ABOUT THE AIAS

The AIAS is an independent, non-profit and student-run organization that is more than just a club. This grassroots association is a cooperative between thousands of students (of all ages and academic degrees) committed to helping each other. It provides a sense of community and a forum to share differing views. The AIAS is also a professional organization that is the official voice of architecture students.

The mission of the AIAS is:

To promote excellence in architecture education, training and practice. We celebrate our membership in several ways. Members of the AIAS have the opportunity to have their work published in Crit, Journal of the AIAS the only international journal devoted to the work and critical thoughts of architecture students.

To foster an appreciation of architecture and related disciplines. We host an annual convention, FORUM, which provides students with the opportunity to learn about the issues facing architectural education and the profession, to meet students and professionals with common interests, and to interact with some of today’s leading architects and designers.

To enrich communities in a spirit of collaboration. Through the Freedom by Design™ program, we are organizing our members to be good citizens in their communities.

To organize students and combine their efforts to advance the art and science of architecture. We serve as the sole student voice in the decision making process of such organizations as The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), and National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

Read the history of the AIAS.

National Conferences & Events

The AIAS offers several conferences each year. They include the annual FORUM, the Grassroots Leadership Conference and the Quad Conferences.

Membership Specialization Areas

You can enhance your membership by subscribing to additional services based on your specific interests. Topics include Sustainability and Urban Design and Planning. This year the topics include Sustainability and Urban Design and Planning. Through our partnerships with organizations like the Congress for New Urbanism, Urban Land Institute and others, you will receive access to extra resources to increase your knowledge in these subject areas.

AIAS NATIONAL POLICIES

AIAS NVCC CHAPTER BYLAWS

About the AIAS National Organization and why you should Join the AIAS:

The AIAS is not only a voice for students. Our vast collection of resources and activities is designed for you and to help you save money, save time and assist with your educational and professional pursuits–and your life. The AIAS also helps ensure your success upon completing your education through the connections you will make with educators, architects, designers and other professionals./membership benefits

Why A National AIAS?

Why "national"? Because there is a need for a sense of belonging that must be fulfilled. There is a need for achieving goals that can only be accomplished by the team effort of a group. There is a need for the personal growth that can only occur while working with others. But, most of all, there is a need for belonging to something that transcends the individual.

There are tangible and intangible benefits to membership in any organization. The combined voices of approximately 6,000 architecture and design students have and can make a difference in architectural education, internship practices and processes, and the future of your chosen profession.

The national (AIAS is truly "international") organization-which is the compilation of all of the members-is the voice that facilitates change. The AIAS paved the way for a paradigm shift in the way interns are treated. The AIAS is also leading the effort to update the culture and practices of the studios in architecture schools and how the licensure exam is made available, among other things.

The membership's representatives on the elected Board of Directors approve a budget that allocates dues income (and other revenue) to programs that directly benefits the student members. The direct member benefits that the AIAS provides include:

Crit, the Journal of the AIAS, the highly-respected, award-winning and student-edited journal

AIASinfo, the bi-monthly email newsletter

FORUM, the annual convention

Grassroots, the chapter leadership conference

Access to discounts on necessary educational tools

Access to other discounts for things that support professional development (like the online Emerging Professional's Companion)

For more tangible benefits please visit membership benefits section.

To get the most out of your membership you must get involved and make changes. As a combined group, change can be affected on a national level. You may not see any monetary return on the $45 paid each ear year to the AIAS, but it does benefit you and other students across the country in that it helps to remind those who are teaching, those who will see to licensing, and those who will be hiring you that you are here and your concerns over the profession are important and should not be brushed aside.

Perhaps you can see a monetary return on your dues dollars. If you add up all of the real costs of providing the member benefits, the AIAS should be charging more than $100/member. But through extensive fund raising efforts and support from the other organizations, the AIAS remains an affordable opportunity for all students.

Every student (and maybe you?) can spend hundreds of dollars on coffee, sodas, snacks and entertainment each school year. In comparison, the AIAS costs less than $50 each year. If you add it all up, what you spend on the AIAS over the course of your academic career is a minor investment in your future. Consider that membership to be money well spent!

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS

NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: AIASNOVA@AIM.COM