According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), architects must be licensed before they can practice architecture or call themselves an architect. Now then I have questions on how to be licensed and what is the process to get there.
On the NCARB web site, four steps are introduced.
1. Earn a professional degree from an accredited architectural school by National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)
2. Internship
3. Complete the Architect Registration Exam
4. Licensure
Master of Architecture in Southern Illinois University is accredited by NAAB so I will cross off the first step after I graduate in August. The second step takes about three years to finish. The Intern Development Program (IDP) is a program which lays out all the requirements to be trained and experienced before obtaining a license. There are 5,600 hours of experience which are divided under 16 training areas. When students are in undergraduate study, they are able to start taking IDP. If you are thinking of becoming an architect and do not want to waste time doing an internship after graduating, I would highly recommend doing a summer internship or finding a firm. Step three is the exam. ARE is composed of seven divisions: programming, planning and practice, site planning and design, building design and construction systems, schematic design, structural systems, building systems, construction documents and services. Even though I can take the divisions in any sequence, it will take a while to pass all of them. In the state of Illinois, people who earn professional degrees can take ARE right after their graduation. Of course, they need to complete IDP training hours to obtain their license.
The road to becoming an architect is long and winding.
Resources:
http://www.ncarb.org/en/Becoming-an-Architect/Architecture-Basics.aspx
http://www.ncarb.org/~/media/Files/PDF/Guidelines/2010_IDP_Guidelines_OCT.pdf
http://www.ncarb.org/~/media/Files/PDF/Guidelines/2010_ARE_Guidelines_JULY.pdf
Two additional resources are as follows:
ReplyDeleteARCHCareers.org
http://www.archcareers.org
Becoming an Architect, 2nd Edition
http://www.wiley.com/buy/9780470372104