AXP & ARE Resources

becoming a licensed Architect

EDUCATION

earn a professional degree from a NAAB-accredited architecture program

EXPERIENCE

gain professional experience from the Architectural Experience Program (AXP)

EXAMS

complete professional licensing exams; Architect Registration Examination (ARE)

Books

The Architects Handbook of Professional Practice 15th Edition

Building Codes Illustrated, Francis D.K. Ching

Building Construction Illustrated, Francis D.K. Ching

Fundamentals of Building Construction, Edward Allen and Joseph Iano

Building Construction: Principles, Materials, & Systems (2nd Edition), Madan L Mehta Ph.D., Walter Scarborough, Diane Armpriest

What is the path to becoming an Architect?

In Texas, you need to go through the following steps to become a licensed Architect.

  1. Get a Professional Degree from an Accredited Architecture School

    1. Professional Degrees include:

      1. Bachelor of Architecture (5 year program)

      2. Masters of Architecture (typically 3 year program) with a non-Architecture Bachelor's Degree

      3. Masters of Architecture (typically 2 year program) with a non-accredited Architecture Bachelor's Degree (usually a Bachelors of Science in Architecture or Bachelors of Environmental Design)

    2. Schools get accreditation through the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). See their website for information on which schools are accredited https://www.naab.org/

  2. Complete the AXP required experience

    1. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is the organization that tracks the experience you gain as an intern.  https://www.ncarb.org/

    2. You will need 3,740 hours of experience over 6 different areas.

    3. This experience must be approved by a Mentor Architect and most of this experience must be earned by directly working under the supervision of a Licenced Architect.

    4. You can log hours that you work while you are in school as AXP hours as long as you are not also receiving class credit for those hours.

  3. Pass the AREs

    1. You will need to pass 6 exams to show your competency in different areas.  NCARB also tracks these exams. https://www.ncarb.org/

    2. Resources and study groups for the AREs are available through NOMA and AIA.

    3. AREs can be taken at the same time as you are completing your AXP hours.

  4. Get your License

Once your AXP hours and ARE exams are complete, you can apply to become a licensed Architect from the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners (TBAE). https://indreg.tbae.texas.gov/

ARE 5.0 Resources