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The route into architect

Assembled backwards from the job: the degrees that lead there, the subjects those degrees require, the exams and when they are sat, and what the whole thing costs in years. Print it.

1. Subjects, chosen at fifteen or sixteen

Aggregated across every degree that leads here. Anything marked required closes the door if you skip it.

Saudi curriculum track

مسار علوم الحاسب والهندسة— Computer Science and Engineering

A-Level

  • Mathematicsrequiredfor Architecture, Civil Engineering
  • Physicsrequiredfor Architecture, Civil Engineering
  • Design and Technologyhelpsfor Architecture, Civil Engineering
  • Art and Designhelpsfor Architecture
  • History of Arthelpsfor Architecture
  • Further Mathematicshelpsfor Civil Engineering
  • Geographyhelpsfor Civil Engineering

IB Diploma

  • Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HLrequiredfor Civil Engineering
  • Physics HLrequiredfor Civil Engineering
  • Design Technologyhelpsfor Architecture, Civil Engineering
  • Visual Arts HLhelpsfor Architecture
  • Mathematicshelpsfor Architecture
  • Physicshelpsfor Architecture
  • Geographyhelpsfor Civil Engineering

Advanced Placement

  • AP Physics 1helpsfor Architecture, Civil Engineering
  • AP Art and Designhelpsfor Architecture
  • AP Calculus ABhelpsfor Architecture
  • AP Art Historyhelpsfor Architecture
  • AP Calculus BChelpsfor Civil Engineering
  • AP Physics C: Mechanicshelpsfor Civil Engineering
  • AP Environmental Sciencehelpsfor Civil Engineering

2. The degree

More than one route usually exists. They are not equivalent.

  • Architecture

    The direct destination, after the full professional qualification sequence.

    Five to seven years in total across degree, practical experience and professional examinations. The Saudi and US B.Arch routes run five years; the UK route is three plus a year out plus two.

  • Civil Engineering

    Adjacent rather than identical: the two professions design the same building from different ends.

    Four to five years, plus several years of supervised experience before chartered or professional status.

3. Exams, and when to sit them

Registration deadlines fall weeks or months before the exam. That is what people miss, not the exam.

  • PortfolioBuilt over one to two years before applying

    The decisive requirement at most schools, and the one that cannot be assembled in a month. Drawing, models, photography and sketchbooks showing how you think, not just finished pieces.

  • InterviewAfter shortlisting

    Usually a conversation about your portfolio. Being able to explain why you made a decision matters more than the decision.

  • Qudurat and TahsiliGrade 11 and 12

    The Saudi admission composite, since architecture sits in the engineering colleges.

    • Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
    • Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
    • Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.
  • ESATOctober

    Cambridge and Imperial only; most universities require no test.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • IELTS, TOEFL or STEPBefore enrolment

    Decides whether an English preparatory year is required.

    • Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
    • 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
    • Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

4. After the degree

Training, licensing and the years between graduating and practising independently.

United Kingdom

  1. schoolA-levels; art or maths commonly expected, plus a portfolio2 yr
  2. undergraduateBA/BSc Architecture (Part 1)3 yr
  3. trainingYear out in practice1–2 yrs
  4. postgraduateMArch (Part 2)2 yr
  5. licensingFurther practice experience and professional practice exam (Part 3)1–2 yrs
  6. practiceRegistered architect0 yr

Licensing'Architect' is a protected title. You may not call yourself one until registered, regardless of how many years of architecture you have studied.

Saudi Arabia

  1. schoolSecondary school, science track (علمي)3 yr
  2. undergraduateBSc Architecture or Architectural Engineering5–6 yrs
  3. licensingSaudi Council of Engineers registration0–1 yrs
  4. practicePractising architect0 yr

LicensingRegistration is through the Saudi Council of Engineers rather than a separate architects' board.

United States

  1. schoolHigh school with a portfolio4 yr
  2. undergraduateBachelor of Architecture, or a bachelor's plus MArch4–5 yrs
  3. trainingDocumented internship experience3–4 yrs
  4. licensingArchitect registration examinations1–3 yrs
  5. practiceLicensed architect0 yr

LicensingState licensure following an accredited degree, documented experience and a multi-division examination.

5. What the route costs

Not tuition — time. The years spent training are years not spent earning, and that is the largest cost of a long route by a wide margin.

United Kingdom

School-leaving to independent practice: 7–9 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is management consultant at 3 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 6 years by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of £27,000–35,000, that is roughly £162,000–210,000 of earnings deferred.

Saudi Arabia

School-leaving to independent practice: 5–7 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is air traffic controller at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 3 years by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of SAR 140,000–220,000, that is roughly SAR 420,000–660,000 of earnings deferred.

United States

School-leaving to independent practice: 8–11 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is aircraft maintenance engineer at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 7 years by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of $48,780–62,630, that is roughly $341,460–438,410 of earnings deferred.

How that figure was reached, and what it leaves out

It is arithmetic on the sourced figures elsewhere on this site — training years multiplied by the shortest route’s entry pay — not a measurement of anything. It ignores what trainees earn while training, which in medicine and several other routes is a real salary. It ignores the pay you reach afterwards, which for long routes is usually higher and can overtake the gap entirely. And it excludes tuition, deliberately: Saudi public universities charge nationals no tuition, and fees abroad vary so widely by country and university that any single figure would be misleading. Treat it as a sense of scale for the years, not as a calculation of whether a career is worth it.

Everything on this page is assembled from the career page, the majors that lead to it and the exams those majors require, so it cannot say something they do not. Entry requirements change every year — confirm on the course page for the year you apply.