Architecture Internships in India (2026): Stipends, Timelines and How to Apply

Every B.Arch student in India has to complete one semester of practical training, roughly 16 working weeks, in the 8th or 9th semester, in the office of an architect with at least five years of experience. You cannot start your thesis until it is done. That much is fixed by the Council of Architecture. Almost everything else, including whether you are paid, depends on the office you choose and how you approach it.

This guide covers the rules, the timeline, how to shortlist studios, how to think about a stipend, and the warning signs that an internship will waste your semester.

What the Council of Architecture requires

The rules come from the Council of Architecture's Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, 2020. In plain terms:

• Length and timing: six months or one semester, approximately 16 working weeks, during the 8th or 9th semester. Your college decides which.
• Where: the office of an architect, or an organisation working in an allied field of practice or research, approved by your institution.
• Who mentors you: an architect with at least five years of experience.
• How it is assessed: periodic assessment by your mentoring architect, then an end-semester viva as part of your course.
• Abroad: allowed, under an architect registered in that country, with approval from the head of your institution.
• Before the thesis: you cannot enrol for the 10th-semester thesis until practical training is complete.

You may still hear about a "100-day certificate", including in older articles. The 2020 regulations set the requirement as one semester. Check your own university's handbook, since colleges add their own forms, log books and deadlines.

What you are supposed to learn

The same regulations describe the internship as orientation under an architect, covering how concepts are developed, presentation, office discussions, client meetings, turning concepts into working drawings, tendering, site supervision and coordination with the agencies involved in construction. Use that list when you compare offers. A studio that will only ever give you renders to make is not offering what the Council intends, however famous it is.

When to apply

Studios plan interns around their own workload, and the best ones fill early. Working backwards from a training semester that starts in January or July:

• Five to six months before: finish your portfolio and CV, and build your shortlist.
• Four months before: send applications in small batches, so you can improve your email as replies come in.
• Two to three months before: interviews and offers. Ask for the offer, stipend and dates in writing.
• One month before: get your institution's approval for the office, and sort out where you will live.

How to shortlist studios

1. Match the work to what you want to learn. Housing, institutions, interiors, landscape or conservation. A smaller studio usually gives you more site and client exposure. A larger one gives you process and specialists.
2. Check registration and experience. Your mentor must be an architect with at least five years of experience, and registration with the Council of Architecture is easy to confirm. Our guide to COA verification explains how.
3. Look at built work, not just renders. Built projects mean drawings, sites and contractors, which is where you learn most. You can browse architects on MOA by their published projects, and many profiles show COA verification.
4. Be realistic about the city. A low stipend in an expensive city can cost you more than a modest one near home. Do the sum before you accept.

Stipends: what to expect and what to ask

There is no published national survey of architecture internship stipends in India, and the Council's 2020 regulations do not set a minimum. Pay varies widely: some studios pay a fair monthly stipend, some pay a token amount, and some pay nothing. When Dezeen investigated in 2019, students described low or no pay, and said many interns are afraid to raise it in case it affects their training certificate (Dezeen).

A few practical rules help:

• Ask about the stipend before you accept, politely and in writing. It is a normal question, and a studio that is offended by it is telling you something.
• Work out your monthly costs first: rent, food, travel and software. Then you know what an offer is worth to you.
• Compare offers on three things, not one: stipend, the mentoring you will get, and site exposure.
• Treat unpaid work with no structured mentoring as a red flag, not a privilege.

For what the first salaried years look like after graduation, see our post on architecture jobs and salaries in India.

The application

Send three things: a short email, a one-page CV, and a portfolio PDF of around 8 to 15 pages under 5 MB, which is what one employer panel recommends (Bespoke Careers). Our architecture portfolio examples show what strong portfolios put first. Keep the email short and specific:

Mention one real project of theirs, and keep the attachments small. Your MOA profile gives them somewhere to see more without another attachment.

Red flags

• No registered architect in the office, or a mentor with under five years of experience.
• Vague dates, no written offer, or reluctance to sign your training forms.
• Only renders, presentations or personal errands, with no drawings and no site visits.
• Pressure to work long unpaid overtime "for the experience".
• A request to pay the studio for the internship.

Making the 16 weeks count

Keep your college log book up to date every week, not at the end. Ask to join at least one site visit and one client meeting a month. Ask early which drawings you may show in your portfolio and how to credit the studio. Then, before you leave, ask your mentor what they would want you to improve. That conversation is often worth more than the certificate.

Frequently asked questions

Is an internship compulsory for B.Arch in India?

Yes. The Council of Architecture's 2020 regulations require one semester of practical training, and you cannot enrol for the thesis until it is complete.

How long is the B.Arch internship?

Six months or one semester, approximately 16 working weeks, in the 8th or 9th semester, depending on your college.

Do architecture interns get paid in India?

Often, but not always. There is no Council-mandated minimum stipend, and amounts vary from studio to studio. Ask before you accept and compare offers on stipend, mentoring and site exposure together.

Can I do my architecture internship abroad?

Yes, under an architect registered in that country and with the approval of the head of your institution.

Can I intern with an interior design or allied firm?

The regulations allow an organisation working in an allied field of practice or research, if your institution approves it and you are mentored by an architect with at least five years of experience.

Applying soon? Put your portfolio on MOA, free, and keep an eye on the MOA jobs board, where studios post roles and you apply with your profile.

Sources

• Council of Architecture: Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, 2020 (Gazette of India) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Dezeen: Unpaid internships in India's architecture studios (2019) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Bespoke Careers: 4 employers share architecture portfolio tips (accessed 16 Oct 2026)

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• Architecture Competitions 2026 to 2027: A Calendar of Credible Briefs (India and Global)