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ELLI offers Landscape Lighting Design education and training that will elevate and advance lighting designers. Anyone can participate in these offerings, but they must choose whether they wish to be certified or not in the process. Those wishing to be certified must complete the entire training program, as well as perform testing along the way. Certification is optional.
Most of this learning will be in the form of pre-recorded, Online Videos. ELLI has found that this is the best way to provide for all people across the country, and it allows the participant to block out periods of time that best fits their scheduling need. Participants can learn as fast as they want, as long as they fulfill the requirements.
To ensure that learning is achieved, participants will have the opportunity to engage in direct conversations with Mark Carlson after viewing each class. This will be part of ELLI’s mentoring process. ELLI wants to ensure quality assurance with the successful understanding of practices, principles, and concepts.
The Landscape Lighting Design program will have 3-Series of educational content. Each series focuses on a particular aspect of development. All of this program training is considered the ‘Foundational Level.’ It is the first step in true advancement within the landscape lighting design discipline.
The three (3) Series of ELLI training are: Technical Series, Designer Series, and Art Series. Each Series is equally important in becoming a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ landscape lighting designer. Currently, ELLI is the only fully-developed training program available for Landscape Lighting Design. Each Series is broken down as follows:
Series classes range from 40-minutes to 90-minutes in length. Classes can be taken on an individual basis without certification or testing, or by the full Series. In addition, the entire ‘Foundational Level’ program can be taken, as well. The following are the costs associated to these offerings:
| Individual Class | $ 350.00 each |
|---|---|
| Technical Series program | $ 3,150.00 |
| Designer Series program | $ 3,150.00 |
| Art Series program | $ 2,250.00 |
| Custom Package | Dependent on # of Classes |
| All Series together | $ 7,600.00 |
Note: Custom Packaged programs can be developed and are ideal for specific professions or specific career needs. It should be noted that customized packages offer no certification or testing.
These courses are only offered to those participants who have completed the full training in ELLI’s ‘Foundational Level’. In other words, the ‘Foundational Level’ of training is the minimum requirement to sit in on any ‘Advanced Level’ offerings. A preliminary proficiency test will be required to be accepted into this training program. The reason for this prerequisite is to ensure that the program has relevance and means something special for those seeking this level of knowledge. There is no point in teaching someone any of the advanced techniques if they cannot properly pass or show proficiency in the first step requirements. A full listing of these classes will be provided later in 2026, as this program is scheduled for launch in 2027.
Mark Carlson is the educator and mentor for both the ‘Foundational Level’ and ‘Advanced Level’ offerings. As part of ELLI’s training process, each participant will be allotted personal time with Mark to discuss classes to ensure proper learning. Remember, the goal of any ELLI training is to be “effective” and proficient in what they have learned. Practice and building experience is what improves these learned skills. To learn more about Mark’s background, please see Mark’s Bio:
Testing will occur at the end of each Series Section so that content is understood. In addition, this will allow Mark Carlson to know the strengths and weaknesses of each participant, so that he can help them to succeed through the trainings. A 70% or higher score must be obtained to pass the training Section. Should the participant not be able to score above 70% on any section test, then they will have one extra opportunity to retake the test to pass. Failure after the 2nd test will cause the participant to either retake each of the Section classes or lose their opportunity to be certified at the completion of the full training schedule.
Certification is only available to those planning to participate in the entire training program; all three Series. ELLI will not certify anyone taking parts of each Series because it realistically serves no good for being a “relevant” training program. ELLI believes that one is either “committed” or “not committed” to investing in their successful advancement. As mentioned before, ‘Design’ and ‘Landscape Lighting Design’ is a discipline and art form. Anything short of that is failing this developmental mission.
As with the standard testing performed within each Series, the Certification program requires a minimum of 70% score for passing. The participant will be required to sit in for a final certification examination that will cover all parts of each Series. In addition, it will include a hands-on test to show skill proficiency for specific tasks. This will be a challenging examination, but it serves to set one apart from the masses.