The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated landscape architecture as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) degree program after the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) advocated for this move.

 
The addition of landscape architecture is accompanied by eight fields of study including, Landscape Architecture, Institutional Research, Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician, Composite Materials Technology/Technician, Linguistics and Computer Science, Developmental and Adolescent Psychology, Geospatial Intelligence, and Demography and Population Studies.

The Department of Homeland Security made this designation because of a 2016 rule that provided a 24-month extension of OPT for F-1 nonimmigrant students that majored in a STEM designated field of study. According to the Federal Register, "OPT is one type of work permission available to certain F?EUR"1 nonimmigrant students. It allows eligible F?EUR"1 students (except those in English language training programs) to obtain real-world work experience directly related to their major area of study."

Students that fall under this category are required to submit a Form I-765 to request employment authorization and a Form I-983.

"The STEM designation finally reflects the reality of the discipline of landscape architecture. Our work is fully dependent on science and technology, from understanding soils at the level of microbial interactions and nutrient exchanges, which keep our urban canopy alive, to coastal adaptations informed by continuously evolving climate data," said Gary Hilderbrand, FASLA, the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design. "This new designation brings with it greater opportunities for students and graduates throughout the United States and beyond to become leaders in the field."