I am an older non traditional student finishing up my BA in Architectural History from UC Santa Barbara in Lund Sweden. I was considering applying for grad school in architecture or interning with a firm when I return home to California. I like it here in Sweden very much and I LOVE the philosophy of the architecture department here. They teach in English and it’s only a two year program. How is this degree viewed by NAAB? And what do you all think about the idea of interning in order to sit of the licensing exam ( CA asks for ten years of experience without Architecture degree)
Some background, I left an industrial design program with one semester to go before graduation. I was broken and had family issues ( husband had cancer school didn’t care). When he got his first job across the country, I could have stayed and finished my degree but I was not feeling the love at the fancy art school I was enrolled at. I followed Dh to CA, adopted four kids from foster care and built a life. I returned to community college to take CAD classes to get work and help fund my kid’s college education. I made the mistake of also adding a couple of studios into my schedule ( to give me more interning things to draft) and remembered my love of design. This time instead of furniture and products I was looking at the built environment and decided go back to school. It has been a long road. Since my units from fancy art school were more than ten years old I was told I could not come back to finish and I could not transfer. So I started over at a community college as a fifty something freshman and transferred to the UC last summer. I finished a two year program in 10 months by taking an insane course load. I was done in June but UCSB offered me a huge scholarship to study abroad. That’s how I got to Lund. I’m studying Scandinavian design and urbanism.
OK, I have gone back and checked again and work experience IS still a way to become licensed although I do see drawbacks. I do think a goo design education is a good thing. But I am older and my undergraduate admission experience has me jaded. I was admitted to excellent schools BUT did not receive enough aide to attend. The more affordable school close to home rejected me (twice). So I am trying to figure out a different way to skin this cat. I will be applying to graduate programs this fall but if I get the same results, work experience may be my only shot. My question about Lund was more about how the program is viewed.
Some architectural training experience may be granted credit for work performed beyond 40 hours in a week. See the experience page for more information.
Benefits:
Candidate receives credit for five years of full-time work experience under an architect
Candidate can earn an income through their employer while gaining experience
No additional educational required
Aug 25, 22 6:35 am ·
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Non Sequitur
Then why bother with an unaccredited degree if you plan on pursuing the experience-only option? Seems a wiser choice would be to skip the school and save yourself the years and expense and start the process now. I've never heard of Lund until this post, so...
Well Lund is a no-go. The English track is only for people with an undergraduate architecture degree. But for the record, it is a reasonably affordable school in a lovely little medieval city in southern Sweden with a lot of scholarship money. While it is not officially accredited by the NAAB, its international accreditation IS accepted by the NAAB so you still have to go thru transcript evaluation but you should receive the same credit towards licensing. Good school but I don't qualify. I'll keep looking
Sep 5, 22 9:21 am ·
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Masters Program at Lund University
I am an older non traditional student finishing up my BA in Architectural History from UC Santa Barbara in Lund Sweden. I was considering applying for grad school in architecture or interning with a firm when I return home to California. I like it here in Sweden very much and I LOVE the philosophy of the architecture department here. They teach in English and it’s only a two year program. How is this degree viewed by NAAB? And what do you all think about the idea of interning in order to sit of the licensing exam ( CA asks for ten years of experience without Architecture degree)
Some background, I left an industrial design program with one semester to go before graduation. I was broken and had family issues ( husband had cancer school didn’t care). When he got his first job across the country, I could have stayed and finished my degree but I was not feeling the love at the fancy art school I was enrolled at. I followed Dh to CA, adopted four kids from foster care and built a life. I returned to community college to take CAD classes to get work and help fund my kid’s college education. I made the mistake of also adding a couple of studios into my schedule ( to give me more interning things to draft) and remembered my love of design. This time instead of furniture and products I was looking at the built environment and decided go back to school. It has been a long road. Since my units from fancy art school were more than ten years old I was told I could not come back to finish and I could not transfer. So I started over at a community college as a fifty something freshman and transferred to the UC last summer. I finished a two year program in 10 months by taking an insane course load. I was done in June but UCSB offered me a huge scholarship to study abroad. That’s how I got to Lund. I’m studying Scandinavian design and urbanism.
Thanks in advance for advice
That's a nice romantic story but it's not gonna cut it with NAAB.
Meaning? Lund is one of the schools I am thinking about OR interning
Fundamentally, you need to check with NAAB directly first - you can contact them from their website. NCARB would also be a good office to call.
OK, I have gone back and checked again and work experience IS still a way to become licensed although I do see drawbacks. I do think a goo design education is a good thing. But I am older and my undergraduate admission experience has me jaded. I was admitted to excellent schools BUT did not receive enough aide to attend. The more affordable school close to home rejected me (twice). So I am trying to figure out a different way to skin this cat. I will be applying to graduate programs this fall but if I get the same results, work experience may be my only shot. My question about Lund was more about how the program is viewed.
From the state licensing website :
Work Experience Only
The work experience only path allows candidates who work full time for five years (40 hours per week) under the direct supervision of an architect licensed in a USjurisdiction in lieu of earning a degree. Candidates use employment verification form(s) to document work experience to fulfill the education aspect for testing and met the Board’s requirements.
Some architectural training experience may be granted credit for work performed beyond 40 hours in a week. See the experience page for more information.
Benefits:
Then why bother with an unaccredited degree if you plan on pursuing the experience-only option? Seems a wiser choice would be to skip the school and save yourself the years and expense and start the process now. I've never heard of Lund until this post, so...
Well Lund is a no-go. The English track is only for people with an undergraduate architecture degree. But for the record, it is a reasonably affordable school in a lovely little medieval city in southern Sweden with a lot of scholarship money. While it is not officially accredited by the NAAB, its international accreditation IS accepted by the NAAB so you still have to go thru transcript evaluation but you should receive the same credit towards licensing. Good school but I don't qualify. I'll keep looking
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