Landscape Architectureat California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Graduates earn $58,331/yr in their first year — about 13.0% above the national Landscape Architecture average. Base-case 10-year earnings $576K; scenarios range from $535K to $585K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at Cal Poly SLO
Cal Poly’s "Learn by Doing" philosophy is a major driver behind these strong outcomes. You won't just be in a lecture hall; you'll be in the studio and out in the field, building a professional-quality portfolio from your first year. The program's stellar reputation creates a direct recruiting pipeline to California's top landscape architecture, planning, and multidisciplinary design firms, from massive global players like AECOM to prestigious design-focused studios like SWA Group. Your proximity to both the Bay Area and Los Angeles markets means access to high-paying opportunities in tech campus design, public infrastructure, and high-end residential projects. To maximize this advantage, use your studio projects and required internship to build deep connections with a specific firm or sector you're passionate about—it can lead directly to a post-graduation job offer.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Cal Poly SLO's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Landscape Architecture
How Cal Poly SLO stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at Cal Poly SLO
Other highest-scoring programs offered at Cal Poly SLO, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly SLO
How does California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo's Landscape Architecture program score?
This program scores 58/100, reflecting respectable but not exceptional financial outcomes for Landscape Architecture graduates.
How vulnerable is Landscape Architecture to AI automation?
AI won't 'replace' Landscape Architecture careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 44% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.