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On Wednesday, April 9, Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students from the University of Oklahoma represented their peers at the Oklahoma Board of Governors of Licensed Architects, Landscape Architects, and Licensed Interior Designers (OBA) board meeting. Giselle Walker, a second-year MLA student, and Jeremy Crites, a third-year MLA student, attended the meeting to provide testimony on behalf of Landscape Architecture students from both OU and Oklahoma State University.
The students addressed the board to advocate for an update to the state’s licensure requirements for landscape architects. Their testimony requested that Oklahoma align its standards with the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) Uniform Standards, which serve as the national model. More than 20 states have already adopted these standards.
Currently, Oklahoma requires three years of professional experience for MLA-accredited graduates seeking licensure, one year more than many surrounding states. The students noted that this additional requirement is contributing to a loss of emerging professionals, as recent graduates are opting to begin their careers in other states with a more efficient path to licensure. Reducing the experience requirement from three years to two would bring Oklahoma in line with regional trends and help retain graduates in-state.
The advocacy was a success as the board responded positively to the students’ remarks. The vote was unanimous to begin the formal process of updating the licensure standards. The process, which is expected to take 18 months, will evaluate education and experience requirements for landscape architecture licensure in Oklahoma.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
