I am excited to have the opportunity to share my personal views with regards to architectural internship. I think that our profession is in a state of crisis and it must be looked at in a holistic manner, education, internship and practice alike. I believe that the questions posed for this essay cannot be answered as simply as they are posed, however, I will try my best to say in 500 words what I do not believe can even be said in 5000 words.

My personal experiences with internship have consisted of conversations with interns and students ready to enter into internship, personal research and an attempt to establish a record, and information provided to me through collateral organizations. I have been around the field of architecture for some time and have not heard or seen many positives about the internship process. The path to licensure that has been laid before us as aspiring architects has only existed for a short time in comparison to the long history of our once noble profession.

I believe that architectural internship has become a purgatory of paper and meaningless checklists with no identity. A place that you float in for 3, 4, 5 years only to be told at the end that you may have some competence to be able to take a series of standardized computer tests that lack any human interaction. This method to me seems to be analogous to a vocation and not a profession. Architectural registration will continue to decline because there is no sense of ownership given to an intern. Interns do not even know how to refer to themselves or what to put on a business card for fear of infuriating the professional governance while other professions, such as software design, commonly refer to themselves at the Architects of their products. Doctors graduate from medical school as Doctors, having been given this sense of ownership in school as they are issued the first board exam in their second year and another in their last year. They are nurtured and mentored starting in school and interact with patients shortly there after. This shows trust and confidence by the medical profession. Why is there not trust shown by Architects and the profession to their interns? Why are architectural interns relegated to menial tasks in the office with the slim possibility of ever talking with a client for numerous years? The current system of how architects are taught is in serious need of reflection, it is outdated and slighting to its young. I believe that the profession must mentor and nurture their emerging professionals through the creation of apprenticeship.

Internship should be more closely linked with the classroom and the profession in which it is supposedly a part of. Currently I do not believe that relationship exists. 95% of medical students graduate from medical school as Doctors and 98% of them pass all of their boards. 86% of Lawyers pass the Bar on the first try they are able to take it when they graduate from Law school. How are we doing as a profession? The BAC has an incredible model for education and apprenticeship. Are they not exempt from many of the NAAB criteria? Why? I think that we may have something to learn from all of them.