How I'd Get an Architecture Internship If I Had to Start Over
What I'd do differently knowing what I know now
If I were a second-year architecture student today, trying to land my first internship with nothing on my resume, I wouldn't do what most students do.
I wouldn't spend hours crafting the perfect application to Bjarke Ingels Group. I wouldn't blast my portfolio to every firm on the first three pages of Archinews. I wouldn't sit around waiting for someone to post an "Architecture Intern Wanted" listing and compete with 500 other applicants for the same spot.
I'd do something different. Something most students don't think of—because nobody tells them to.
Here's what actually works when you have no experience. Not theory. What I've seen from the other side of the hiring table.
The Applications You're Sending Aren't Working
Let me describe what's probably happening right now:
You're applying to firms you've heard of. The ones with beautiful websites and Instagram feeds full of renders. The ones your professors mentioned in lectures. Maybe a starchitect or two, just to see what happens.
You're sending a generic cover letter with your school's name swapped in, attaching a portfolio you're not sure about, and hoping someone notices.
Then you wait. And wait. And hear nothing.
Here's what's happening on the other end: those firms get hundreds of applications. Literally hundreds. For one or two intern spots. Your email lands in an inbox that's already overflowing, gets skimmed for five seconds, and disappears into the void.
It's not that you're unqualified. It's that you're invisible. You're doing exactly what everyone else is doing, which means you're competing in a lottery instead of playing a different game.
Where I'd Actually Look
If I were starting over, I'd spend maybe 20% of my energy on the famous firms and 80% on opportunities most students ignore.
Small local firms.
The 5-15 person offices that don't have HR departments or formal internship programs. The ones doing solid work in your city that you've never heard of because they're not on Instagram.
These firms often need help but don't have time to post listings and review hundreds of applications. A single well-written email to the right person can land you a conversation. And because almost nobody applies this way, you're not competing with anyone.
Find them by looking at building permits, local AIA chapters, or just walking around your city and noticing who designed the interesting buildings. Then send a short, specific email. More on that in a minute.
Adjacent industries.
Construction companies. Fabrication shops. Real estate developers. Landscape architecture firms. Exhibit designers.
These places value people who think spatially, read drawings, and understand design intent. The experience you gain makes you more interesting when you apply to traditional firms later—because you'll understand how buildings actually get built, or how projects get financed, or how designs get fabricated. That's perspective most architecture students don't have.
I've seen students do summers at construction companies and come back understanding more about detailing and coordination than their classmates learn in two years of studio.
Your professors' networks.
That studio critic you're intimidated by? They know people. Lots of people. They've practiced for years, they have friends at firms, they get asked for recommendations constantly.
Most students never ask. They assume professors are too busy or too important. Meanwhile, the few students who do ask get connected to opportunities that were never posted anywhere.
The worst they can say is no. And usually they say yes—or at least "let me think about who might be looking."
What I Actually Looked At When Reviewing Intern Applications
I've reviewed a lot of intern portfolios. Here's the truth: I barely looked at resumes. I looked at portfolios. Then I looked at portfolios again. Then maybe I glanced at the resume to remember the person's name.
When you have no work experience, your resume is almost irrelevant. Your portfolio is everything.
But here's what I was actually scanning for—and it's probably not what you think.
Diagrams.
I wanted to see if you can articulate ideas clearly. Can you distill a complex design into a simple, legible diagram? Do you understand hierarchy—what's important and what's secondary? Can you communicate the core principle of a project in one image?
Diagrams tell me how you think. A student who can produce a clear, well-organized diagram understands their own project. A student whose diagrams are muddy or confusing probably doesn't—or can't communicate it if they do.
Mistakes.
I'm scanning for errors. Alignment issues, inconsistent lineweights, sloppy dimensions, things that don't quite match up. Not because I expect perfection—you're a student—but because mistakes tell me whether you're detail-oriented.
If your portfolio is full of small errors, I assume your drawings will be too. If your portfolio is clean and precise, I assume you'll bring that same care to our work.
That's mostly it. I'm not looking for range—you're a first or second-year student, I don't expect you to have breadth yet. I'm not looking for process documentation. I'm looking at diagrams and I'm looking for mistakes. Can you think clearly, and do you care about the details?
Editing discipline.
The one other thing: don't send me fifty pages. A bloated portfolio full of every studio project you've ever done tells me you don't know how to edit. Curate. Show me your five to eight strongest pages. Leave me wanting more, not exhausted.
The "Wrong" Internship Might Be the Right One
Here's something nobody tells you in school: the internship you end up with might not be the one you planned for. And that might be the best thing that happens to you.
You might apply to twenty design-forward studios and hear nothing, then send one email to a small firm doing suburban medical buildings and end up learning more about how projects actually work than you would have at the trendy office.
You might take a job at a construction company because it's the only offer you got, and discover you love the building side more than the design side. You might spend a summer doing CAD redlines and learn more about coordination than any studio ever taught you.
The goal isn't the perfect internship. The goal is any internship that teaches you something.
Because here's the math: once you have one internship on your resume, the next application gets easier. You're no longer the person with no experience—you're the person who's worked in an office, understands professional standards, and can point to real projects. The "no experience" problem solves itself, but only after you get the first one.
So stop holding out for the dream firm. Take the opportunity that's actually available. Learn everything you can from it. Then use that experience to level up next time.
What I'd Do This Week
If I were starting over, here's exactly what I'd do in the next seven days:
Make a list of five firms. Take a look at these five firms and see what is similar among them. Supposedly, your portfolio shares similar interests.
Find the right contact at each. Not "info@firm.com." An actual person—a principal at small firms, a design director or HR contact at larger ones. LinkedIn is your friend here.
Tighten your portfolio to eight pages. Cut everything that isn't strong. Better to show 3-4 good projects than eight mediocre ones.
Send 5 emails this week. Not next month. Not after studio calms down. This week. The firms that hire for summer are already thinking about it, and the students who reach out early get remembered. Connect with the person you emailed and send them a shortened message on LinkedIn.
Repeat
Here’s an email template for reference:
Subject: Internship Inquiry – [Your Name] – [School Name]
Hi [Name],
I'm a [year] student at [school] and have been following [firm name]'s work. I especially loved [specific project] and would love to learn from the team that made this happen.
I'm looking for a summer internship and would love the chance to contribute to your team. I'm reliable, eager to learn.
My portfolio is attached. If you have a few minutes to look it over, I'd be grateful.
Thanks for the work you do.
[Your Name] < make sure your portfolio is under 5mb if sent as attachment.
Then follow up in two weeks on anyone who didn't respond. People are busy. Emails get buried. If you haven't heard back in a week or two, a short follow-up is not annoying—it shows you actually care.
Something like: "Hi [Name], just circling back in case this got buried. Totally understand if you're swamped, but wanted to reiterate my interest. Thanks for your time."
Short. Polite. No guilt-tripping. It works more often than you'd think.
It's terrifying. It's also exactly what everyone who has an internship right now did at some point. They sent an email they weren't sure about to a firm they weren't sure wanted them, and someone said yes.
Not sure if your portfolio is internship-ready? Want a second opinion before you start sending it out? Book a 15-minute portfolio check—one quick conversation can save you weeks of applications that don't land.
