Is it true that it takes seven years to become a fully qualified architect?
Yes and no. Yes it takes a minimum of seven years to finally qualify as an architect. But this is not seven years at university. You will start with a BSc or BA in architecture. This is the ARB/RIBA part 1 of your qualifications. This usually takes 3 years. After that you are working for a minimum of one year in an architect’s office. During this time you do earn money. Most students are taking two years out as they work for a year and then do something else like travelling, getting some other work experience etc. Then you can join either the Bartlett for the Graduate Diploma/MArch Architecture or any other university for their Diploma courses. This is a two-year full time education at the university. After this you will get your ARB/RIBA part 2. Then you can join an architect’s office and you can join the ARB/RIBA part 3 program which usually takes a year. It can take a minimum of 7 years but most students take 8. But only 5 years are actually spend at university.
