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Of late my friends and relatives are looking into
architecture as a career choice. While researching for them, I realized that
information on Architecture education is not as easy to come across as other
subjects. So, I decided to try and remedy that as much as I can.
The Basics:
- Architecture is a professional course, i.e you need to be a licensed
architect in order to have your own practice.
- There are three steps in becoming a licensed architect
Step One:
Complete a professional degree in Architecture. There are two ways of
doing this.
Option One: Professional Architecture Degree (B.Arch)
accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NCAAB)
Option Two: Pre-professional architecture degree and a
professional Masters Degree (M.Arch).
Option Three: Undergraduate degree in a non-architectural
field followed by a three year Professional (M.Arch) degree in
Architecture.
Step Two:
Complete the Intern Development Program which lasts for 3 years.
Completion of program requires completion of 700 IDP training units
in several areas of competency. For more information
click here.
Most universities allow students to work in architectural firms the
summer after the third year. One college claims this can satisfy 60 IDP
units.
Step Three:
Pass the Architect Registration Examination (ARE)
Courses in Architecture:
Since this website mainly deals with college information, I am only
covering the education process for becoming an architect. Please visit the
websites of
National Architectural Accrediting Board ,
ArchCareers.org and
National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards (NCARB) for more information on the training process
(IDP) and ARE.
As mentioned above, there are three ways of completing the
education requirement for becoming an Architect- Professional Degree
(B.Arch) or Pre-professional Degree followed by a Professional Masters
Degree.
Professional Degree (B.Arch) :
Four + Two/ Four + Three:
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These might be better if you are not sure
about architecture as a career choice.
-
Easier to change your major as you will be
taking classes in other subjects as well.
-
You might be eligible for scholarships and
assistantships.
-
Might allow you transfer to the US after
you complete a year of college in India (or home country)
Financial/ Other implications of Different Programs:
The availability of different programs to become a
licensed architect allows a student to choose programs that match their
financial/ academic preferences
-
B.Arch program allows you
become a professional in the shortest possible time (5+2-3 yrs)
-
If you choose a four+two
career choice you will be a graduate student while doing M.Arch. This will
allow you to be considered for assistantships and scholarships. However, if
you do not qualify for financial assistance you will be left with a
substantially larger tuition fees.
-
A three years Masters
option will allow you to finish an undergraduate degree in India (home) and
come to the US as a graduate student. This will save money but you might
need a total of 10 years to be licensed (4yrs UG + 3yrsPG + 2-3yrs IDP).
Once again, you will have to pay more in tuition fees if you do not get an
assistantship.
Not many schools offer
scholarships for International Students but a few schools do. I came across
these two schools as I was doing my research.
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California College of Arts
offers Merit Scholarships ranging from $4000-$15,000.
-
Ball State University
offers scholarships that cover half tuition and full tuition.
Download:
List of all accredited Architecture Programs from the NCARB.
Useful Links:
Becoming an Architect - University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC): this
page has a nice detailed description of the Architecture program in UIUC (B.S +M.Arch)
and it also describes other programs like B.Arch.
National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards: This site provides details about the Intern Development
Program and Architect Registration Examination.
National Architectural Accrediting Board: This website has information on
accredited Architecture Programs and other information for students
ArchCareers.org: Has detailed
information about education, IDP and ARE.
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