Internships in the Department of Architecture are conducted in accordance with the Department’s specific Internship Implementation Guidelines, which have been drawn up in line with the ISTÜN Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Internship and Practical Training Guidelines. The aim of the placement is to enable students to consolidate the theoretical knowledge and practical skills they have acquired during their university education by actively participating in design, research, construction and production processes at organisations operating in relevant fields, such as architectural practice offices and construction sites. The work and workplace experience, as well as the teamwork skills gained during the placement, are regarded as an important complement to the educational process. The responsibility for securing a placement lies with the student; it is mandatory that the organisation where the placement is to take place employs a qualified professional, such as an architect or a civil engineer.
Students on the Architecture Programme may commence their placements from the end of the fourth semester of their undergraduate studies. Whether a student completes their office placement or their site placement first is determined in accordance with the written or verbal approval of the Department Placement Co-ordinator. The suitability of the organisation where the placement is to be carried out must be approved by the Department Placement Co-ordinator before the placement begins. If the organisation where the placement is to take place is located outside the student’s residential address, a digitally signed (scanned) version of the Placement Application Form, approved by the organisation, will be provisionally accepted provided that the original, wet-signed form is submitted to the Department Placement Co-ordinator by the start of the placement. The academic calendar published by the Faculty should be used as a reference for the definitive application and submission deadlines for each term.
Architecture Department students are required to complete a total of 75 working days of compulsory work placement during their undergraduate studies, comprising 30 working days in an office and 45 working days on a construction site. The work placement application process follows the steps set out by the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences:
During the placement, the student is subject to the rules set out in the Faculty Placement and Practical Training Guidelines; it is mandatory for the organisation where the placement takes place to have a member of staff who is an architect or holds an equivalent qualification (civil engineer).
Throughout the placement, the student records their work in the Placement Logbook; each page of the logbook must be initialled by the responsible expert (architect/civil engineer) at the host organisation. Drawings, measurements and notes must be submitted in A4 format, folded to fit onto A3 paper where necessary. Upon completion of the placement, the student must submit the Placement Logbook, the Placement Organisation Evaluation Questionnaire, the Placement Evaluation Form and the Organisation’s Placement Student Evaluation Form (submitted in a sealed envelope) to the Department Placement Coordinator by the specified deadlines. Following the Departmental Internship Co-ordinator’s assessment, a decision on whether to accept or reject the internship is made with the approval of the Faculty Internship Co-ordinator.