Toward Increasing Faculty Licensure in Landscape Architecture Education

Abstract

Professional licensure among faculty within landscape architecture (LA) programs is often undervalued. In 2021, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) met to discuss the importance of faculty licensure and, more broadly, the role of academic programs in preparing students for LA licensure. Prior to that, the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) received feedback from practitioners, through the open review process of its 2020 standard revisions, stating the need for more of the following: licensed LA faculty, licensure advocacy, and preparation for LA licensure for students. Meanwhile, recent research also finds a perceived growing divide within faculties between practice‐based faculty and traditional research faculty, due in part to the amplifying demand for research productivity among LA faculty. As a result of these concerns, CELA, working in collaboration with ASLA and LAAB, issued a survey in 2021 to all 801 CELA members to discover: 1) who among LA faculty are licensed (and why or why not) and 2) whether and how LA academic programs and faculty serve as licensure advocates for their faculty and students. Results indicate strong interest among faculty for obtaining and maintaining licensure and preparing students for licensed practice, but the findings also suggest a need for greater financial and institutional support from academic programs to help LA faculty achieve these goals. As a result of these findings, several strategies are suggested to prioritize greater support for LA licensure in academia by ensuring that faculty obtain or maintain licensure and that students have enhanced opportunities to become licensed post‐graduation.