Intern Development Program - History

History

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 interns 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, and Arizona became the most recent in 2009. All 54 U.S. jurisdictions accept the IDP to satisfy their experience requirement.

Since 1976, the only significant change to the program came in 1996 when interns were 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 Committee on the IDP, 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 programs’ requirements with the current practice of architecture and ensures that interns acquire 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 have been rolled out in phases with first phase occurring in July 2009 and the final scheduled for April 2012.