I'm new here but I hope you can help me with some information and perhaps lead me to the right path.
Let me give you some background, I am an Israeli architect who is currently living in Copenhagen since my spouse received a postdoc position here a year and a half ago. He is about to finish his postdoc in August and we are starting to explore our options for the future and the Canada and United kingdom are among the options. For this reason, I would like to find out about my chances to work as an architect there and what do i need to do in order to be able to work there.
My first questions are basically about the kind of degree needed to practice architecture? I have a B.arch from Tel-Aviv university which was approved as equivalent to the Danish Master's degree here by the Danish agency for higher education.
Do you have to obtain some sort of license to practice architecture? I have been through the israeli internship process and I hold an Israeli license to practice architecture.
Is there any requirement to being a member of some sort of architects association?
I would appreciate any good tips on where to find the info - there are so many websites and information online and I don't know which is reliable and which is not.
You cannot simply walk off the plane and practice since minimum education, codes, construction standards and local practices vary greatly. Here is the important information regarding foreign trained licensed architects looking for license in Canada:
It is very unlikely that your current degree meets Canadian accreditation standards without a in-depth analysis but the process to follow is explained on the CACB website. This does not however prevent you from applying to work in Canadian architectural offices.
My partner and I took our masters degrees in Copenhagen and now live and work in Toronto. Our degrees have been reviewed and accredited with no further educational requirements, but it was a big process to run through all the courses and find out how they correspond to the Canadian degree. If the AA in DK has accepted your Isreali degree, there's a good chance Canada will too. You need to pay the CACB and the architect's association of whatever province you eventually live in a fee (in Ontario it's around $1300) to review your degree, with no guarantee that it will be accredited, however.
For UK, with your experience you should be able to work in a practice as an architectural designer or Part 2 equivalent. Unless you have a EU passport you will need to be sponsored for a visa to work. That't not impossible to obtain, however more difficult to get if you do not have UK experience or education. Most practices, even the large ones still state that you must already have right to work in the UK either through indefinite leave to remain, passport or other visa.
To call youself an architect in the UK is much more difficult - they are very protective of the title. If you are qualified as a license arch in Denmark, but not a naturally born citizen, you will need to go to ARB and apply to have your degree work equated to first a Part 1 then a Part 2. After that or during that time you will need to log 2 years practice experience to be allowed to take the Part III which is professional practice examination.
RIBA/ARB are in the process of rethinking the whole part 1, part 2 part 3 thing [just like NCARB] but are being forced to because of EU laws. Idea is that after 5 years of UK professional architectural education, you come out a qualified architect.
RIBA and ARB don't like to grandfather in other conditions so no discussions on other forms of reciprocity are part of those discussions.
In addition to @TED comments which I agree with, you should also know that you don't need to be a licensed architect to design buildings in the UK. There is no legal requirement for a licensed architect on projects of any size. Although obviously you will still be legally responsible for your work and should have insurance if you want to work on your own. So you can design buildings, you just can't call yourself 'an architect'.
if you are happy to work for a firm, you can check the job market for UK work at http://www.bd4jobs.com/ to see what is currently on offer, expectations, salaries, etc. If you are specifically looking in London, most firms are used to dealing with international employees, what you need is a good portfolio and CV that details your skills and experience.
Jan 30, 15 7:58 am ·
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Working as an architect in the UK
Hello everyone,
I'm new here but I hope you can help me with some information and perhaps lead me to the right path.
Let me give you some background, I am an Israeli architect who is currently living in Copenhagen since my spouse received a postdoc position here a year and a half ago. He is about to finish his postdoc in August and we are starting to explore our options for the future and the Canada and United kingdom are among the options. For this reason, I would like to find out about my chances to work as an architect there and what do i need to do in order to be able to work there.
My first questions are basically about the kind of degree needed to practice architecture? I have a B.arch from Tel-Aviv university which was approved as equivalent to the Danish Master's degree here by the Danish agency for higher education.
Do you have to obtain some sort of license to practice architecture? I have been through the israeli internship process and I hold an Israeli license to practice architecture.
Is there any requirement to being a member of some sort of architects association?
I would appreciate any good tips on where to find the info - there are so many websites and information online and I don't know which is reliable and which is not.
Thanks in advance!
Ofer
You cannot simply walk off the plane and practice since minimum education, codes, construction standards and local practices vary greatly. Here is the important information regarding foreign trained licensed architects looking for license in Canada:
http://www.cacb-ccca.ca/index.cfm?Voir=sections&Id=16731&M=3943&Repertoire_No=660386109
It is very unlikely that your current degree meets Canadian accreditation standards without a in-depth analysis but the process to follow is explained on the CACB website. This does not however prevent you from applying to work in Canadian architectural offices.
Thank you Non Sequitur!
I will look into it more thoroughly. Either way, I wasn't planning on jumping on the next flight before learning what needs to be done.
My partner and I took our masters degrees in Copenhagen and now live and work in Toronto. Our degrees have been reviewed and accredited with no further educational requirements, but it was a big process to run through all the courses and find out how they correspond to the Canadian degree. If the AA in DK has accepted your Isreali degree, there's a good chance Canada will too. You need to pay the CACB and the architect's association of whatever province you eventually live in a fee (in Ontario it's around $1300) to review your degree, with no guarantee that it will be accredited, however.
In Canada, I believe each province will have their own requirements.
@Endar2805
Welcome to Archinect!
For UK, with your experience you should be able to work in a practice as an architectural designer or Part 2 equivalent. Unless you have a EU passport you will need to be sponsored for a visa to work. That't not impossible to obtain, however more difficult to get if you do not have UK experience or education. Most practices, even the large ones still state that you must already have right to work in the UK either through indefinite leave to remain, passport or other visa.
To call youself an architect in the UK is much more difficult - they are very protective of the title. If you are qualified as a license arch in Denmark, but not a naturally born citizen, you will need to go to ARB and apply to have your degree work equated to first a Part 1 then a Part 2. After that or during that time you will need to log 2 years practice experience to be allowed to take the Part III which is professional practice examination.
RIBA/ARB are in the process of rethinking the whole part 1, part 2 part 3 thing [just like NCARB] but are being forced to because of EU laws. Idea is that after 5 years of UK professional architectural education, you come out a qualified architect.
RIBA and ARB don't like to grandfather in other conditions so no discussions on other forms of reciprocity are part of those discussions.
In addition to @TED comments which I agree with, you should also know that you don't need to be a licensed architect to design buildings in the UK. There is no legal requirement for a licensed architect on projects of any size. Although obviously you will still be legally responsible for your work and should have insurance if you want to work on your own. So you can design buildings, you just can't call yourself 'an architect'.
if you are happy to work for a firm, you can check the job market for UK work at http://www.bd4jobs.com/ to see what is currently on offer, expectations, salaries, etc. If you are specifically looking in London, most firms are used to dealing with international employees, what you need is a good portfolio and CV that details your skills and experience.
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