The School’s unpaid externship program offers undergraduate and graduate architecture and urban planning students exposure to a variety of professional experiences. Participating students spend one week in an office or related professional organization. Depending upon the individual’s level of experience and the firm needs, an extern’s duties can include:

  • Job shadowing
  • Conducting research
  • Building physical models
  • Helping prepare competition boards
  • Design charrette
  • Preparing maps or renderings
  • Observing city planning or client meetings
  • Attending site visits

Externships provide basic insight into practice and networking. Sponsoring firms benefit from the introduction to capable and motivated students and the skills and fresh ideas they bring. Many sponsors view the extern experience as a mentoring opportunity.

Students can extern during winter break (winterim), spring break or both.

Each year close to 100 students are placed in externships regionally in Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, nationally in cities like Houston, New York and Los Angeles and internationally in Tokyo. More students are choosing to extern with multiple firms during break. Having multiple mini-experiences exposes students to a wide variety of firms and aggregates into a broad understanding about professional practice.

To participate as a student please click here and fill in the information.

To participate as a sponsoring firm in the externship program please click here and fill in the information

2022 EXTERNSHIP HOST FIRMS:

AG Architecture
Barrientos Design & Consulting, Inc.
Berners Schober Assoc Inc
Break Form Design
Brininstool+Lynch
Building Service Inc
BWBR
Cadence Consulting
Christopher Kidd and Associates, LLC
Continuum Architects and Planners
Dan Beyer Architects
Deborah Berke Partners
Deep River Partners
Design Fugitives
Dimension IV Madison LLC
Engberg Anderson Architects
EUA (Eppstein Uhen Architects, Inc.)
FGM Architects
Foundation Architects, LLC
Galbraith Carnahan Architects
GGA
Goettsch Partners
GREC Architects
GROTH Design Group
HDR Inc.
HGA
HNTB Corporation
Holabird & Root
Iconica
ISG
JGMA
Johnsen Schmaling
Kahler Slater Architects
Korb & Associates
Lakeside Development Company
Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Leese & Associates
Mortenson
MSA Professional Services, Inc.
MSI
Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation
Potter Lawson, Inc.
Quorum Architects, Inc.
Ramlow Stein
Saavedra Group Architects
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Studio Gang
TKWA
Tredo Group Architecture
Valerio DewaltTrain
Vetter Architects
Workshop Architects
Zimmerman Architectural Studios

Previous Externship Host Firms:

Milwaukee
AG Architecture
Boer Architecture
Bruns Architecture
Chris Kidd Architects
City of Milwaukee ECO: HOME GR/OWN
Continuum
Dan Beyer Architects
DCD Planning Division
Engberg Anderson
Eppstein Uhen
Foundation Architecture
Galbraith Carnahan Architects LLC
Graef
Groth Design
HGA
Jarosz/Lynch
Johnsen Schmaling
Kahler Slater
Korb and Associates
Kubala Washatko
Marek Landscaping
Mortenson
MSI General
NIDC part of DCD
Outside Architects
PRA
Quorum
Ramsey/Jones
Rinka Chung
SA Studio
Solid State
Tredo Group
Uihlein Wilson
UWM – Facilities Services Department
Vetter Denk
Wade Weissmann Architecture
Workshop Architects
Zimmerman

Regional
Somerville Architects | Engineers
Legacy Architecture, Inc.
Hoffman

Madison
Flad
OPN
Dimension IV Madison Design Group
S.E.H.
Potter Lawson

Chicago
Brininstool & Lynch
Cannon
Fitzgerald Associates
Gensler
Goettsch Partners, Inc.
HBRA
Holabird + Root
JGMA
Krueck & Sexton
Perkins + Will
Ronan Associates
SGA Design
Site Design Group
Skidmore Owings & Merrill
Smith Gill
Valerio Dewalt
Vinci-Hamp

National
Break Form Design
Digsau
Glavovic
in situ studio
HGA Rochester
Meeks + Partners
Miro Rivera
NADAAA
Straka Johnson Architects
TenxTen Studio
WXY Studio

International
Sou Fujimoto Architects