Becoming an Architect

Through legislation, each provincial and territorial professional regulatory association has both the authority and the responsibility to establish standards of admission and competence for candidates seeking to become licensed to practice architecture in their respective jurisdictions.

The Regulatory Organizations of Architecture in Canada (ROAC) have worked collectively to develop and adopt nationally recognized standards of Competence. These standards are embodied in the Canadian Standard of Competency for Architects, which establishes consistent criteria that candidates must meet regardless of their chosen path to licensure.

Paths to Licensure

Within Canada, the required professional competence is normally obtained and demonstrated through a combination of formal education, supervised experience, and professional examinations. The provincial and territorial regulators have collectively agreed to endorse a variety of pathways to licensure in order to allow broad yet comprehensive and robust access to the profession for candidates from diverse circumstances. These include options for domestic candidates and foreign candidates, and are included in the linked Licence diagrams. 

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Each pathway to licensure was developed by ROAC. Candidates to the profession typically progress through the Domestic Professional Education Pathway. The other pathways to the profession are the Syllabus Work/Study Program and options for candidates with Foreign Professional Education. In some cases, ROAC has empowered an agent to administer components of the pathway on its behalf. However, all registration and licensing authority rests with the provincial and territorial regulatory associations. 

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Meet The OAA Video

On October 12, 2023, the OAA Interns Committee hosted the third Meet the OAA event over Zoom, helping introduce the Association (and its role as regulator of Ontario’s architecture profession) to students, while also sharing more information about the path to licensure in the province. It is now available for on-demand viewing below and on the OAA's You Tube channel.