What Is a Graduate Architect?

A graduate architect is an architect who has just completed their primary studies and is now ready to apply their knowledge to their work. However, they may not have necessarily obtained the necessary licences and similar qualifications for their job. This means that many graduate architects still have some climbing on the career ladder left ahead of them before they can start working on actual projects.

What does a graduate architect do?

The main difference between a graduate architect and an architect is that a graduate architect is typically fresh out of school and is just starting their career. Many graduate architects still need to get licensed, especially those who want to work on specific types of projects that require additional qualifications.

Graduate architects often work under the supervision of more experienced architects in a firm, learning the ropes of architect services and developing a good understanding of the fundamentals before they are trusted with their own individual tasks.

How does one become a graduate architect?

The basic requirement for becoming a graduate architect is to complete a higher education programme in architecture. This may or may not include a specific specialisation. Many graduate architects first obtain qualifications for general architectural work and only then start working towards specialising in a particular field.

While many firms are open to hiring graduate architects, they usually hold off on handing them more critical tasks until the architect has obtained some additional knowledge in the course of their work under the wing of a professional with experience in the field. Typically after some experience, they progress to a junior role, and a bit more responsibilities are given. 

Graduate Architect	General Architect
Freshly graduated	Has some experience already
May not have all required licences yet	Has all necessary licences and qualifications
Works under the supervision of more experienced architects	Does not need to be supervised