Portfolio for internshipArchitecture portfolio
Architecture Portfolio for Internship: What Firms Look At in the First 30 Seconds
How many pages, how big a file, which studio projects to show and in what order, and the technical page that proves to a firm you can draw. A guide for B.Arch students applying for practical training.
Published on 10/16/20269 min read
An architecture portfolio for an internship should be one landscape PDF of about 10 to 12 pages, under 5 MB, built from your best college studio work. The first five pages decide whether anyone reads the rest, so they need your cover, a one-page summary and your strongest studio project, including at least one construction drawing. The Council of Architecture expects practical training to include turning designs into working drawings, so the portfolio has to prove you can draw, not just render.
About the numbers below: page counts and file sizes come from an employer panel and university career guides, not from any Indian rule. The Council of Architecture sets how long your practical training is, not what your portfolio looks like. Where a firm states its own limit, that limit wins. The 12-page plan is MOA guidance.
This guide is for 3rd and 4th year B.Arch students preparing for the practical-training semester. For the rules, timeline and stipends, read our guide to architecture internships in India. For how practising architects present built work, see our architecture portfolio examples.
What happens in the first 30 seconds
In a portfolio review run by the recruiter Bespoke Careers in March 2026, the panel, which included Claudia Tschunko, who leads Arup's architecture team across the UK, Middle East, India and Africa, said employers spend about 30 seconds on a portfolio before deciding whether to move on, and that most directors stop reading after page 3 to 5 (Bespoke Careers). One student portfolio they reviewed ran to 34 pages, and the panel estimated it could be cut to 12 strong ones.
For an intern, those 30 seconds answer plain questions. Which year is this student in, and when are they free? What did they do themselves? Can they draw something buildable? Do they know our software? Each of the first five pages should answer one.
How many pages, and how big a file
| Item | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pages for an emailed portfolio | 8 to 15, with 15 as the maximum | Bespoke Careers panel |
| Pages, general advice | 20 or fewer | University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design |
| File size | Ideally under 5 MB, never over 10 MB | Bespoke Careers panel |
| File size by email | No larger than 10 MB | University of Pennsylvania |
| Work sample | 3 to 5 projects, one per page | University of Pennsylvania |
| Interview copy | A longer version of 20 to 30 pages | Bespoke Careers panel |
Penn calls the short version a work sample, a teaser of the full portfolio (University of Pennsylvania). For a 3rd or 4th year student, 10 to 12 pages fits three studio projects, a technical page and a CV, inside both recommendations. Keep the full book for the interview.
The panel also asked for one orientation throughout, one page size (no mixing A4 and A3), and a flattened PDF as the very last step. They also advised against sending WeTransfer links. Before you export, bring images down to screen resolution: print-resolution renders are what make a PDF balloon.
The page order, and why the detail moves up
- Cover: your name, college, current semester, the training window you are applying for, phone and email.
- Summary: each project with its studio semester, type, scale, and whether it was solo or group work, with your role in one line.
- Best project, page 1: the idea in one sentence, site, brief and one lead image.
- Best project, page 2: plans and sections, at a size that can be read.
- Best project, page 3: a wall section and one detail through the same design.
- Project 2, two pages: chosen to show a different scale or skill.
- Project 3, one page.
- Construction sheet: a working drawing from your building construction studio.
- Measured drawing or documentation, if you have a good one.
- By hand: sketches and model photographs.
- CV: one page, software in plain text.
The construction detail on page 5 is the main difference from a job portfolio. A graduate can show working drawings from real projects. You probably cannot, so the evidence has to come early, from your own design. Lead with your best project, not your oldest: the panel was blunt that chronological order loses directors within three pages.
What to show from each studio year, and what to leave out
Course names differ between colleges, and the Council of Architecture's curriculum says its names are only suggestive. The table below is MOA guidance, based on the courses that curriculum lists (Council of Architecture, 2020 regulations).
| Stage | Usually worth showing | Usually leave out |
|---|---|---|
| 1st year | One page at most: strong freehand sketches or a clean measured drawing | Basic design compositions, lettering plates, sciography exercises |
| 2nd year | A small building only if it is fully resolved, or a good model | Early projects you would now design differently |
| 3rd year | A medium-scale project with a full set of plans and sections | Pages of site photos and case studies; compress analysis into one diagram |
| 4th year | Your largest, most complex project, usually the lead | Group urban design work without your role stated |
| Any year | Building construction sheets, wall sections, details, door and window schedules | Anything you cannot explain in an interview |
Group projects are fine if you label them. Both the Bespoke panel and the Penn guide say to state your role and credit the team, and Penn adds plainly that you should never take ownership of someone else's work. Interviewers will ask which drawings were yours.
