LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership 2027–28: $25,000 for Landscape Architecture Professionals

LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership 2027–28: $25,000 for Landscape Architecture Professionals

The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) is accepting applications for its 2027–28 Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership. The program is designed for landscape architecture professionals who have a substantial idea they need time, critique, and a supportive peer group to develop. It is not a conventional research grant, a degree scholarship, or a paid staff position. Instead, it combines a $25,000 individual award with a year of structured project work, leadership development, mentoring, and three in-person residencies in Washington, D.C.

The opportunity is especially relevant to a mid-career or senior landscape architect whose proposed work could reach beyond a single commission or client. LAF invites projects that may be theoretical or practical, cross-disciplinary, technology-related, policy-oriented, or connected to new models of practice. The central test is whether the idea can increase the influence of landscape architecture while responding to serious environmental, social, or economic problems.

The 2027–28 application deadline is September 15, 2026. LAF says all application materials, including the employer support letter and reference letter, must be submitted through its SlideRoom system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The application also carries a $50 fee. Applicants should therefore treat the deadline as a complete-application deadline, not merely the date to create an account or save a draft.

Key details

What the fellowship provides

The main financial benefit is a $25,000 award paid to the individual Fellow. LAF explains that the award is meant to provide financial support for taking the equivalent of three months away from regular work while pursuing the proposed project. The money is not required to be spent on project expenses, and LAF says there are no restrictions on how the award is used. Applicants remain responsible for understanding and paying any applicable taxes.

The award is distributed in three payments of $8,333.33 after successful completion of each residency. Attendance at the residencies and submission of the deliverables associated with them are mandatory for payment. This makes the award more than an unrestricted prize received at the beginning of the year: applicants should be comfortable with the program’s staged commitments and with reporting progress to a cohort and facilitators.

LAF also provides travel and lodging stipends for the three Washington, D.C. residencies. The official award page does not describe those stipends as a general living allowance, relocation package, or reimbursement for every cost of participation. Budget for costs that are not expressly covered, including any taxes on the award, time beyond the planned project period, local expenses, or project costs that exceed the resources available to you.

The fellowship experience includes critical discussion, project presentations, leadership readings, monthly or near-monthly video calls, intergenerational mentorship, and a final symposium. Fellows are expected to share their work with LAF constituents and other targeted stakeholders. The network and public presentation may be as valuable as the cash for someone trying to move an idea into broader professional use.

Who this opportunity fits

The general professional fellowship fits a person who has already built a meaningful body of work and now wants to pursue a project with a life beyond routine practice. LAF divides professional applicants into mid-career and senior-level types. Its application page describes mid-career candidates as having six to 17 years of professional experience and senior-level candidates as having 18 or more years. Both groups apply to the same fellowship, but the application type should match the experience record.

A strong applicant may work in private practice, public service, academia, nonprofit work, or a multidisciplinary setting. The work does not have to be a conventional built landscape. LAF’s own project guidance permits theoretical or historical investigations, products, programs, business-plan development, new practice or service models, built work, new technology, and other approaches that achieve the project’s purpose. Cross-disciplinary work is welcome when it expands the role of landscape architecture rather than using the fellowship as a generic professional-development award.

The opportunity is less suitable for someone who needs a conventional salary, a fully remote program, a grant to finish an existing project, or a supervisor to manage the research. Fellows must take ownership of the project, attend the required residencies, participate in the cohort, and be prepared to mentor as well as receive mentorship. The project can be collaborative, but the application is made by an individual who acts as the team lead and participates as the Fellow.

LAF also lists a special application type for recent LAF Olmsted Scholars. Those applicants have separate instructions and should not assume that the professional mid-career or senior-level rules, award details, or experience categories apply in exactly the same way. If you are an eligible recent Scholar, read the current special-tier instructions in SlideRoom before choosing an application type.

Eligibility requirements

For the general professional application, LAF requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree in landscape architecture. For degrees from U.S. and Canadian institutions, the landscape architecture program must be accredited by LAAB or LAAC. In countries where landscape architecture is not a recognized degree or profession, LAF says a related degree can be acceptable when the applicant works in landscape architecture.

