Students

Welcome to the ILASLA Student Page! 🌿

We’re thrilled to have you here! Whether you’re just beginning your journey in landscape architecture or building on your design passions, this is your space to grow, connect, and get inspired. Here, you’ll find opportunities to engage with professionals and be part of a vibrant community shaping the future of our landscapes.

Let’s design a better world—together.

ASLA is the national umbrella for local chapters. Once you become a member of ASLA, you will be a member of your local chapter. This will be in the state where you are going to school.

Students can apply at any time for a FREE membership to ASLA. The catch: you must reapply every year. Learn about qualifications for Student, Student Affiliate, or International Student membership and apply below.

Learn More and Apply Here

Your Membership Number – Keep It Handy

When you join ASLA, you’ll receive a membership number. It’s what lets you access member-only parts of both the ASLA and ILASLA websites.

You’ll create a password for the ASLA site using this number. Just a heads-up: you’ll need to do the same separately for the ILASLA website—your login won’t automatically carry over.

The good news is that your membership number is the same for both ASLA and ILASLA.

If you ever lose track of it, no worries—you can email the ILASLA Membership Chair at membership@il-asla.org and we’ll help you out.

Keep an eye on this ASLA page for nationwide scholarship opportunities designed to support landscape architecture students across the U.S.

Link Here

Applying for ILASLA Student Awards

Each year, ILASLA invites students and professionals to showcase their work through our annual Awards Program. If you’ve worked on a project you’re proud of, this is a great opportunity to have it seen—and celebrated—by the landscape architecture community.

Submissions are juried by a different ASLA chapter each year to ensure fresh perspectives and fair evaluations. The call for entries typically goes out in early spring and stays open for about two months. For example, the 2025 call ran from April 18 to June 6. Award recipients are announced ahead of time and recognized at our Celebration event, which in 2025 will be held on September 9 in Chicago.

While there’s no monetary prize, winners receive complimentary tickets to Celebration and, more importantly, gain recognition that can give a strong boost when entering the job market. Awarded projects are also published in our widely circulated Folio booklet and featured on the ILASLA website, giving your work valuable exposure.

There is no fee to submit for an ILASLA Student Award.

There are two student award categories, both reviewed and selected before the Celebration event: General Design, Undergraduate and General Design, Graduate.

Take a look at the example below to see what a Student Award Application looks like!

You can see the 2024 award winners here. They are at the end of our landing page

ASLA (National) Student Awards

The ASLA Student Awards offer a powerful glimpse into the future of landscape architecture—your future. These national honors recognize outstanding student work and highlight the creativity, innovation, and leadership shaping the profession.

Winners receive national recognition, including featured coverage in Landscape Architecture Magazine—ASLA’s official publication—as well as in other design, construction, and general-interest media. Award recipients and their faculty advisors are celebrated during a special ceremony at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture.

Each year, the jury is made up of experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds—private practice, public service, academia, and beyond—chosen to reflect the diversity of the profession in both expertise and perspective. This helps ensure a fair, enriching, and inspiring selection process.

The call for entries usually opens in early spring and remains open for about two months. (For example, the 2025 call ran from April 25 to June 9.) Awardees are announced in advance and honored at the national conference.

Please note: there is a submission fee.

There are several ASLA student award categories.

Want to see what an ASLA application looks like? Here is a link. 

Here are the 2024 Student Awards!

We’ve had questions from students on where to find things on the https://asla.org/ website (aka national ASLA site). Explore the site when you have a chance. But for immediate questions here are some tips:

Member Login

• If you are a student member, go to the upper right hand side of the page and log in. You’ll see more information as a member.
• Clicking on your name will give you an opportunity to update your profile.
• This is where you can also find national committees to join, other members, and find items to purchase. Since this website is currently being updated, there may be less options than in the future.

Main Menu Tabs:

Become a Landscape Architect

• Here is where you will find most items that relate to students. Applying for scholarships, preparing for the LARE, and schools that have landscape architecture programs.

Join

• Sign up annually, to be a part of the association – both national and your local chapter.

Awards

• This is where you can see the current call for awards – including students – and past awardee information. Check it out!

