NCARB is in the middle of a multi-year study to design a new path to licensure—and the results will shape the architecture profession for years to come. NCARB is now asking architects to complete their new survey to help identify key knowledge and skills that define what it means to be an architect.

This is the next step in the research initiated by NCARB’s 2022 Analysis of Practice—a study that explored the current and near-future practice of architecture. The competencies identified through this work will be used to establish the requirements for earning and maintaining a license.

Once this research is completed, NCARB’s community of volunteer experts will determine how to best measure each of these competencies—evolving the licensure process and NCARB’s core programs, like the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®) and Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®).

In this study, you will be presented with a series of statements that describe 18 proposed competencies of an architect at the point of initial licensure who can practice independently and be in responsible control of a project.

For each proposed competency, you will be asked to identify:    

1. How frequently the architect would be expected to apply each competency.    
2. How critical each competency is while practicing independently in collaboration with other consultants.

We're inviting our readers to take part in the survey.