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).

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