Eligibility requirements for entry to the B.Arch. course are standard for all approved institutions. These are a minimum of 60 per cent marks in aggregate in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (10+2) pattern or equivalent, with mathematics and English as subjects of examination. Most institutes also require the candidate to have studied science. 

For SC/ST (Scheduled Castes and Tribes) candidates the minimum aggregate required is 55 percent. 

To qualify for admission candidates must also pass an entry test that examines abilities of comprehension, I.Q., sketching proficiency and imagination.

TRAINING

At present, forty-three national institutions impart architectural training at an undergraduate level. Post-graduate studies can be pursued at four of these institutions. There are also eight schools of planning in the country. 

At the end of undergraduate training, students are awarded a degree of Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch.) or a diploma in Architecture depending on the institution they join. For practical purposes there is no difference between the two qualifications. 

Post-graduate awards are: a Master's of Architecture (M.Arch.), P.G. diploma and Ph.D. 
Graduates with any of these qualifications from an institution that is approved by the All India Council for Technical Education, and professionals who are members of the Indian Institute of Architects may register with the Council of Architects for entitlement of practice. The architecture course is conducted at two levels-full-time or part-time. 

The full-time degree or diploma course takes a minimum of five years to complete. The duration of the part-time diploma course is seven years. The full-time degree course is divided into ten semesters of approximately sixteen weeks each. This includes a period of practical training of six months or one semester in an approved professional office or project site. 

All approved institutions comply with Council of Architecture educational guidelines. Basic course work, therefore, is much the same at any institution, with some variations in the electives offered. These are set in accordance with the infrastructure and teaching facilities available.

Studies focus on three major areas:

1. The development of awareness of the broad technical, cultural and environmental factors, which determine the limits of the architectural problem.

2. Comprehension and anticipation of the institutional forces, which define the ground on which habitat related decisions are framed.

3. The capacity to reconcile the aesthetic, scientific and technical criteria required for the design and management of human habitats.

Architectural education is an extension of the apprentice model. Students receive a major part of their instruction through problem solving in the design studio and workshop within a wider framework of knowledge.