In keeping with our mission to advance a vital profession and our strategic priority of building and mentoring the profession, AIA Minnesota has rigorously explored alternative pathways to licensure for architects in Minnesota and has made recommendations to the licensing board.

Prompted by recent developments at the national level – including a proposed national AIA resolution in 2022 and recommendations for alternative paths to licensure put forward by NCARB in 2022 and 2023 – as well as recent changes to expand pathways to licensure in Minnesota for landscape architects, AIA Minnesota has researched and recommended potential licensure paths, including those that do not require a NAAB-accredited degree.

Based on the work of a 2023 Task Force and extensive input from the AIA Minnesota membership (including a recorded Town Hall meeting held on September 19, 2023 ), the AIA Minnesota Board of Directors approved the following policy position on licensure pathways in December of 2023:

AIA Minnesota supports the creation and implementation of equivalent, equitable pathways to architect licensure in Minnesota, including options equivalent to a NAAB-accredited degree, in order to: (a) Expand access to the profession; and (b) Mitigate and remove barriers to becoming an architect in Minnesota, while maintaining significant rigor and focus on protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

In May 2025 the AIA Minnesota Board of Directors voted to adopt the recommendations of the 2024-25 AIA MN Licensing Pathways Task Force.

The following is now AIA Minnesota’s policy on alternative pathways to licensure. It has been shared with the Minnesota Board of AELSLAGID (licensing board) as the organization’s recommendation. 

In addition to the current path to initial architect licensure in Minnesota, which is limited in eligibility to those who hold a NAAB-accredited degree (B.Arch., M.Arch., D.Arch.), have completed AXP requirements, and have passed all ARE exams, AIA Minnesota recommends these additional paths:

• Completion of a 4-year, pre-professional architecture degree (for example: B.Envd: B.Arch., B.A. Arch., B.S. Arch), 6 years of experience under the direction of an architect (including AXP experience time), completion of AXP requirements, and passage of all ARE exams.

• Completion of a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree (including degrees offered by accredited tribal colleges), 10 years of experience under the direction of an architect (including AXP experience time), completion of AXP requirements, and passage of all ARE exams.

Regarding reciprocal licensure for Minnesota, AIA Minnesota recommends these options:

• Meet the same education/experience, AXP and ARE requirements as for initial Minnesota licensure, specific to the degree completed; or

• NCARB Certificate, which can be obtained through two education/experience paths for those without a NAAB-accredited degree: 
  • Two x AXP
  • Certificate portfolio 

Hundreds of AIA Minnesota members shared their perspectives over the past three years of deliberation, including through six rounds of member input. This input shaped the resulting policy in important ways, including:

• Elimination of the high-school-degree-only option for initial licensure (initially recommended by the 2023 Task Force); 
• Increasing the amount of experience required for those without a pre-professional architecture degree; and
• Adding specific paths for reciprocal licensure.

AIA Minnesota does not have this authority. Any changes to paths to licensure in Minnesota would involve a two-year regulatory process, including comment periods for architects, aspiring architects, and the general public. Such a process has not yet formally begun.

Many thanks to all who served on the Task Force and who engaged on this important issue. We will keep the membership informed on further developments with the Minnesota licensing board and on opportunities for AIA Minnesota members to weigh in individually as part of their regulatory process, if and when that moves forward.