EESA Foreign Degree

Can you please tell me licensing procedure to work as an architect in USA.  I have heard that B.Arch/M.Arch degree from India is not sufficient.for that there would be another procedures by AIA.  If you know any details regarding this kindly help me.
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In the U.S., an individual needs to fulfill three requirements for most jurisdictions - 1) education, 2) experience, and 3) examination.

For 1) education, a BArch/MArch from another country such as India will not serve as an automatic equivalent, but you can submit your credentials to EESA (https://www.eesa-naab.org/home.aspx) to determine that your education is equivalent to the NCARB Education Standard.  In most cases, it will not be totally equivalent, but EESA will share what you need to complete.

After education, you must complete IDP - Intern Development Program to fulfill the experience component.  Once you have met education and IDP, you are eligible to sit for the ARE - Architect Registration Examination.  For details on IDP and ARE, visit NCARB - http://www.ncarb.org.

I hope this is helpful.

Interior Architecture to Architecture

Hello Dr. Architect

I have been in the United States for two years. In my country I received certificate in Interior Architecture , which is not a degree here.I just can evaluate two classes.Now I am in a community college and taking ESL courses. As you can see I would like to continue my education in same major which Woodbury University offers that in Bachelor degree.And maybe later continue the same major in UCLA in Master program. As a new student what would you recommend to me in educational, financial and career perspective.And Also, Should  interior architecture has Accreditation? What is it, is it NAAB?

Thanks for your time.

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As you do not have the equivalent of an undergraduate degree (BA or BS), you may wish to consider pursuing an undergraduate architecture degree (preprofessional) with later pursuing a Master of Architecture.  

Or, you could pursue the five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture.

Which you pursue depends on you and your desire.

NAAB is the National Architectural Accrediting Board -- http://www.naab.org.  They accredit architecture programs, not interior architecture.

Best!

Non-architect work within firms!

This question may be a little different, but I’m trying to research career opportunities with architecture firms for people other than architects. I have an MBA in marketing, with experience in project planning, financial analysis, product development and purchasing. For the past 6 years I have served as a project manager for the Boy Scouts of America in their store planning function. I have basic CAD skills, but have functioned primarily on my ability to communicate, decipher, coordinate and learn and use existing systems.
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As architecture firms are business, most have staff that are NOT architects but probably only the largest of firms.  This would include marketing, human resources, etc.  However, over 80% of architecture firms are small (less than 5) and the architects on staff do all of the work.

One source of information is the following - most of the members of SDA are not architects, but rather those within the firm that assist in the areas previously mentioned.

Society of Design Administration

http://www.sdadmin.org

I hope this helps!

Graduate Study Options and Funding

I came across your blog while searching for graduate programs to apply for fall 2014. I am architect from India. I completed my B.Arch degree(5 years) from India last year 2012. I have a year and a half work experience in an international firm with head office in Mumbai, India. I have worked on various national and international projects. 

Now I want to pursue higher studies in architecture with funding. I am really confused which program I should go for. Professional degree or Research? I want a program which provides funding. Also I want to practice in professional field after my studies. Is there an option to practice in professional field after going in researched based program? Also does professional programs like M.Arch, MUD etc provide funding or assistantship? I have given GRE and TOEFL. Given below is the list of universities I want to aim for:

ASU

NEU

SIU Carbondale

U Mass

V tech

U Houston

UT Austin

UIUC

U Mich

U Cin

Please suggest if there are any other as per my requirement. What should I go for M.Arch, MUD, MLA,MS in arch? Also let me know about the job opportunities. I will be really thankful to you if you can help me. Kindly, give your feed back and help me so that I can start applying for the courses. 

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Given that you have a Bachelor of Architecture, you may consider applying to U.S. institutions and pursue either the professional Master of Architecture or any number of post-professional degrees.

If your desire is to eventually becoming licensed in the U.S., I would suggest you pursue the NAAB professional Master of Architecture which is required for licensure.

If that is not important (licensure in the U.S.), then consider pursuing a post-professional degree in a subject of your strongest interest.  

As for funding, you would need to be in touch directly with each of the programs you list via their website or direct contact.  Most graduate programs have merit-based funding in the form of fellowships, scholarships or teaching assistantships.  You want to learn the process of applying and what makes for a worthwhile application.

A good source for the list of programs is -- http://www.archschools.org --

Best!

Undergraduate Major if not Architecture?

Hello Dr. Arch,

I am going to be a student at Rutgers University. I'm very interested in going into the Architecture field but my school does not offer the program. I have to stay at my school due to financial stability but I was wondering if there's another pathway for me to become an architect. I was thinking about doing either Civil Engineering or Landscape Architecture at my school and then applying to masters and doctorate programs for Architecture. My other choice is to study Psychology/Exercise Science and try to apply to the same programs, since I heard some requirements do not require a pre-professional degree. Your opinion would really help me. Thank you.

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Given that you need to stay at Rutgers for financial reasons, you should pursue an undergraduate degree that suits you best and maximizes success.  Granted civil engineering and landscape architecture are related to architecture, but will you do well academically in these majors?

You should pursue the major in which you will do the best!  Of course, with that said, you should seek to take art/drawing courses along the way as you will need to submit a portfolio as part of your graduate application to architecture.

In addition, contact some graduate programs in architecture to which you think you will apply and gain some insight from them as to the degree and courses you might take.

I also would not rule out transferring to an institution that offers architecture. 

Best