the necessary research and design and bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. After successful completion of the BSc thesis, students have proven that they are qualified for the MSc Program.

Students are expected to design on different scale levels. Disciplinary interaction and collaboration will be part of the BSc thesis, but the students will be assessed on their individual competences. Each time, two BSc thesis topics will be offered by the LAR chair group. Commonly, thesis subjects are related to the research that is going on at the chair group of landscape architecture. Students may indicate their preference between the alternative topics. Yet, we cannot guarantee that all preferences can be accommodated. Detailed information on the selection process and the final decision will be provided by the coordinator during the first introduction meeting.

BSc thesis candidates can start their thesis two times per year; in the 1st period (September) and in the 6th period (mid May). Each traject lasts about 10 weeks and is concluded with a final presentation and the submission of the thesis report and posters.

BSc thesis timeslots:

• 1st period (Sept-Oct) - coordinator (will be a new teacher)
• 6th period (May-Jun) - coordinator I.Voskamp

The Bachelor Thesis finalises the major Spatial Planning from the BLP programme. During the BSc Thesis the student should show that he/she is able to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the BSc.

The student has to delineate a (research) project that is focussed on a practical or a scientific question, which after approval by the supervisor can be carried out by means of a literature review or an empirical study. The thesis subject should meet the required complexity for BSc-level and enable students to demonstrate not only BSc-level competences with regard to their academic knowledge and skills, but also that they can independently conduct the necessary study and bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.

As the last part of their studies, landscape architecture students will complete a Design Practice and Thesis project. It is proof of the ability to work independently on a subject, by carrying out a thesis research and a design project closely connected to each other. The Design Practice and Thesis typically takes 10 months, and its subject is often related to the research that is going on at the landscape architecture chair group.

More information can be found in the course guide. Before starting a MSc Thesis you need to fill out the Intake Form available on Brightspace. See the Brightspace page for all information and forms (only for MSc LAR students accessible).

Tips for inspiration
Planning to start your Design Practice and Thesis soon? Please have a look at the Brightspace page to get familiar with the proposed research topics. These will be updated regularly.

Main research field of LAR staff:

• Energy Landscapes
• Liveability
• Urban Climate
• Water Management

There are several ways to find a potential topic for your MSc thesis. First of all, the topics addressed in Land Use Planning courses in the first year of the master program may have roused your interest. Reading recently published scientific papers on such topics may give you further information about the scientific debate and research on these topics. The research page of our group and the individual pages of staff members give further information about our research interests and the type of scientific publications we work on. Please note that the first supervisor of a MSc thesis Land Use Planning needs to be a scientific staff member affiliated with the Spatial Planning chair group. An overview of these staff members and the types of MSc thesis topics they supervise are shown at the Brightspace MSc thesis Land Use Planning. Since new supervisors may become available during the academic year it is always recommended to discuss your first ideas with the MSc thesis coordinator. Finally, examples of the best MSc thesis reports of last academic year (at the right-hand side of this page) may also give you inspiration. When searching for a topic it is important to keep in mind that the topic should always fit within the research program of our group and match with the research interests and capacity of a supervisor. Your supervisor will always have to agree with the selected topic. 

The course guide MSc thesis WU Land Use Planning is the main reference for the MSc thesis Land Use Planning. The course guide includes a general Part A which is the same for all chair groups at Wageningen University and a Part B which describes the specific requirements and procedure for preparing and executing a MSc thesis Land Use Planning. The course guide can be found on Brightspace (only accessible for LSP students).

The internship is an optional part of the bachelor in landscape architecture (BLP-LAR).
is a required part of the master in spatial planning (MLP-LUP) and urban-environmental management (MUE).

The academic internship is a period of work, study and reflection in a real-world working environment. The aim of the academic internship is to let you experience the potential professional environment in which you could work after graduating from your degree programme. The internship provides an opportunity to work outside Wageningen University at a host organisation (e.g. a consultancy firm, a public institution, a research organisation, another university, or a non-governmental organisation) for a period between four months (minimum) and six and a half months (maximum). The academic internship has three requirements: (1) the internship must have a spatial component, and (2) the internship must be relevant for the field of study, and (3) the tasks you complete have to be of a sufficiently high (academic) standard to reflect the desired level of recent Wageningen graduates. For more information about the internship, download the course guide(s) via the link on the right side of this page.

For MLP-LUP and MUE planning students, contact MSc internship coordinator Wim Bosschaart

For BLP-LAR landscape architecture student, contact BSc internship coordinator Seth Wilberding

As from the Academic year 2022-2023 the MSc-LAR Internship will be replaced by the courses MSc Design Practice and Thesis Landscape Architecture! 

Studios are an important part of our Bachelor and Master courses. A final studio concludes each academic year of the Bachelor programme Landscape Architecture and Planning. In these studios the students are confronted with a design or planning task taken from practice, mostly with an actual commissioner and stakeholders from a study area. The results of each studio are presented (when possible, at location) to the commissioner and stakeholders, and include oral presentations, posters and management reports.

First year

• Studio Planning Basics (LUP)
• Studio Design Basics (LAR)

Second year

• Studio Participative Planning (LUP)
• Studio Site Design (LAR)
• Studio Urban Design (LAR)

Third year

• Studio Strategic Planning (LUP)
• Studio Regional Design (LAR)

Studios are also embedded in several Master courses. Some examples are shown below.

First year Master

• Foodscapes, Urban Lifestyle and Transition (LUP)
• Studio Park Design (LAR)
• Studio Regional Landscape Architecture (LAR)

Second year Master

• Planning for urban quality of life (LUP)
• Design Practice (LAR is part of the Thesis)

For a full overview of all courses Landscape Architecture or Land Use Planning (LUP) see the WUR study handbook.

For more information about the Wageningen Bachelor and Master programs with a planning specialisation:

• BSc programme Landscape Architecture and Planning (BLP)
• MSc programme Landscape Architecture and Planning (MLP)
• MSc programme Urban Environmental Management (MUE)