Opinions about Architecture Licensure Differ

Architects who supervise emerging professionals—and those budding practitioners they oversee—have very different opinions about getting a license, according to a new national survey commissioned late last year by NCARB, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and the American Institute of Architects, both of which are headquartered in Washington, D.C. Conducted by Keymar, Md.-based The Rickinson Group, the survey’s input from 1,380 respondents has recently been released.

A clear majority of the supervising architects, 88 percent, say it is “very important” for emerging professionals to obtain licensure. However, only 27 percent of those emerging practitioners agree.

In another area of disparity, 44 percent of supervisor architects feel they’re “very responsible” for preparing their employees for licensure. But only 9 percent of licensure candidates hold supervisors to that same standard. Even more telling, one-quarter of survey respondents say their supervisors are “not very” or “not at all responsible” for preparing them for licensure.

Among the survey’s most valuable findings is evidence of the sharply diverging perceptions about how well supervisors are helping licensure candidates. For example, almost all supervisors (97 percent) believe they help their employees by serving as “role models” who demonstrate best practices. Of the emerging professionals, only 63 percent agree with this statement. Discover more findings from the survey.