it depends on the country. some countries do not have licensure per se. i think switzerland and sweden are among those.

but you have to have the proper degrees in order to join the proper professional association. in sweden (for example) you have to have the equivalent of a US bachelor's and a US master's degree. and unlike in the US, "abuse is rare" according to NCARB.

i think there are certain countries where there is reciprocity with the US but i do not know much about which ones.

now...are you by any chance thinking you can circumvent the US licensure process by taking four more years of studio? are you by any chance thinking you can avoid IDP and ARE yet still get a stamp and seal in the US?

the answer in most cases is no...as far as i know, in most US jurisdictions foreign credentials are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and you may not qualify for reciprocity.

also, architecture school in continental europe is a lot different than here, so investigate that too.

oh no I am quite aware of that. it just came up in a conversation. I am mostly done with idp...while it would be nice to get around the are...
basically I was already debating whether I would find it more beneficial to try and go to a grad school in the continential us or in europe and this conversation came up. The person I was talking to is from prague and he was saying he was pretty sure germany's licensure transfers over.
The other point we were talking about is that if you did take the above path you would most likely have to work in the eu for several years before you went back to america or they would accuse you of abuse and you would more than likely have to take all of your exams etc.

so basically no I am not trying to circumvent idp and the are but hey I wouldn't mind if I did.

but i guess if you are going for a post graduate, you are only talking about 3 semesters in europe at a fraction of the cost of schools in the US to bypass the whole NCARB process...a very compelling proposition if that turns out to be the case.

Hence my intrest when the conversation came up, since I also would definately not mind working in europe for awhile before I come back

Just to confirm ochana's statement, yes Sweden is free of licensure, and pretty much anyone able to pronounce the word "architect" can call him or herself that.
But there's a distinction between "architect" and "architect SAR/MSA" which is how you separate the experienced architects from the wannabes. In order to add the "SAR/MSA" to your title you have to be a member of Sveriges Arkitekter (Swedish Association of Architects) and have atleast one year of work experience.

now...rococco, i'm witcha. if you worked for 5-10 years in europe then yes, i would imagine reciprocity would be pretty much forthcoming.

man, if you can do it, do it. european grad school can be much, much cheaper...or even free tuition- and fee-wise. and i wish so much that i had had the foresight to get a few years' work experience in europe...it's a much healthier architectural climate in my humble opinion.

Yeah when I saw that europe was largely half the cost of the major players in us grad schools and the better enviroment for working.... it was kinda of like well hell why not. Then when I heard about this I started wondering. 1 is it true. 2 if so where in paticular. if it is then I'm there.

unless you find some odd state rules like ny[who havent embraced the ncarb matra] which gave reciporcity to liberskind based upon his body of work, you will find reciporcity non-existant if your talking ncarb. hey, if your 'recently' licensed in illinois you cant even get reciprocity in gary indiana[the rules change from state to state and are dependent upon either when you were licensed or when you completed your degree] unless you go through the ncarb bull shit so i think your smok'n something funny to think get a degree in another country and bypass the system. even applying to a state board only, most state will require you degree to be translated as a start. big buck as you have to go to minn. to do it.

most state board employees would probalby not even know where the qualified country is let alone what the school is like or the practice of architecture is in that country. just think about it --- its america man. nothing exist outside the border matters and clearly practice is substandard anywhere else in the world[let alone in other states]. what happens if the university of congo gives qualifications upon graduation - how to draw the line....i still try to figure out why indiana is threatened by me, an illinois architect if i choose to do a project in
Gary.

i have a french friend who had her own practice in paris with many completed project and it took 10 years translation/idp/crap and she still hasnt gotten it yet.

remember land of the free home of the brave generally has a protectionish policy when it comes to architects -

i am certain if you look at all the state boards you would find one where you dont even need a degree to sit for the test but you most likely will still need idp - working under the guidance of some US qualified architect.

what your hypothesis also ignores that practice in country A is completely different than country B and the test reflects some basic knowledge of practice, laws and codes. the countries who qualified architects upon completion of degree [france and spain ] have students take their exams while in school]. prior to 1980 in the states, you could take the US exams within the prior 6 months of graduating.

i understand ncarb is changing the rules to let people start the exam earlier than upon completion of idp.

even though i have US licensed and have practiced in the UK for over 10 years, i have no problem sitting for the UK exam as practice is HUGELY different here than in the US.

I also understand that work/internship done in europe counts toward idp as long as properly filed blah blah blah... I really am not trying to circumvent things here. The question stands that there are cases of people being licensed in other countries being able to practice here. I don't really mind if it involved having to take are while it would be NICE not to have to.
What I am currently looking at is:
1.) the cost difference of an euro education.
2.) more amiable working circumstances currently in europe.
3.) eventually (several years down the road) coming back to america.
4.) I want to be able to licensed here within a reasonable time upon my return.

what in you guys' opinoin would be the best course for me to do so?

* don't really mind it if it invovles having to take the ARE...

damn typoes

i think your use of 'here' is ambiguous.

and the state laws are all across the board and change annually [many are phasing in ncarb certificates gradually] so what your asking is really all across the board and are very specific to where you want to practice.

if you have a 4 year architectural degree you might try to apply NOW to a state that allows those degree to sit for the exam with the appropriate years experience [i think its 5 in illinois, wiscon it might be less] and not worry at all about what paper or qualifications you get in europe. if you pass the US exam in a single state but decide to live elsewhere upon your return it might be easier to get reciprocity then.

look carefully at what you think is cheap tuition; in the uk you have to have home status[indefinite leave or lived in uk for reasons other than comming to school] for 3 years prior to the start of your program. most countries do charge international rates for tuition if your not from that country or havent been a regular resident. the tuition difference in uk is 3k sterling verses about 12k sterling per year.

i will also say scholarships are not as plentiful in europe in comparison to the US.

but you should do it.

i have a 5yr b arch with 450units done of idp... and the tuition differences are still considerable when you look at the upper echelon's 50k/yr versus 25-30k in europe. My use of "here" is intended to ambigous based on that I have yet to determine where I will land in the states when I decide to come back.

btw i do appreciate your comments and willingness to help me with this. also what is considered "recent" by ncarb.... 5years....10years...?

by ambiguous i dont mean state, i dont know if i should read 'here' as US or europe as you mix them freely.

if you look on ncarb, you will see the rules for international receprocity which it doesnt exist.

http://www.ncarb.org/reciprocity/foreign.html

with a 5 year barch - and that much idp your on your way. the foriegn gig has no bearing.

if you have been doing idp then you must know the rules where you are or just look at the mish mash of the BS because of state
rights to control what should be a national license.

http://www.ncarb.org/stateboards/MBRfaqinitial.asp

but if your doing idp to get a ncarb certificate to do the test i will generally say all states will take that - period.

you really have to look at the state board requirments in to find out the reciprocity rules -

http://www.ncarb.org/stateboards/MBRfaqrecip.asp

but look on the individual board sites for dates for 'recent' because it really is all across the board and varies how they phased in ncarb/idp requirements.

did not realize I had refered to europe as "here" but to the point at hand...
"There is no reciprocal registration between foreign countries and the U.S."
..well shit there goes that idea..lol
but it does seem you could save yourself some idp if you jumped on it as when you are licensed in another country it appears you should be able to take the ARE when ever you want to...

for whoever said europe has more 'amiable working circumstances', what do you mean exactly?

less crap is made in general, the firms i have had contact on the whole are better than in the states, yes it is much harder to get work built but on the whole it appears to be a more architect friendly enviroment.