With the new year just on the horizon, there’s no better time to start setting your 2025 goals. If your goal is to become a licensed architect, the ARE® Prep series is an amazing tool provided by AIA NoVA to help you do just that. We will kick off the series with our NCARB ARE Roundtable event, which provides an overview of the entire NCARB process. You will learn what to expect when testing, how to earn and document AXP® hours, and have a chance to ask questions.

The ARE series is broken out into 6 sessions, one Saturday session a month for 6 months, each focusing on one of the 6 test subjects: Practice Management, Project Management, Programing & Analysis, Project Planning + Design, Project Development + Documentation, and Construction + Evaluation. Past attendees have noted they utilize these session for different purposes. Some candidates treat them as a crash course in all topics covered on each exam; others have used this time as a review session to ask questions on last-minute topics they may not feel 100% confident in. Either way, these sessions provide insider knowledge from professionals in the field who can draw on their own experiences and provide real life examples and explanations.

The sessions also offer the opportunity to meet and connect with other candidates in our area who are currently on the same journey of becoming a licensed architect. The connections made can even lead to forming new study groups and continuing support throughout the process. Registration will be open soon, so look for your chance to sign up and be one step closer to achieving that 2025 goal!

ARE® Prep Sessions Return for 2025 

The 2025 schedule of the Chapter’s award-winning sessions has been posted and will be virtual. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from top-notch design professionals while gaining knowledge that can be used to prepare for each section of the Architect Registration Examination®.

2025 Series Schedule – Registration opens soon! Dates are subject to change.
Jan. 09 – NCARB ARE® Roundtable (1.5 LU | Elective), 6:30-8:00pm
Feb. 01 – Practice Management (6 LU | HSW), 10:00am-4:00pm
Mar. 08 – Project Management (6 LU | HSW), 10:00am-4:00pm
Apr. TBD – Programming + Analysis (5 LU | HSW), 10:00am-3:00pm
May 17 – Project Planning + Design (6 LU | HSW), 10:00am-4:00pm
June 14 – Project Development + Documentation (6 LU | HSW), 10:00am-4:00pm

— Elizabeth Parry, 2025 Young Architects Forum Co-Chair