ARB Circular No.: 26/2021

[Update] Transitional Arrangement for Recognising UK Architectural Educational

Qualifications as Eligibility for Taking Professional Assessment in Hong Kong

1. Graduates who commence an architectural programme in the United Kingdom (UK) in the academic year of 2022/23 would continue to be regarded as having fulfilled the required educational qualifications for taking Professional Assessment in Hong Kong.

2. The Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) and Architects Registration Board (ARB) of the HKSAR are to extend the two-year grace period for an additional ONE year for the transitional arrangement for recognising UK architectural educational qualifications as eligibility for taking HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment.

3. Further to the announcement of the transitional arrangement in July 2020 (please access HKIA web links at bottom for details), HKIA and ARB have been liaising with Architects Registration Board UK (ARB UK) for possible mutual recognition agreement on accepting each other’s accreditation systems. Both sides are optimistic of the progress, but further discussion on details of agreement would be required in the coming months.

4. HKIA and ARB recognise that the registration for UK architectural programmes in the 2022/23 academic year has started. Against the discussion progress mentioned above, to facilitate students and their parents in making informed choices of studies, HKIA and ARB have decided to accept graduates who commence an architectural programme in the UK in the academic year of 2022/23 as having fulfilled the required educational qualifications for HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment, provided that the UK programmes are on the 2019 list of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA)
[i.e. Qualifications in Architecture Recommended for Recognition (by national validation procedures recognised by CAA (https://www.hkia.net/UserFiles/file/eDM/2020/20200817/w3t45ygwT/CAA-list-of-Qualifications-Recommended-for-recognition1-1.pdf) ].

Upon graduation, these architectural graduates would not be required to go through the special individual assessment before they could sit for the HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment.

5. Architectural graduates who commence an architectural programme in the UK in the academic year of 2023/24 or after, will be required to go through the special individual assessment by HKIA, same as other graduates with qualifications not on the list recognised by HKIA/ARB, before they could sit for the HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment.

6. Please refer to the summary table below on the revised transitional arrangement:

7. As the discussion with ARB UK on mutual recognition of each other’s accreditation systems is still in progress, extension of grace period would be reviewed regularly before reaching a firm positive decision.

For enquiries, please send to HKIA Secretariat (Tel: 2511-6323 / Email: hkiasec@hkia.org.hk)

For details of Academic Qualifying Assessment and eligibility for HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment, please refer to the Handbook :
https://www.hkia.net/en/whats-on.html?id=8332

Announcement for HKIA/ARB Transitional Arrangement in July 2020:-
i)     HKIA Circular 32/2020 issued on 22 July 2020

ii)    HKIA supplementary information issued on 27 July 2020