The Intern Development Program ("I.D.P.") Q & A
How do I enroll in the program? What does it cost to participate?
Interns begin their participation in IDP by taking the following steps:
The cost to initiate a Council Record is $265, which covers all services associated with the record for the first three years.
- Requests an IDP Information Package form NCARB or the N.M. Board of Examiners for Architects.
- Identify the IDP sponsor and select an IDP advisor. General selection criteria are found in Section IV of IDP Guidelines.
- Establish an NCARB Council Record and document all previous acceptable training.
The cost to initiate a Council Record is $265, which covers all services associated with the record for the first three years.
I’m having trouble getting the minimum training units required in several areas. Can I use supplementary education to satisfy these requirements?
No, supplementary education can be used to supplement minimum levels of required training, but cannot serve as a substitute for such experience. More specifically, supplementary education cannot be used to satisfy the minimum training units required in IDP Training Areas 1-16. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has developed many excellent educational resources. Interns should be encouraged to use them for augmenting the required training and exploring the broader aspects of architectural practice.
What is the Intern Development Program?
The Intern Development Program (IDP) is a set of resources that, when used in a systematic manner, throughout the internship period, contributes to the development of competent architects. Those resources include the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Council Record, which can serve as a record-keeping tool throughout the architect’s career, mentor-ship provided by practicing architects and information about issues that affect the intern and the practice of architecture as a whole. IDP is not a series of registration requirements and conditions, nor is it a study program for passing the Architect Registration Examination. The program’s major objectives are described in Section 1 of the publication IDP Guidelines (available directly from NCARB, NCARB’s web site: http://www.ncarb.org or the N.M. Board of Examiners for Architects, e-mail: pamedina@state.nm.us.
Why should I begin documenting my training when my internship starts? Why not wait until I’ve completed the IDP training requirement?
To derive maximum benefits from IDP, interns should begin documenting their training and supplementary education at the beginning of the their first acceptable employment. Retroactive documentation is discouraged for several reasons:
- Previous employers often cannot verify training units earned, resulting in a loss of training credit toward admission to the examination.
- Retroactive record-keeping usually delays the examination application process, resulting in postponement of examination and registration.
- Several registration boards place limits on the amount of experience that can be retroactively documented.
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Do I need an accredited degree in architecture to participate?
The level of post-secondary education required to being IDP varies from state to state. The New Mexico Board of Examiners for Architects will only accept training that occurred after the completion of the first three years in an NAAB-accredited professional degree program, or the first year of a Master of Architecture program for those whose undergraduate degrees were not in architecture.