Long gone are the days of prospective architects taking a four-day paper and pencil exam administered once a year. Some states also have extra internship requirements (such as California), so be sure to check with the state architects board. This program is intended to better educate interns and prevent young professionals from being abused by only giving them repetitive tasks (stair details anyone?) that do little to provide the necessary real-world education. IPD completion requires 700 training units (8 hours per unit) divided into 16 or so categories that cover a diverse spectrum of what architects do. The good news is that IDP's intention is good: to give young professionals a well-rounded experience in the architecture field. The bad news is that IDP involves documenting work hours. There's a system to this internship madness and it's called the Intern Development Program (IDP).
While you work for (often little) money, you'll be completing your internship hours. If you still want to be an architect after school, you'll need to get a job working for an architectural firm.
The Four Basic Steps to Becoming an Architect 1.
By the time I'm done writing this, they've probably added another test or internship requirement.
#WHAT IS THE FIRST ARCHITECT LICENSE NUMBER HOW TO#
So, before we get started on how to become a licensed architect, here are two things to keep in mind: Even in the most populous state of California (my home sweet home), there are far fewer licensed architects than lawyers and doctors. One of the reasons for the mystery is simple: there aren't many architects. Many architecture students and even some in the field, don't have a grasp on the licensing process. There Aren't Many Architectsĭon't feel alone if you are uncertain how one becomes an architect. Is this still how the public perceives architects? It would really hurt my back to work like that. You probably also know a law school graduate who's disappeared into study mode for the bar exam?īut what about architects? How do architects become licensed? This group has been educating us on what it takes to be become a licensed doctor in dramatic, scandalous fashion. Surely you've seen enough doctor shows to get a feel for the intern/resident/attending path for doctors. When discussing licensed professionals here in the USA, architects are still a bit of a mystery.