Practice  (Research Resources)

• While this tab is designed to address those already practicing in the field, there are great research resources here. Take a look at the first several tabs, which will bring you to professional articles and case studies on
  • Climate Action
  • Universal Design
  • Health and Well Being
  • Sustainable Design
  • Historical Landscapes
  • Library and Research Resources
  • And much more!

Other Website Issues:

Lost your membership number? Can’t find something on the website?

You can email the Illinois Chapter at membership@il-asla.org or the National Chapter at membership@asla.org.

My password works for the national site but not for the Illinois Chapter. What’s up?

Your password does not automatically transfer. You will need to set up your password (which can be the same as National’s).

APPLYING FOR THE JOB OR INTERNSHIP

• “Spelling counts! Please double and triple-check your resume and portfolio. These documents are the first impression a potential employer receives. Simple errors show a lack of attention to detail, which is never a great impression to make.”
• “Wear a suit and tie or blouse and slacks/skirt. Dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Dressing up for an interview shows respect for their time and experience. First impressions matter.”

Wight & Company

• “During the interview, you are interviewing them as much as they are you. Come in with some questions about the company, their view on the place of landscape architecture, or anything else you really care about.”

Anonymous landscape architect

AT THE JOB OR INTERNSHIP

• “Ask the stupid questions!”
• “You’re there to learn. You provide value to the company, but they need to provide value to you in turn. Stand up for yourself if you start to get used solely as cheap labor.”

Anonymous Member

• “One of the hardest things early in your career (and onwards) is not knowing what you don’t know. Be curious and always ask for clarification if something isn’t making sense. Your supervisor likely doesn’t know your base level of knowledge either, so do your best to share with them where you are at, and it will benefit everyone.”
• “Don’t be afraid of overcommunication. With so much remote work these days, it is easy to feel like you are in a bubble or spend time spinning your wheels. Let others know where you’re at, when you are getting close to needing more work, or when it seems like something is taking longer than it should.”
• “Take risks. You never will know everything you need to know before you try something new, but you can figure it out along the way through research and reaching out to others with different experiences. Go after what you’re passionate about.”

Stacey Libra, ASLA, Indigo Ecological Design, ILASLA President

• “Say yes! You never know which connection will lead to something, whether it’s next month or 10 years down the line. Say yes to drinks or dinner, a last-minute site visit, or a professional development event. Take advantage of every opportunity someone wants to bring you along to.”
• “Ask questions! It’s okay that you don’t know things – actually, it’s expected! You are still in school or just got out of school. Make sure to try to find the answer to your question on your own, but don’t spin your wheels for too long without asking someone. Also, ask to attend events, sit in meetings, etc. Both observing and participating are great ways to learn about project relationships and communication.”
• “See as much as you can. Your interests will shift and grow as you gain exposure to different project types and scales. Stay open to all aspects of landscape architecture; you’ve got a long career ahead! The more you experience early on, the more confident and well-rounded you’ll become.”

Nicole Beard, Associate ASLA, site design group

• “The real learning starts here! Be curious and dig in. When you need to find something out ask, read, look it up. Look to gain knowledge on something new each day, no matter how small it is. Today I learned that you need to consider dust/dirt build up on a street light hood if it is too flat.”
• “Pick up a pencil and draw. Sketch ideas; sketch the plants in the office, sketch your colleagues, sketch the view out of your window. Learn to translate what you see into a quick doodle on paper. Rough and wobbly lines are totally fine and long as they’re yours.”
• “Be a Swiss Army Knife. Adaptable, with tools aplenty to take on tasks and challenges. If you don’t have specific expertise in something, find someone who has. And if you can, learn about it and put it into practice.”

Dave Lawrie, ASLA, Hoerr Schaudt

• “Always have a notebook and a pen in your hand. You are responsible for making your own ‘To Do’ list. Take notes! Ask questions! Your boss knows that you are inexperienced, asking questions illustrates your critical thinking skills, and shows that you are engaged in the project.”

Wight & Company

Watch for more in the future!

See the UIUC Student Album Here!          

Send us your photos and we’ll post them!!

Send to susan@il-asla.org

See the IIT Student Album Here!

Send us your photos and we’ll post them!!

Send to susan@il-asla.org