Gaining and documenting professional experience is an essential part of your path to becoming an architect. NCARB’s Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®) provides a framework to guide you through this process and outlines the job tasks you must be able to competently perform before you’re able to practice architecture independently. You’ll demonstrate that you can perform those tasks by reporting experience hours across the AXP’s six practice-based areas.
As you work to complete the experience program, follow these tips to make the most of your experience and streamline your path to earning a license.
Review the AXP Guidelines
The AXP Guidelines detail everything you need to know about the experience program, including what types of work qualify for AXP credit, descriptions of each experience area, and a list of tasks that fall under those areas.
Be sure to read the guidelines to make sure that your work experience meets all the necessary requirements!
Report Experience Early and Often
To earn full credit toward the AXP, you must report any experience within eight months of earning it—this is what NCARB refers to as the reporting requirement.
For example, if you worked at an architecture firm over the summer and your experience qualifies for AXP credit, you’ll have until February 1, 2025, to report the experience earned on June 1, 2024. If you don’t report your experience within the eight-month window, don’t worry—you can count it toward your AXP requirements for up to five years, but at the reduced rate of 50 percent credit.
Meet With Your Supervisor Regularly
You’ll need a supervisor to review and approve your experience reports. In most cases, your supervisor will be an architect who directly supervises your work, but be sure to review the requirements for AXP supervisors in the AXP Guidelines to ensure that your supervisor is eligible.
Talk with your supervisor to determine a schedule for check-ins, and meet with them regularly to review your experience reports, get feedback on your progress, and identify the next steps for your professional development.
Establishing and understanding expectations between you and your supervisor can be difficult when you're just starting out, which is why we've developed our AXP Candidate and Supervisor Expectations document as a resource.
Keep an Eye Out for Other Opportunities
The AXP offers two experience settings under which your work must be performed. Nearly half of your documented experience (1,860 hours) must be gained while employed by an architecture firm legally practicing architecture and under the supervision of a licensed architect in the United States or Canada, which is considered experience setting A. There are a number of opportunities under experience setting O that allow candidates to earn experience through work performed outside an architecture firm.
We recently dove into all you need to know to successfully start the AXP and full details about experience setting O. For more detailed information about the AXP and how to successfully meet requirements, check out the AXP Guidelines—and check our blog for the latest updates you need to keep your journey going!