Applicants must have at least six years of professional experience in landscape architecture by September 15, 2026. LAF recognizes experience from private, public, academic, nonprofit, multidisciplinary, and other forms of practice. The application requires applicants to show how their experience meets the minimum. Part-time work and consulting should be converted to a full-time equivalent where appropriate. Internships or assistantships completed while pursuing a first professional landscape architecture degree should not be counted toward the requirement.

Professional-level written and spoken English is required, and applicants may need to provide evidence of proficiency. The application page also requires the ability to dedicate time to the fellowship and proposed project. An employer support letter is part of the submission, so an applicant with a demanding current role should confirm that the employer will support approximately 12 weeks of time devoted to the fellowship over the year.

Current LAF staff, LAF Board members, and LAF committee members are not eligible. Former staff and former board or committee members can apply if they meet the other requirements. Team projects are allowed, but only one person applies and participates in the residencies and calls. If selected, that Fellow may choose to share the award with team members.

Designing a project that fits LAF

The project should be more precise than a broad ambition to make cities greener or design more equitably. Start by naming the problem, the people or systems affected, and the decision or practice that could change if the project succeeds. Then explain what you will make, test, investigate, or communicate during the fellowship year.

LAF evaluates whether a proposed project contributes knowledge or innovation to landscape architecture and whether it can increase the discipline’s role in addressing global challenges. A strong proposal therefore links a landscape architecture contribution to a wider outcome. For example, a project might develop a replicable community-design process, test a new approach to climate adaptation, turn evidence into a policy tool, examine a historical practice with current relevance, or prototype a service model that helps underserved communities shape their environments. These are examples of the kinds of direction the official criteria allow, not promises that any particular topic will be funded.

Keep the scope realistic for approximately 12 weeks of concentrated work spread across a year. Define a small number of concrete outputs: a prototype, tested framework, publication, public resource, policy brief, design method, or documented case study. If the work is collaborative, specify what the applicant will lead and what partners will contribute. A project that depends on a large new field study, a major construction budget, or an unconfirmed institutional partnership may look infeasible unless those resources are already secured.

The project should also have a post-fellowship life. Explain who will use the result, how it will be shared, and what the next decision will be after the fellowship ends. LAF’s structure includes critique and a final symposium, so write for a professional audience that may understand landscape architecture broadly but may not share your exact specialty.

Application materials and process

LAF accepts applications through SlideRoom only. Create an account, select the appropriate application type, and use the platform to prepare and submit the complete packet. The required materials listed by LAF are:

• General application form
• Project abstract
• Project proposal
• Project budget and schedule
• One reference letter
• Employer letter of support
• CV and portfolio
• Signed statements of commitment

Supplemental materials may include proof of English proficiency for non-native speakers, college or university transcripts for international applicants, and project contacts for team projects. Additional materials outside the instructions may not be reviewed, so do not turn the application into an unstructured archive of every award, drawing, or publication you have produced.

The reference letter should come from someone who can speak credibly about your ability to complete the project and lead or participate in intergenerational mentorship. The employer letter is different: it confirms support for taking time away from regular employment and should also address your capacity to complete the project and mentor others. If you are self-employed or unemployed, LAF’s FAQ says to submit an additional reference letter in place of the employer support letter.

Plan to pay the $50 application fee through SlideRoom when you submit. Saving a draft is not submission. Before the deadline, verify that every required upload is present, that your letter requests have been completed or uploaded as directed, and that the final submission confirmation is saved. LAF says all materials, including letters, are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 15.

Timeline for the 2027–28 cohort

LAF announced the 2027–28 call in June 2026. The complete application deadline is September 15, 2026. Jury deliberations are scheduled for October 2026 through January 2027, and Fellows are expected to be announced in February 2027. The year-long program then includes the three residencies, regular video calls, project work, leadership conversations, and a final presentation of findings and next steps.

