Released in 2024, the NCARB Competency Standard for Architects establishes 16 knowledge areas, skills, abilities, and behaviors—called competencies—that describe the capabilities necessary at the point of initial licensure for an individual to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
Unlike the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®) or the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®), the Competency Standard is not a program that assesses competency on its own—instead, the Competency Standard creates a shared foundation for all NCARB programs. This framework will help ensure that programs and services work toward the same level of competency at the point of initial licensure. It also highlights the core competencies critical to holding a license to practice for architectural educators.
As NCARB’s volunteers identify new methods for assessing competency for the Pathways to Practice initiative, they’ll tailor future assessment methods to each of the competencies defined in the Competency Standard—ultimately ensuring that all licensure candidates are held to the same level of competency, regardless of their licensure pathway. As they develop new assessment methods, volunteers will focus on measuring candidates’ ability to demonstrate the level of ability, judgement, and decision-making necessary to operate as an independent practitioner.
We want to make sure that we reduce barriers to licensure, but then at the same time increase accessibility and flexibility so that we have a more diverse pool of candidates. But the bottom line is that we do have to maintain rigor, and we have to maintain defensibility of assessments.
– Julie Hildebrand, Licensure Process R&D Task Force Chair (2023-2025)
Watch our recent video on assessing competency for licensure, where members of NCARB’s Licensure Process Research & Development Task Force explain the value of the Competency Standard and how it relates to the potential assessment methods they are currently exploring.