Prove you can draw: the technical page
The Council of Architecture describes practical training as orientation under an architect that includes office discussions, client meetings, developing concepts into working drawings, tendering, and site supervision (Council of Architecture). That list leans heavily on drawings. A portfolio that is all renders leaves the reviewer guessing whether you can do that work.
Penn's portfolio guide is blunt about it: drawings matter more to employers than final renderings, because firms want people who can develop ideas and produce drawings. In the guide's words: "They hire someone to render."
You already have the material: the same curriculum ends the building construction course in a studio that turns a design into working drawings. Pick your best sheet, or draw a wall section through your lead project, and lay it out like this:
- A key plan with the section line, so the reader knows where the cut is.
- One full wall section at 1:20, footing to parapet, with every layer named.
- One junction at a larger scale: a sill, parapet, staircase or toilet detail at 1:5 or 1:10.
- Scales stated and line weights that still read when the page is shrunk to a laptop screen.
- A one-line label: course, semester, solo or group, and the software used.
If you drew the section specially for the portfolio, say so.
Hand drawing and models versus renders
The Bespoke panel singled out physical models and section drawings, and Tschunko said that in the age of AI, hand sketches are refreshing to see. The Penn guide makes a similar point: well-photographed models add a sense of material that screen drawings lack.
Renders still have a place. Use one as a project's lead image if it is your strongest picture, label it as a render, and put the drawing that explains it beside it. Photograph models in daylight against a plain background.
Software skills
The curriculum includes a computer studio covering 2D drafting, 3D modelling and rendering, and a building information modelling course, so most firms will expect you to draft. Write your software in plain text, not as logos. The Bespoke panel pointed out that applicant tracking systems cannot read an icon, and that the CV should be saved with selectable text.
Skip star ratings and percentage bars. Say where you used each tool instead, for example "AutoCAD: all construction sheets, semesters 5 to 7" or "Revit: 4th year housing project, model and drawings". If a firm's job post names a tool, make sure one page shows work done in it.
The CV page
Keep it to one page. Include your name, college, semester, training dates, phone, email and a link to your online portfolio, then education, software, workshops, competitions and any site exposure. Put your name, phone and email in a small footer on every page as well: the panel's Lucy Cahill asked for exactly that. Pages get printed and forwarded on their own, and a footer keeps your name on each one.
Name the file properly
The Bespoke article does not cover file names, but universities that set a pattern lead with your name. Lund University, for example, asks for last name, first name and application number (Lund University). For an internship, something like Sharma_Priya_Portfolio_Internship_2027.pdf is easy to find in a crowded downloads folder. Never send "final portfolio v3 new.pdf". Mention the file size in your email.
Review checklist before you hit send
- 10 to 12 pages, one orientation, one page size, under 5 MB, flattened.
- Page 2 lists every project with semester, solo or group, and your role.
- Your best project comes first, not your oldest.
- A wall section or detail appears by page 5.
- Every render is labelled as a render and paired with a drawing.
- At least one page of hand sketches or model photographs.
- Software written in plain text, with where you used it.
- Name, phone and email in the footer of every page.
- File named with your name, and no spelling mistakes (ask a friend to proofread, as Penn suggests).
- Any page or size limit in the firm's post has been followed exactly.
Put the full portfolio online
A short PDF leaves work out. An online profile can hold all of it, for a reviewer whose interest the first five pages caught. Our guide to building a strong MOA profile walks through the set-up, and the MOA jobs board lists open roles from studios.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages should an architecture portfolio for an internship be?
About 10 to 12 pages. One employer panel recommends 8 to 15 for an emailed portfolio, and Penn's career guide suggests 20 or fewer.
What file size should an internship portfolio PDF be?
Ideally under 5 MB, and no more than 10 MB, unless the firm says otherwise. Compress images to screen resolution and flatten the PDF as the last step.
Should I include first-year work in my internship portfolio?
Usually only a page at most, such as strong freehand sketches or a measured drawing. Basic design exercises rarely help a firm judge whether you can work on their drawings.
Can I include group projects?
Yes, if you label them as group work and state exactly what you did. Reviewers will ask.
Do I need working drawings in a student portfolio?
You should include at least one technical page, such as a wall section and a detail from your building construction studio or your lead project. The Council of Architecture describes training as including working drawings, so this is the page that shows you are ready for it.
Applying this semester? Put your portfolio on MOA, free, and link it from your CV.
Sources
- Bespoke Careers: 4 employers share architecture portfolio tips (with real examples), published 22 March 2026 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design: Portfolio Guide for Design Students (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Council of Architecture: Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, 2020 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Lund University: Work sample, Architecture Master's Programme (accessed 16 Oct 2026)