The official overview describes the fellowship year as beginning the following spring. It does not list dates for each 2.5-day residency on the public overview page. Treat attendance as a firm commitment and confirm the exact calendar with LAF or in the current applicant materials before applying. Applicants who cannot travel to Washington, D.C. for the required residencies should not assume that the travel stipend converts the fellowship into a remote program.

How jurors are likely to read the application

LAF lists several evaluation factors: submission quality, contribution to knowledge and innovation, potential to increase landscape architecture’s role in global challenges, feasibility, leadership potential, and openness to mentorship as both mentor and mentee. It also gives preference to applicants for whom participation is likely to be pivotal to future leadership in the discipline.

Use those criteria as a review checklist. The abstract should make the project understandable quickly. The proposal should show a defined question or opportunity, a credible path to an output, and a reason the fellowship structure matters. The budget and schedule should show that you have thought through the practical work, even though the $25,000 award does not have to be spent on the project. The portfolio should support your claim that you can deliver, rather than overwhelm the reader with unrelated work.

The mentorship criterion deserves explicit attention. Describe what you can contribute to peers and what expertise, critique, or perspective you need from the cohort. Likewise, make the residencies part of the project plan: identify the moments when critique, testing, or public presentation will improve the work. A proposal that treats the cohort as an administrative obligation misses one of the program’s defining benefits.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most consequential mistake is waiting until the final day to secure letters. The employer letter may require internal approval, and a reference writer needs enough time to understand the project. Send a one-page briefing that includes the abstract, the proposed schedule, the fellowship criteria, and the specific points you hope the letter will address.

Do not submit a project that is simply the close-out of work already underway. LAF says the fellowship is for advancing a proposed pursuit that has value beyond the fellowship year, not for paying down an existing project. Do not make individual commercial gain the main purpose of a business or product proposal; the project must serve the advancement of landscape architecture.

Avoid vague impact language. “Transforming the future” is not a method, output, or audience. State what will change, who can use the result, and what evidence will show that the work is useful. Also avoid hiding the time commitment. The award is tied to roughly three months of work and residency deliverables, and the employer letter exists partly to confirm that the time can be made available.

Frequently asked questions

Is the LAF Fellowship a $25,000 grant?

It is a fellowship with a $25,000 financial award. LAF says the money is paid to the individual, has no restrictions on how it is spent, and is intended to offset time away from regular employment. Taxes remain the Fellow’s responsibility.

Are travel and lodging covered?

LAF provides travel and lodging stipends for the three required Washington, D.C. residencies. The public page does not promise that every participation cost is covered, so confirm the current stipend terms and budget for expenses not listed.

Can a team apply?

No. An individual applies and participates. The proposed project may involve a team, but the applicant must be the team lead and may choose to share the award with team members if selected.

Can I apply if I work outside the United States?

The public eligibility rules do not restrict the general professional fellowship to U.S. residents. They address degree recognition, professional experience, English proficiency, and the ability to attend the Washington, D.C. residencies. International applicants should check the current instructions for transcript and language evidence and confirm that they can meet travel and participation requirements.

Does LAF accept a remote fellowship?

No fully remote option is promised. The program requires three 2.5-day residencies in Washington, D.C., alongside video calls. Travel and lodging stipends are provided for those residencies.

Where can I ask a question before applying?

LAF lists Danielle Carbonneau as the contact for questions about the fellowship. The FAQ asks applicants to contact the program at least one week before the deadline for clarifying questions.

Official links and next steps

Start with LAF’s official fellowship overview, then read the application process and eligibility page, the award and expectations page, and the fellowship FAQ. The application is submitted through LAF’s SlideRoom portal.

Before September 15, confirm your application type, make the project scope fit the year, ask for both letters, prepare the portfolio and schedule, and test every upload in SlideRoom. This fellowship is a good match when the money, protected time, critique, and public-facing cohort can move a serious landscape architecture idea into wider use. If you mainly need a large project budget or a conventional paid job, the program’s structure may not solve that need.