Seventeen US architecture schools now offer their students a faster track to becoming an architect; NCARB’s Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure (IPAL).  Students in IPAL programs will document the same number of hours of work experience, pass the same exams, and earn the same architecture degree as their non-accelerated counterparts – but they will have the opportunity to accomplish all of this before they graduate from college.  

California leads the way, with three participating institutions (New School of Architecture and Design, University of Southern California and Woodbury University), but IPAL is making an impact in architecture schools from coast to coast, and NCARB has pledged to work with state licensing boards to increase the number of jurisdictions which will accept this alternative to the traditional sequence of school, then work, then testing.

Typically, architectural training begins with graduation from a professional degree program, then employment in an office under the supervision of a licensed architect.  Along the way, the candidate must take and pass the six divisions of the Architect Registration Exam (ARE).  

IPAL allows students to compress these activities by taking them on all at the same time.  

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Institutions Offering IPAL and NAAB-Accredited Degrees Offered: