The great intern-titling debate has been resolved – "intern" is getting the boot.
This Thursday at the AIA National Convention in Atlanta, NCARB President Dale McKinney announced that NCARB's Board of Directors had unanimously agreed to "discontinue the use of the word intern, intern-architect, or any other regulatory "title" describing those pursuing licensure." The "sunsetting" of the term "intern" was proposed by the Future Title Task Force, a committee of interns and licensed architects, who devoted a year of research and discussion to evaluating the IDP program and specifically, the naming debate around the word "intern" and the different progressive phases around licensure. Under this proposal, there exists no specific title for those seeking licensure. The Task Force's proposal also included continuations of two policies: that "architect" can only apply to licensed architects, and that "architect emeritus" would continue to be used for identifying those who are licensed but no longer practicing.
With this decision to dissolve the "intern" title, NCARB is trying to clarify the profession's position in the public eye by removing a descriptor that has been known to be confusing and somewhat maligning. CEO Mark Armstrong will develop a "sunset plan" for NCARB to formally adopt the Task Force's proposal, eventually including changes to IDP. However, while NCARB can determine administrative guidelines, it can not unilaterally enforce this new titling convention – legal language is still up to the 54 individual licensing boards.
23 Comments
can i get a diagram of what sunsetting looks like?
good.
I like the way it works in China: there is no such word as 'architect' - the equivalent term is literally 'building designer'. A licensed architect is thus 'licensed building designer'. No potential ambiguity.
Enforcing semantic standards is a futile effort.
Awesome. I know Dale... didn't realize he was behind this. Maybe all my complaining did some good after all. In that case, you're welcome, future non-interns.
So am I an "Architectectural" now? Or do I have to drop the architect part too... so "ectural"?
How about "designer"
Why phase it out? Seems like a reasonably accurate use.
intern v. verb (used with object) 1. to restrict to or confine within prescribed limits, as prisoners of war, enemy aliens, or combat troops who take refuge in a neutral country. 2. to impound or hold within a country until the termination of a war, as a ship of a belligerent that has put into a neutral port and remained beyond a limited period. noun 3. a person who is or has been interned; internee.
Etymology: 1866, "to confine within set limits," from French interner "send to the interior, confine," from Middle French interne "inner, internal," from Latin internus "within, internal" (see internal; also compare intern (n.)).
Miles, I think if we just change intern to "iinternum architectus" people would be happy. It sounds sophisticated... like a high-school kid speaking highly about his/her curriculum vita instead of feeling ashamed from a weak resume.
hold on... designer in latin, according to google is: excogitatoris
I vote we replace intern with: architectus excogitatoris
Or 'internal architects' since most of us seem to have our heads up our asses these days.
The introductory sentence to this article reflects truncated thinking and is inaccurate, misleading and downright ignorant of the actual statement released by NCARB.
"The great intern-titling debate has been resolved – "intern" is getting the boot."
Umm after reading the NCARB statement in detail today their main point was that the intern-titling debate is not resolved at all. Their new policy enacting an internal curtailment of the use of the title "intern" is just the beginning.
Your unchecked hyperbole, Amelia, is in opposition to rationality, logic, and the efficient dissemination of otherwise useful information. Please be more thorough and thoughtful in the future.
Or 'internal architects' since most of us seem to have our heads up our asses these days.
Or someone else's.
Good_Knight I appreciate your dedication to accuracy, but the statement is correct: the Great Intern Debate refers to the work done by the Future Title Task Force from their inception in September last year through the issuing of the report that occurred three days ago.
The report is concluded, and findings are published. The work that comes now - changing NCARB's internal language to remove the use of "intern" and working with state boards in jurisdictions that still use that term - is Phase 2.
The report that came out 3 days could just as easily have said "Intern is an accurate reflection of what graduates of architecture school do and is an appropriate title to continue to use." It didn't say that, it said the opposite. So that decision has been made; that question has been resolved.
So your unchecked criticism, Good_Knight, is in opposition to rationality, logic, and the efficient dissemination of otherwise useful information. Please be more thorough and thoughtful in the future.
That said, Miles, we are ALL "internal architects". Spending the last three days with 20,000 of us just solidifies that for me: we are such navel-gazers! I love us all unashamedly, and I think architects are wonderful, but man are we sometimes ridiculous!
Now, is this supposed to apply to actual interns? or just full-time, permanent, entry-level architectural staff?
why are workers are waiting for their master to "give them an appropriate title". Take an appropriate title and enforce it by forming a union. If by NCARB and the AIAs logic "you are not an architect" then you have zero loyalty to them...as they reprsent architects. They are clearly saying that they represent your employers and not you...Fuck em then. unionize and refuse to do the work of architects until you are recognized as such...These organizations have zero authority over you. They are just trade organizations. Start a new one...Union of Environmental Designers....something like that maybe... including but not limited to..Urban, Landscape, architectural, interior, industrial, material sciences, sustainability technologies, ecology, horticulture, engineers....
public artists, etc...
jla-x....I've been thinking about this for years....
what trade organization would we start? this field is so diverse. not sure how we could represent all of us all the time.
AIA=ARE=NCARB which is one way to practice architecture....then you have DBIA=Design Build, etc.....
I am strongly against defining "Architect" so strictly. A licensed Architect is good enough for me and the general public - frankly.
on one of these threads someone mentioned scientists, and as per Green as Fuck Ian - it's fun to be a pretend scientist....
scientist have many organizations and so does Architecture.....except the AIA claims a very particular method of practice that is the most average method for execution of a project in the US taking all things into consideration.
but buildings get built differently all the time.
you have a developer who wants to design and pushes the lawyer and architect in directions we both know the Zoning review board will never go for....but who knows, maybe this guy knows? (have to do this in 3 weeks in front of a review board)
Then you have firms that produce steel work and do architecture like say Caliper Studio, look at their work....what kind of architecture is this right? (they do really good work btw)
it's too complicated for a formal simple solution. for the purposes of growth the word Architect should apply to anyone who studied it and via a non-traditional route does "architecture".
Apprentice is a great word but an exceedingly poor description of the typical intern position. In Japan an apprenticeship is 10 years and a major commitment is required by both the apprentice and the master. Traditionally the apprentice continues to work for the master for an additional year (the 11th) as a thank you.
One of my finest Japanese planes (kanna) is marked "year 0" (in kanji) as it was made by a toolmaker who had finished his apprenticeship.
Chris, caliper studio does cool work....With fabrication technologies becoming more and more advanced and accessible we also have tons of opportunity in the architectual fabrication industry...oops sorry, cant call it architectural...I mean A---------l fabrication....ok now the public will be safer...
jla-x it's such a fuckin;.joke....if I could show the quality models and drawings like Caliper produces vs the bullshit produced by AIA members who only care about CYA I would...in short....what does an Architect do according to the AIA besides move liablitiy around to protect themselves....while avoiding the only thing that matters...
how does one build that?
Can I join this new union/trade org for spatial agents?!?!
sign me up too!
New title:
Butt Kisser
BKDP (Butt Kissing Dick Polisher).. ok
Seriously, how the hell does NCARB rename IDP? Has to remove the "I" part that means Intern in the acronym.
I want to know what the new title is now--
I like "Associate Architect" myself. The nice thing about the "intern" title is that when you're searching for entry level positions you can search that "intern" word and filter past most of the positions you're unqualified for. I like associate because at this point, one of the selling points for the architectural interns to join AIA is so they can sign their e-mails as "Associate AIA" instead of "Architectural Intern" or whatever.
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