Intern Development Program

Formerly called the Intern Development Program (IDP), the Architectural Experience Program (AXP) is a comprehensive training program created to ensure that candidates pursuing licensure in the architecture profession gain the knowledge and skills required for the independent practice of architecture. The program is developed, maintained, and administered by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and is required by most U.S. architectural registration boards to satisfy experience requirements for licensure.

In 1976, NCARB introduced the Intern Development Program (IDP) after working with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) throughout the 1970s to develop a more structured program for candidates to ensure they were gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to practice independently. Administered by NCARB, jurisdictions gradually began adopting the program to satisfy their experience requirement.

Mississippi became the first state to require the IDP in 1978. All 54 U.S. jurisdictions accept the IDP toward the fulfillment of their experience requirement.

The first major change to the program came in 1996 when it became required to record actual training units earned rather than the percent of time spent in each training area. The program has been monitored annually by NCARB’s Internship Committee, which has recommended other minor changes over the years based on interpretations of the current practice of architecture.

In May 2009, NCARB announced the rollout of IDP 2.0, the most significant update to the program since its inception in the 1970s. IDP 2.0 more closely aligns the program's requirements with the current practice of architecture and ensures the comprehensive training that is essential for competent practice.

IDP 2.0 was developed in response to the 2007 Practice Analysis of Architecture. In this study, almost 10,000 practicing architects completed an extensive electronic survey to identify the tasks, knowledge, and skills that recently licensed architects, practicing independently, need in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

The updates were rolled out in phases with the first phase occurring in July 2009 and the final in April 2012. In July 2015, the IDP was streamlined to reduce experience hours required from 5,600 to 3,740. (Some jurisdictions require documentation of additional hours to meet their experience requirement. NCARB recommends that you submit all experience until you have satisfied your jurisdiction’s requirement. See individual jurisdiction’s requirements here.)

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