Our Mission

We’ve got
your back.

PrepARE exists to lower the barriers to becoming an architect—with better preparation, affordable access, and a national community of people helping one another move forward.

Our Story

One Chapter. One big idea.

PrepARE started at AIA East Bay with a simple question:

What if we could make the path to licensure better?

With the support of the AIA East Bay Board , Executive Director Mike Wilson began building a program around four ideas:

Lower
the barriers.

Remove obstacles so more people can start and succeed.

Raise
the quality.

Deliver best-in-class content and expert instruction.

Build a national
support network.

Connect candidates, mentors, firms, and chapters across the country.

Make it affordable
for everyone.

High-quality preparation should be within reach for every candidate.

What began as an initiative of one AIA chapter is becoming something much bigger—a growing community of candidates, architects, mentors, advisors, firms, and AIA chapters helping people become licensed.

What We Believe

This is about more than passing the ARE.

Of course we want you to pass. But we believe the time you spend preparing for the ARE should make you a better architect—not just a better test taker.

Learn Build knowledge that matters.

→

Use It Tomorrow Apply what you learn in your work right away.

→

Carry It Forward Take it with you throughout your career.

That changes how we think about exam preparation. We don’t want candidates memorizing just enough information to get through a test. We want them to understand the material, connect it to practice, and build knowledge they will carry with them long after the ARE is behind them.

Our Instructor

Why we have the best in class content and instruction.

Kevin Griendling, AIA PrepARE Lead Instructor

Kevin has been teaching the ARE for more than 10 years. He is a true expert, and candidates have trusted him for a decade to help them prepare for and pass the ARE.

As a practicing architect and experienced educator, Kevin’s goal isn’t simply to tell candidates what might be on the exam. It’s to help them understand why it matters, how it works, and how it connects to architectural practice.

Practicing architect
and educator.

Understanding,
not memorization.

ARE knowledge
connected to practice.

Everything PrepARE