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How to Become an Architect: Degree & Salary (2026)
Key takeaway: Becoming a licensed architect in the United States takes three things in sequence: a professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), documented experience through the NCARB Architectural Experience Program (AXP), and passing scores on every division of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). Then you register with a state board, which confers the legal right to use the title. Architects, except landscape and naval, earn a national median annual wage of $99,280 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Most online bachelor's degrees in this field are pre-professional and do not satisfy the education requirement on their own.
“Architect” is a protected title. Every U.S. jurisdiction restricts who may use it, offer architectural services, or seal drawings submitted for permit. That is the difference between this career and most of the design fields next to it, and it is why the path is prescriptive rather than a matter of building a portfolio and applying.
You can work in architecture without being one. Architectural designers, job captains, BIM coordinators, and drafters do a great deal of the work in firms and are not registered. If the title and the legal responsibility are what you want, the sequence below is the route.
View the data behind this chart
| Percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $62,300 |
| 25th percentile | $77,960 |
| Median | $99,280 |
| 75th percentile | $126,550 |
| 90th percentile | $161,420 |
Step-by-step: how to become an architect
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Earn a NAAB-accredited professional degree. The accepted degrees are the Bachelor of Architecture (a five-year undergraduate professional degree), the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A four-year BA or BS in Architecture or Architectural Studies is pre-professional: it is designed to feed an M.Arch, not to qualify you directly. Most online architecture bachelor’s programs are pre-professional. Verify any program on the NAAB list before enrolling, and verify the institution through the U.S. Department of Education database.
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Choose the track that matches your starting point. From high school, the common route is a pre-professional bachelor’s followed by an advanced-standing M.Arch of roughly two years. With a bachelor’s in an unrelated field, you skip the second undergraduate degree and enter a three-year M.Arch track that opens with foundation studio. With a B.Arch, the education requirement is already satisfied.
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Start recording AXP hours, ideally before you graduate. The Architectural Experience Program requires documented hours across defined practice areas – practice management, project management, programming and analysis, project planning and design, project development and documentation, and construction and evaluation. Most jurisdictions allow you to begin accumulating and reporting hours while enrolled, supervised by a licensed architect. Starting early is the single most effective way to shorten the total path. Report hours promptly; there are limits on how far back you can claim them.
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Pass the Architect Registration Examination. The ARE is a multi-division computer-based exam covering practice management, project management, programming and analysis, project planning and design, project development and documentation, and construction and evaluation. You take divisions individually on your own schedule once your board makes you eligible. Passing all of them is a sustained commitment measured in months to years, not weeks.
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Register with a state board. Licensure is granted jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Requirements are broadly aligned because most boards use the NAAB degree, AXP, and ARE framework, but details differ: some boards allow experience-based paths without a NAAB degree, some have additional state examinations, and rules on when you may begin the ARE vary. Confirm requirements with the board where you intend to practice before you build a plan.
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Consider the NCARB Certificate for mobility. The certificate documents that you have met the standard model requirements and streamlines getting licensed in additional jurisdictions. It is not a license itself, and it is optional, but it matters if you expect to practice across state lines.
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Keep the license current. Registration renews on a cycle, and most jurisdictions require continuing education, commonly with a health, safety, and welfare component. Budget the time and the cost.
What degree do you need to be an architect?
- A NAAB-accredited professional degree is required in most jurisdictions: B.Arch, M.Arch, or D.Arch.
- A pre-professional bachelor’s (BA or BS in Architecture, Architectural Studies, Environmental Design) is not sufficient on its own. It is the standard preparation for an M.Arch, and it opens unlicensed firm roles in the meantime.
- A post-professional MS in Architecture is a specialty or research degree. It does not substitute for the M.Arch in the licensure sequence.
- No degree at all is workable in a small number of jurisdictions through longer experience-based paths set by the state board. Those routes are slower, state-specific, and can restrict later reciprocity. Confirm directly with the board.
If you want the building world without the licensure sequence, compare construction management and how to become a construction manager, or interior design, which has its own credential path.
How much do architects make?
Architects, except landscape and naval, earn a national median annual wage of $99,280 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Half earn more and half earn less. The spread is wide: the 10th percentile was $62,300 and the 90th percentile was $161,420 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Early-career designers, including people who are licensed but new to the register, generally sit well below the median.
Employment was 123,600 in 2024, projected to change 3.9 percent through 2034, with about 7,800 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Architecture is closely tied to construction activity, so hiring moves with the building cycle in a way the ten-year projection smooths over.
Related occupations on this silo: architectural and engineering managers, the senior firm role many licensed architects eventually reach, had a median annual wage of $171,270 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Architectural and civil drafters, a common entry point, had a median annual wage of $66,150 with about 10,000 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Landscape architects, a separately licensed profession, had a median annual wage of $79,870 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Individual outcomes vary by employer, geography, firm type, and specialization.
How long does it take to become an architect?
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Pre-professional bachelor’s degree | About 4 years full-time (approximately 120 semester hours) |
| Bachelor of Architecture (professional) | About 5 years full-time |
| Master of Architecture, advanced standing | About 2 years, for holders of a pre-professional bachelor’s |
| Master of Architecture, no architecture background | About 3 to 3.5 years, beginning with foundation studio |
| AXP experience hours | Varies; often begun during study and completed over roughly three years of full-time practice |
| Architect Registration Examination | Varies by candidate; divisions are taken individually over months to years |
| State registration and NCARB Certificate | Weeks to months after eligibility, depending on the board |
These are ranges rather than guarantees. Studio rotations, residency calendars, employer support for AXP hours, and your own exam pace set the real schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What degree do you need to be an architect?
A professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board: a Bachelor of Architecture, a Master of Architecture, or a Doctor of Architecture. Four-year pre-professional degrees in architectural studies do not satisfy the education requirement in most jurisdictions on their own.
Can you become an architect with an online degree?
Yes, if the degree is a NAAB-accredited professional degree offered in a distance or low-residency format. Those programs exist but are few, and most still require in-person studio intensives. An online pre-professional bachelor’s is a legitimate first step, not a licensure credential.
Do you need a license to be an architect?
Yes. The title and the practice are legally restricted in every U.S. jurisdiction, and only a registered architect may seal drawings. You can work in an architecture firm without a license under titles such as architectural designer or job captain.
How long does it take to become an architect?
Commonly about six years of study from scratch, plus AXP hours and the ARE divisions. Career changers with an unrelated bachelor’s often enter a three-year M.Arch instead of adding a second undergraduate degree.
How much do architects make?
The national median annual wage is $99,280, with the 10th percentile at $62,300 and the 90th percentile at $161,420 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Employment is projected to change 3.9 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 7,800 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
Is an architect the same as a landscape architect or an urban planner?
No. Landscape architecture is a separately licensed profession with its own accreditor and exam, and had a median annual wage of $79,870 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Urban planning is a different profession again, with its own accrediting board and a median annual wage of $89,320 for urban and regional planners (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). They overlap in interest, not in credential.
Related guides
- Online Architecture Degrees Guide – the full hub covering degree levels and program formats
- Online Bachelor’s in Architecture – pre-professional degrees and the path they open
- Online Master’s in Architecture – the NAAB-accredited professional degree and advanced standing
- What Can You Do With an Architecture Degree? – licensed and unlicensed roles, with BLS wages
- How Online Architecture Degrees Work – studio delivery and residency requirements
- Construction Management Program Guide – delivering buildings rather than designing them
Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.