Section 1275.20  Acceptable Education Programs

An applicant for registration as a landscape architect must complete education in landscape architecture by satisfying the requirements from either an Approved Program or a Non-Approved Program as defined in this Section.  Any applicant who gained a baccalaureate education outside the United States and is not Landscape Architectural Accreditation Council (LAAC) accredited, shall have the education evaluated, at the applicant's expense.  Applicants shall obtain the forms from the Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) at https://www.ece.org/ and have the evaluation sent from ECE to the Division for review by the Board.  The Board will review the evaluation to determine if the applicant's credentials are substantially equivalent to the educational requirements set forth in this Section.

a)         Approved Program

1)         The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation-Division of Professional Regulation (Division) has determined that landscape architecture programs accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) or the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Accreditation Council (CSLAAC) are considered to meet the minimum criteria for education programs and are, therefore, approved.:

2)         In determining whether a program shall be approved, the Division shall take into consideration, but not be bound by, accreditation or approval by the LAAB.

3)         The Division has determined that all landscape architecture programs accredited or approved by the LAAB as of January 1, 1998 meet the minimum criteria set forth in this Section and are, therefore, approved.

b)         Non Approved Program

1)         A non-approved program shall be defined as a degree which was gained from an educational institution legally recognized by the jurisdiction in which it is located to confer a degree of at least two years in length, and which:

A)        Satisfies the alternative education requirements specified within the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Board Uniform Standard; and

B)        Satisfies the direct supervision experience requirement specified within Section 1275.30(b).

2)         Educational courses taken may be completed prior to, concurrent with, or subsequent to receiving a baccalaureate degree.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 16806, effective September 26, 2022)