The Supreme court in March 2020 ruled that one doesn’t require a professional degree or to be registered under the Architects act to undertake work related to architecture or its cognate activities. It however prohibits unregistered individuals from using the title of Architect.
Two ways to become a Registered Architect in India:
- Complete 5 years of B.Arch. in any college/university that is accredited by the Council of Architecture (COA). Post-graduation Register with COA and became a licensed Architect.
- If you hold a diploma in Architectural assistantship, interior design, Civil engineering within the Architectural field under the Employer Architect registered with COA and is also a member of the Indian Institute of Architect, having 5 years of professional experience, you can clear the exam by IIA and register yourself under COA to become a licensed Architect.
https://indianinstituteofarchitects.com/
NOTE: By diploma holder in architecture, one perhaps refers to a diploma in Architectural Assistantship as to the best of information till now there is no diploma in architecture.
Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) – Entrance Exams
Most universities and colleges accept students on the basis of their performance in entrance exams and respective aptitude tests. Some of the most essential exams are JEE Mains, National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA), and Architecture Aptitude Test (AAT).
NATA
NATA measures the aptitude of the applicant for a specific field of study, i.e. Architecture, through assessment of cognitive skills, visual perception and aesthetic sensitivity tests, logical reasoning and critical thinking ability, etc., besides the learning that the candidate has acquired over the past few years and is related to the specific field of study.
| Entrance exam | For qualifying for state institutes excluding IITs, NIT’s SPa, etc. |
| Qualification |
|
| Marks |
|
| Minimum Passing Marks | 75 /200 |
| Number of Attempts | A candidate can take a maximum of two tests. |
| Exam Schedule | The First NATA 2021 test is scheduled for April 10, 2021, while the second NATA 2021 test is scheduled for June 12, 2021. |
NATA – Exam Pattern and Syllabus (2021)
Exam Pattern:
There is no negative marking for incorrect answers in NATA 2021, however, in case of tie-breaking, wrong answers will be penalized.
| Subject | Marks |
| Drawing & visual composition | 125 |
| Physics | 22 |
| Chemistry | 22 |
| Mathematics | 22 |
| General Aptitude | 52 |
Source: https://www.nata.in/NATA2021FAQ_2021.pdf
Syllabus:
Knowledge gained in the required subjects of study such as Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics over the years of schooling will be tested as relevant to the field of Architecture. The candidates will be tested on their overall knowledge of concepts only.
Note:
Usually, there are 2 parts of this examination, one of the parts being a drawing test. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, NATA 2021 was completely a computer-based test, therefore there was no Drawing test.
Please stay updated with the changes in exam pattern, syllabus and dates through their official website www.nata.in
Joint Entrance Examination (Main) Paper-2A: BArch
| Acceptability: | For qualifying for JEE Advance + Admission in NITs, SPA’s, and a few government-aided institutes. |
| Qualification | Candidates must have Physics, Chemistry, and Maths as main subjects. |
| Marks | Candidates must score at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics (PCM) and also at least 50% marks in aggregate of the 10+2 level examination. |
| Total Marks | 200 |
| Number of Attempts | Higher obtained marks out of the two attempts would be considered for preparing admission list/AI |
| Exam Schedule | JEE (Main) is being conducted twice a year, January and April. |
JEE Advanced Architecture Aptitude Test (AAT)
- JEE Advanced Architecture Aptitude Test (AAT) is conducted for the students who wish to take admission in B.Arch in IIT Kharagpur and Roorkee.
- It should be noted that only JEE Main and JEE Advanced qualified candidates are eligible to apply for the AAT exam.
- The candidates who want to pursue architecture need to separately register after the declaration of results for JEE Advanced AAT.
| Acceptability: | IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee and IIT(BHU) Varanasi |
| Qualification | Only Candidates who qualified JEE Mains and JEE Advanced can apply for IIT’s |
| Exam Schedule and Results | Exams are conducted after 7 days of Jee Advanced Results and Results are declared within the next 2days. |
| Exam Conducted by | 7 IIt’s |
How to apply for AAT
Candidates must register online at the JEE Advanced portal for this Aptitude Test( jeeadv.ac.in)
Candidates are advised to update themselves from the JEE (Advanced) web page.
No separate Architecture Aptitude Test admit card will be issued to them. They have to bring the JEE (Advanced) original admit card to the Examination Hall.
Exam Centers:
- IIT Delhi Zone
- IIT Roorkee Zone
- IIT Madras Zone
- IIT Bombay Zone
- IIT Guwahati Zone
- IIT Kanpur Zone
- IIT Kharagpur Zone
Results and Ranking
- The candidate has to use the original Admit Card which they have received during writing the JEE (Advanced) .
- The result will be declared at the end of June and will be displayed on this website.
- There is no separate ranking based on the result of AAT. Seat allocation will be done only on the basis of AIR obtained in JEE (Advanced).
Syllabus for AAT 2021 released by IIT:
- Freehand Drawing
- Geometrical drawing
- Three-dimensional perception
- Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity
- Architectural awareness
Note: Please stay updated with the changes in exam pattern, syllabus and dates through their official website https://jeeadv.ac.in/syllabus.php
Note:
Additionally, I want to convey a personal opinion, If you have been aspiring for IITs and are thinking of going for B.Arch. only if you don’t make it for B.Tech. just to have an IIT brand in your degree. Kindly Reconsider, IITs are not as prestigious in Architecture as hype they are in B.Tech. Architecture is way too different from B.Tech. and so are its colleges. There may be state or other national colleges in Architecture that can potentially be way better than IITs).
(The entire procedure to get into IIT for architecture was narrated to us by current undergraduate student Soma Gorai, IIT- Roorkee)
