The master’s degree program in landscape architecture at the School of Engineering and Design at the renowned Technical University of Munich TUM is designed as a project study, with a focus on cooperative, interdisciplinary design projects (design studios). It is possible, in cooperation with the four core chairs, to set individual study priorities. The course includes the following components:

• cooperative project/design modules with special topics according to the orientation of the respective study focus (public space, regional open spaces, transformation landscapes, green technologies).
• project-/design-related modules (seminars, workshops, etc.)
• variable subject-oriented modules, closely related to the individual focus of study if required (lectures, seminars, exercises, etc.)

One project can be freely chosen for each semester, depending on the courses offered by the chairs. In each of these projects, a complex spatial design task is worked on with close reference to reality. The projects are supplemented by accompanying lectures, seminars, exercises, and compulsory electives, depending on the standard duration of study and the individual focus.

In the first two or three semesters, the focus is on the design projects, each of which accounts for at least 50% of the total work required. The design projects deal with spatially relevant, current landscape architectural and social issues in relation to research fields. Students are free to choose from a wide range of elective subjects depending on the focus of their studies.

The first two semesters of study consist of the design project modules (30 ECTS), lectures, and seminars (30 ECTS).  If an additional semester has to be completed (§35 of the FPSO), this would consist of project work (15 ECTS) and bachelor modules from the subject area of landscape architecture and landscape planning (15 ECTS).

The third semester or fourth semester of study is dedicated to the master’s thesis. The students develop individually their topic. The thesis can be a design project or a scientific-theoretical work on a topic relevant to current landscape architecture.

Within the design projects (design modules), small groups work together on complex tasks within a defined period of time, usually three months. The design projects cover different ranges of local, national, and regional scales and focus on the topics listed below. Students can individually set their focus. The program is supported by four core professorships:

• The Chair of Landscape Architecture and Public Space (LAO) is involved with the moderation and design of development processes in cities and landscapes. The focus is on the careful design of urban spaces that meet the current requirements of social coexistence.
• With the subject area of Landscape Architecture of Regional Open Spaces (LAREG), work is carried out on the development of larger spatial contexts, characterized by cities and cultural landscapes and thus at the interface of open space theory, open space planning, and landscape development.
• The Chair of Landscape Architecture and Transformation (LAT) deals analytically, conceptually, and design-wise with the transformation of complex landscape (spatial) assemblages, especially with the re-use of disused production and infrastructure sites.
• The Chair of Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture (GTLA) develops innovative bio-engineering design approaches to develop new open space architectural typologies and investigates their spatial aesthetic impact and technical performance.

The Master’s program is an essential level for cooperation between the core professorships alongside the environmental design disciplines in teaching and research.