If you’re just starting out... Now that you’ve talked to your parents, guidance counselor, or mentor and determined that a career in architecture is right for you, you must complete three more steps on the path to becoming an architect in Mississippi. First, get a good architectural education, then intern with an architect, and finally pass the registration exam and receive registration from the state to practice architecture. There are two types of post-secondary degree programs recognized by the National Architectural Accreditation Boards (NAAB) that lead to a professional degree in architecture. One is a five-year program like the one offered at the Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art and Design that earns a Bachelor of Architecture (B/Arch.) The other is a four-plus-two program that earns a Bachelor of Art (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) after four years and a Master of Architecture (M/Arch) after an additional two years of college. Unlike the BA or BS, both the B/Arch and the M/Arch are professional degrees that the Mississippi State Board of Architecture accepts as a requirement for registration. After receiving your professional degree, you must work under the direct supervision of an Architect and complete the National Council of Architectural Registration Board’s (NCARB) Intern Development Program (IDP) before you can ask the State Board to consider you for registration. This internship lasts approximately three years and ensures that your education in architectural practice is well-rounded. You must meet minimum experience requirements in several phases of architectural projects such as: schematic design, design development, construction document production, materials research, construction administration and contracts.   Upon completing your internship and receiving permission from NCARB and the State Board, you are prepared to take the Architectural Record Exam (ARE) The ARE assesses candidates for their knowledge, skills, and ability to provide the various services required in the practice of architecture. The ARE is required of all candidates for architectural registration. "The various divisions of the ARE are designed to reflect the practice of architecture as an integrated whole, and the core functions of architectural practice—site design and building design—are accorded fundamental importance in the examination's three graphical divisions. The other divisions are written to assess or evaluate the candidate's ability to deal with the design process as well as the technical and programmatic aspects integral with design. This exam approach helps to establish and measure the level and type of job-related performance encountered in practice." Once you pass the ARE and meet all of the State Board’s requirements for registration, you may practice architecture in Mississippi and call yourself an "Architect." If you are registered to practice architecture in another state.. The State Board allows reciprocal registration, if you have met their other requirements for registration.