Career Development & Licensure
We are committed to helping our students find jobs and internships, attain licensure and hone professional development skills such as portfolio-building and networking.
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Director for Career Development Opportunity & Special Faculty
Career Development
Lori Claus, Director for Career Development Opportunity, serves as a point of contact for Carnegie Mellon Architecture. Students and alumni can turn to her as a resource for internship and job searches, available opportunities, and networking, and building relationships with school alumni and alumni firms. Lori also administers the Opportunity Knocks newsletter with job and internship opportunities for current students and alumni.
Contact Lori at lclaus@andrew.cmu.edu for more information or with any questions.
Architect Licensing Advising
Lori Claus, Director for Career Development Opportunity, serves as Carnegie Mellon Architecture's Architect Licensing Advisor. She is responsible for providing guidance to students interested in developing their path to professional architecture licensure. Through workshops offered annually, students learn about starting their National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) record, the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), and learn about the Architect Registration Exam (ARE).
Mikayla Gee (B.Arch ’27) is the Student Licensing Advisor. The Architect Licensing Advisors are:
- Available for questions from peers regarding licensure and careers
- Willing to research answers to questions
- Willing to reach out to NCARB staff when needed
- Able to assist with arrangements, advertising and promotion when NCARB reps come to the school for a presentation
- Collaborators with the faculty member representing the school as Architect Licensing Advisor
At Carnegie Mellon Architecture, students learn about the path to licensure in the following ways:
- Presentations about architecture licensure to undergraduate and graduate students at orientation, in First Year Seminar and in upper year studios
- Formal presentations each academic year about AXP and the ARE open to all Carnegie Mellon Architecture students
- Office hours by appointment available for students to ask questions about licensure, AXP and/or the ARE
Although Carnegie Mellon Architecture's curriculum does not include internships as an academic requirement, we strongly encourage our students to engage in paid summer internships before graduation. Most of our students gain internship experience prior to graduation.
American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)
The CMU chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) elects a Professional Development Coordinator, an executive board position, to collaborate with the campus Career and Professional Development Center, the school's Architect Licensing Advisor, and professionals from the architectural community in Pittsburgh.
The CMU chapter of AIAS creates a connection between students and the professional and academic world of architecture by offering members a diverse set of events and experiences including firm visits, local and national networking opportunities, community service build initiatives and exposure to cutting edge developments within the field of architecture. More information available on the Student Organizations page.
Career and Professional Development Center
The Carnegie Mellon University Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) provides career consulting, coordinates professional development programming, and hosts career fairs throughout the academic year. Information on all available employment opportunities for CMU students and alumni can be accessed online through Handshake, the central recruiting tool for the CPDC.
Architecture students are introduced to the CPDC during orientation and in the First Year Seminar course and are assigned to CPDC Career Consultant Peter DePasquale to assist with career and professional development during their time at Carnegie Mellon Architecture.
Career Fairs
Creative Arts and Opportunities Conference
Each spring semester, the CPDC hosts the Creative Arts and Opportunities Conference (CAOC) career fair for students in the College of Fine Arts. CAOC attracts architecture, design, and technology companies to recruit our students for paid summer internships and full-time employment opportunities.
Interchange
In partnership with the CAOC, Carnegie Mellon Architecture also hosts Interchange each year. Interchange is a recruiting event for the School’s undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD programs that invites employers to tour our labs and studios to view students’ design and research work. Employers have the opportunity to meet and greet with our students, as well as conduct on-site interviews.