I am a recent graduate of one of the few architecture schools in the country that has an internship program alongside its academic program.

However, the program is only as good as the internships in which the students participate. There are many firms in Boston that hire students from this particular school, but their commitment to the education of these students is vague. Often it seems that they merely provide cheap labor. Firms have little incentive to spend time teaching and mentoring such interns.

Plus, there is a general feeling among interns that it is difficult to see the benefits of going through the process of becoming a licensed architect. It is not clear that being licensed insures a higher salary or more influential position in a firm. And the firms aren't helping.
One large firm where I worked paid the same salary to employees at a certain level whether they were licensed or not.

I would like to propose a new type of business model: the architectural teaching firm. Much like a teaching hospital, such a firm would be devoted to leading interns through the learning process that is required in order to pass professional the ARE and to become a well-rounded architect. The learning process would be organized according to the stages of an architectural project. And each intern would be assigned to a project manager who would act as his or her mentor. As such, the mentor would be responsible for guiding each intern through the IDP process. The ARE would participate hand in hand with such firms-interns would take each exam as that portion of their internship is completed. As this model evolves within the profession, schools will have to become more involved, and as such, I would propose a "materials and methods" educational track that also follows the standard format of an architectural project from beginning to end.

But this is perhaps the subject of another essay.