Introduction to the College of Landscape Architecture

1. Development Overview Characteristics&Advantages:

The School of Landscape Architecture at Nanjing Forestry University has a long history of education, with its predecessor dating back to the Landscape Architecture Research Laboratory of Central University and Jinling University. Its founder, Professor Chen Zhi (1899-1989), was a renowned Chinese forestry expert, outstanding landscape architect, and founder of modern landscape architecture. In 1958, the school established the Urban and Residential Greening major, which is one of the earliest universities in China to set up landscaping related majors. In 1980, the Landscape Architecture program at Nanjing Forestry University resumed enrollment. In 1999, the School of Landscape Architecture was established and co located with the School of Forest Resources and Environment; Established independently in 2006, it is the first landscape architecture college in southern China. There are currently over 100 faculty and staff members, including more than 2000 undergraduate students and over 550 master's and doctoral students.

Before 2011, the college had two secondary disciplines: Urban Planning and Design (including Landscape Planning and Design) and Landscape Plants and Ornamental Horticulture, which ranked second (Forestry) and tenth (Architecture) respectively in the second round of national discipline evaluation. In 2011, it was approved as one of the first batch of doctoral degree granting disciplines and postdoctoral mobile stations in landscape architecture in China. The discipline of landscape architecture has been approved as a key discipline of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration during the 13th Five Year Plan period, a key discipline of the province during the 13th Five Year Plan period, and an advantageous discipline of provincial universities (Class A); The third round of subject evaluation tied for fifth place nationwide; In the fourth round, they tied for third place and received an A - rating; in the fifth round, they achieved another great result. The master's degree authorization points in landscape architecture ranked among the top in the first national professional degree level evaluation.

After nearly 70 years of development, the college now has doctoral degree authorization points for the first level discipline of urban and rural planning, the second level discipline of landscape plants and ornamental horticulture (co built), the first level discipline of design (co built), the forestry doctoral professional degree authorization point (co built), the academic master's degree authorization points for urban and rural planning, landscape architecture, and landscape plants and ornamental horticulture. The college has long been committed to cultivating innovative and versatile first-class talents with "global vision, local action, and modern thinking" in scientific research, planning and design, management and operation.

2. Majors&Specialties:

Landscape Architecture (Agriculture, four-year program)

Focusing on urban green spaces, cultivating top-notch agricultural and forestry talents with a focus on agriculture and a combination of science and engineering characteristics, who engage in practical, research or management work in planning and design, engineering construction and management, garden plant cultivation and application in the landscaping and related industries.

This major is a national first-class undergraduate major (2020), a first-class undergraduate major in Jiangsu Province (2019), one of the first national characteristic majors, a pilot reform of the National Excellent Agriculture and Forestry Talent Education and Training Plan (top-notch innovative type), a comprehensive reform pilot of the national "Twelfth Five Year Plan" major, a key major in Jiangsu Province, and a brand major in Jiangsu Province (first, second, and third phases). It ranks A+in the "2024 Soft Science China University Major Ranking List" and is ranked second in the country.

Landscape Architecture major (Engineering, four-year program)

Focusing on green spaces in urban and rural areas, we aim to cultivate innovative and versatile new engineering talents with a first-class level, a focus on engineering and a background in agriculture and science. These talents are engaged in practical, research, and management work in landscape planning and design, landscape architecture design, landscape engineering technology and construction management, landscape resources and heritage protection, and other fields.

This major is a national first-class undergraduate major (2019) and a brand major in Jiangsu Province (Phase II and III). It ranks A-level in the "2024 Soft Science China University Major Ranking" and 9th in the country.

Urban and Rural Planning Major (Engineering, Five Year Program)

Focusing on small town and rural planning, we aim to cultivate innovative and versatile engineering talents with distinct characteristics, who are primarily focused on engineering and have a background in agriculture and science. These talents are capable of engaging in research, planning and design, planning management, and spatial governance related to urban and rural development.

This major is a first-class undergraduate major in Jiangsu Province (2020), ranking B+in the "2024 Soft Science China University Major Ranking" and 33rd in the country.

3. Department&Faculty:

There are departments including Landscape Planning and Design, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Plants, Urban and Rural Planning, and Urban Design. There are nearly 100 full-time teachers, including 23 professors and 31 associate professors; 88% have a doctoral degree; 59% have overseas experience; 23 high-level talents, including experts receiving special allowances from the State Council and leading young talents in the 333 Project in Jiangsu Province; 1 national forestry teaching master and 2 provincial teaching masters; 4 industry professors and 62 external mentors.

