Application: Portfolio, Motivation Letter & Course Contents (requirements)

The portfolio is used to evaluate whether you meet the requirements in the field of design. We are looking for candidates who excel in independent thought, creativity, and curiosity, who are confident in using different approaches to design and methodology, who are capable of working at different scale levels, and who are able to articulate their ideas and interests in a manner which is highly aesthetic and of professional quality.

Your digital portfolio should contain your most important and representative works, which reflect the scope and diversity of your education and experience, that demonstrate your professional focus and your suitability to study for the Master's degree programme in landscape architecture at a high level. In addition to examples from your studies, private as well as professional work may be included if they are your own contributions.

The portfolio should portray your design, construction, urban planning, creative and theoretical knowledge and skills. In the third project, creative work from other disciplines or scientific work may also be shown. Please ensure that you present the development process of the respective project in a clear and understandable way using suitable means of presentation. Highlight questions, steps, methods and techniques that led to the result. In addition to visualizations, this includes short, meaningful texts with which you document your work.

The admissions committee will evaluate your personal skills based on the portfolio. Please bear in mind that these are generally better represented by individual projects rather than by group work. If your individual contribution is not clearly understood by the committee, it may not be able to assess your personal skills, and this may reduce your chances of being admitted to the programme.

Elements of the portfolio:

– Front page (1 page) *
– Curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages)
– max. 3 projects (max. 12 pages)

* Front page:

– Name, first name of applicant
– Application number
– Name of applicants former educational institution
– Confirmation that the projects described in the portfolio were developed by the applicant him-​ or herself. If several co-​parties were involved in development of the projects, they must be listed accordingly, and the applicant's contribution must be indicated carefully.

Elements of the projects:

Page 1:

– Author
– Title of the project
– Educational institution or other context of the project (e.g. private, office – please nominate a reference person)
– Date of the project (month/year)

Page 2 - 4:

– max. 3 pages, illustration can be freely chosen

– PDF-file
– DIN A4 paper size (21 x 29,7 cm resp. 29,7 x 21 cm)
– All pages in horizontal format
– maximum extent: 16 pages

Portfolios which do not conform with the given format shall not be evaluated. 

Composition of the Jury

3 architetural design professors of the Department of Architecture.

Judging

The members of the admissions committee evaluate the individual projects individually and within the committee.

The portfolio is evaluated on screen; NO print out! 

Download or scan the detailed official course content (German or English) of each course of your Bachelor's degree program. If available, a module handbook or a course catalogue can be submitted. If not available, a description of the contents of the individual courses is required.

No course content information required for applicants with a BSc in Architecture from USI Mendrisio, EPF Lausanne or a Swiss University of Applied Sciences (FH)!

The motivation letter contains detailed, comprehensive reasons for wanting to study landscape architecture at ETH Zurich. The letter must be submitted electronically in a PDF format (maximum 1 page).