Thursday, October 27, 2011

How to Get a Landscape Architect License in Kansas


Kansas Landscape Architect License Requirements
Get a Licensed on Kansas
Legends Mall at Kansas City, Kansas.
Photo by Mediafury


It is pretty easy to get a license to practice landscape architecture in the state of Kansas. Keep reading to discover Kansas' landscape architect license requirements.

Basic Requirements
Kansas has a few basic requirements that you must meet to qualify got a landscape architect license.
  • You need an accredited college degree. You college degree must be accredited by LAAB to qualify. A masters degree or bachelors degree is acceptable.
  • You need work experience working under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect.
  • You need to prove that you have eight years of experience in the field of landscape architecture. Fortunately, you can apply the time spent working on your college degree as part of the eight years of experience. A four year bachelors degree in landscape architecture counts for four years of experience and a five year BLA degree counts for five years of experience. The Kansas state regulations are unclear about the value of a first professional masters degree but you could probably claim three years of experience based on the ways that other degrees are awarded experience years.
Ways To Satisfy the Experience Requirement

Example 1: You graduated from an accredited four-year bachelors degree program in landscape architecture. The bachelors degree qualifies for four years of experience towards the Kansas state license requirement. You still need to get four years of professional experience under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect.

Example 2: You graduated from an accredited five-year program in landscape architecture. Your degree counts for five years of experience credit for the state ok Kansas. Now, you need three years of experience working under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect.

Example 3: After graduating college with a degree that is totally unrelated to landscape architecture, you head off to grad school and graduate with an accredited MLA. While you cannot apply the years spent getting the unrelated undergraduate degree, you can apply the number of full-time years that it took to earn your masters degree in landscape architecture. For example, it took you three years to complete a MLA at Kansas State University. You can apply the three years spent studying landscape architecture as experience years for the purpose of licensure. Now, you need to acquire five years of experience working under the supervision of a landscape architect.

Step-By-Step Guide To Kansas Licensure
  1. Go to the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards (CLARB) website and create a council record. Complete the council record application and send in college transcripts and work experience verification forms. CLARB will notify you when your record is complete and you are qualified to take the LARE.
  2. Register to take the LARE through CLARB's website.
  3. Prepare for the LARE. Most landscape architect candidates fail one or more sections of the LARE the first time according to CLARB's own statistics. Study and prepare fore the LARE to improve your chances of passing the first time. Read the technical books recommended by CLARB, challenge yourself with practice exams, or attend a LARE preparation workshop. The more you prepare for the LARE, the better your chances are of success.
  4. Take and pass all sections of the LARE. 
  5. Once you have passed all sections of the LARE and have met the Kansas' star board experience requirements, forward your CLARB council record to the Kansas board. Kansas will evaluate your CLARB council record and notify you if you meet the requirements for licensure.
  6. Pay the license fee and wait for your license to come in the mail.
  7. When you receive your license, get a rubber stamp made do you can stamp drawings and celebrate!
  8. Maintain you license by taking continuing education classes.
Final Thoughts
Keep the end goal in mind when you are on your journey to becoming a licensed landscape architect. Do not get discouraged if you don't pass every exam the first time. When you are hit with adversity along the way, get back up, dust yourself off, and learn from your failures. Remember, others have done it and so can you.



Related Articles:
Disclaimer: The information posted here is for your convenience only and was believed to be up-to-date at the time of writing.  Please check with state licensure boards and CLARB for the latest information.  If you find something on this post is out-of-date or inaccurate, please send me a note. Thanks and good luck with your career in landscape architecture.
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)