Establish a national excellent teaching team for "Landscape Architecture Planning and Design" (the only one in the country), an advanced collective for national textbook construction (the first in landscape architecture), a provincial excellent teaching team for "Landscape Plant Application", and a provincial scientific and technological innovation team for "Big Data and Landscape Plant Application Technology".

4. Platform and Resource Construction Resources&Facilities:

22 national, provincial, and ministerial level teaching, research, and practice platforms have been established, including the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Landscape Architecture (the first batch in the country), the National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Landscape Architecture (the first batch in the country), two national demonstration landscape architecture professional degree joint training bases, central and local co built landscape foundation laboratories, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Landscape Architecture, and 17 provincial-level graduate workstations.

The construction of teaching resources has achieved outstanding results, with 7 national level courses and 20 provincial-level courses including national quality courses and the five major gold courses; Published over 30 national, provincial, and ministerial level planning textbooks. Among them, the construction of a series of textbooks based on the "chain theory" won the second prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award (2014).

5. Achievements&Honors:

Emphasis is placed on educational and teaching reform, and the achievements have won three second prizes in national teaching achievement awards, covering talent cultivation models, experimental teaching systems, and textbook construction. Landscape Planning and Design "was selected as a national level planning textbook for undergraduate education during the 12th Five Year Plan period, and won the second prize for excellent textbooks at the 2nd China University Press Book Award by the China University Press Association. Architectural Drawing won the first prize of the first National Excellent Textbook Award (2021) for distance education, and the School of Landscape Architecture won the first National Advanced Collective in Textbook Construction (2021).

Focusing on scientific research, I have led 30 national level projects (1 national key research and development plan project) and 48 provincial and ministerial level projects in the past five years. Published 1369 high-level papers at home and abroad, 61 monographs, and achieved international advanced levels in urban green space and public health, digital technology and landscape heritage protection. The achievement has won 17 national, provincial and ministerial level scientific research awards, including the second prize of the Ministry of Education's Excellent Research Achievement Award for Universities (Humanities and Social Sciences) and the second prize of the Liangxi Forestry Science and Technology Award. Received one second prize and one third prize in the National College Teacher Teaching Innovation Competition; 1 first prize and 10 other level awards in the provincial micro course teaching competition; One special prize was awarded in the teaching observation competition for foreign students in Jiangsu universities.

6. Talent Cultivation:

The college has trained a large number of outstanding talents and backbone forces for Chinese landscape architecture enterprises and institutions, including 3 members of the national discipline evaluation group, 7 members of the national professional degree guidance committee, 7 members of the landscape architecture expert committee of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, 21 national first-class discipline leaders, as well as hundreds of leading landscape design talents such as the technical director of Shanghai World Expo Park's landscaping and "China's Outstanding Landscape Architect".

In the past five years, students have published 66 papers as first authors in high-level journals such as SCI, SSCI, CSSCI, and have been granted over 40 invention patents; Received 87 important design competition awards, including the first prize in the IFLA International College Student Landscape Design Competition, both domestically and internationally. One person was awarded the title of "National Outstanding Graduate in Forestry", and 15 people were awarded honors such as the "Liangxi Outstanding Student Award".

The college not only has the most outstanding students from Nanjing Forestry University, but also has a good academic atmosphere of seeking knowledge and innovation, unity and progress. Every summer, batches of students successfully complete their studies at the School of Landscape Architecture, or are admitted to Harvard University, or are recommended to Peking University, Tsinghua University, Southeast University, Tianjin University, Chongqing University, Tongji University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, or go to various places in China to support local construction.

7. International Cooperation:

The college adheres to the international educational philosophy of "openness, inclusiveness, and sharing", and has long-term and good cooperation and academic exchanges with world-renowned universities such as Harvard University in the United States, University of Georgia in the United States, University of Western Australia in Australia, Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. It regularly holds industry domestic and international academic conferences and exchanges teachers and students for learning. Existing Sino foreign cooperative education projects:

Joint Bachelor's and Master's Programs between the University of Western Australia and Nanjing Forestry University: Landscape Architecture 3+1+1, Landscape Architecture 3+1+1, Urban and Rural Planning 4+1+1, Landscape Architecture 1+1.

At present, the college is "changing with the trend and moving towards the new", based in East China and facing the whole country, responding to major national strategies and tasks such as sustainable development, rural revitalization, dual carbon, and beautiful China. Based on the construction foundation, it innovatively expands and forms the main characteristic advantages of disciplines specializing in urban and rural green space planning and design, regional landscape resource protection and utilization, small town and rural planning, and national ecological space protection and restoration. It continues to cultivate first-class talents for national ecological civilization construction, beautiful China construction, green development of urban and rural construction, inheritance of excellent traditional Chinese culture of the Chinese nation, and beautiful rural construction.