I'm having some difficulty researching how American architects of the 1950s and 60s went through the licensing process, and how it varies from today's degree program > intern program > exam process. Specifically:

* If the IDP was created in the 70s, did applicants merely have to take the exam, without field experience, to be licensed?
* Was a completed college degree mandatory back then?
* An untrained amateur with building skills could construct his own home as long as it satisfied local codes and regulations, but one had to be a licensed architect if he was building homes to sell to the public. But how much leeway, if any, did architecture licensure have during the postwar housing boom, when regulations were looser and more inviting to boot-strap type beginners?

Forgive the naivite of the reference, but The Fountainhead gives the illusion that a college droupout in the 20s could essentially start up his own practice if he possessed enough talent and drive-- was Rand rendering "simpler times" or merely skirting technicalities?

I'm still an outsider to alot of this, so forgive any dumb questions or misperceived facts. Any help, even a point in the right direction, book, article, archive, etc. would be extremely helpful! Thanks!