Architecture Internship Programmes

Demonstrate to future employers that you have a diverse skill set and impressive practical experience by interning at one of Cape Town’s leading architectural firms. We facilitate architecture internship opportunities in both commercial and residential projects as well collaborating with firms that focus on sustainable architecture and design.

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Architecture internships - quick video overview
The best Architecture Internship Programmes in Africa?

The best architecture internships in Cape Town?

We think so. We pride ourselves on delivering customised internship placements and on the ground support that offer life-changing, valuable professional experiences.

Cape Town’s architecture reflects South Africa’s varied historical influences and it is an amazing place to gain hands on work experience whilst applying your education based knowledge in a practical way. We facilitate architecture internship opportunities in both commercial and residential projects as well as collaborating with firms that focus on sustainable architecture and design.
Some of the areas an architecture intern could be involved in are: restructuring of existing designs, creating models for new designs, conducting research on existing and potential new sites, technical documentation, tender documentation, service coordination, sourcing products and finishes, collaborating with construction teams, meeting new clients to discuss upcoming projects and liaising with interior designers.

Read on for a full overview of the best architecture internships in Africa.

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KEY INSIGHT

Architecture Internship Programme Overview

Here's what you can expect from the programme in a nutshell!

Architecture Internship Key Skills:

  • Creativity
  • Analytical
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Attention to detail
  • Communication
  • Interpersonal
  • Design
  • Drawing/sketching
  • IT and technical
  • Social and cultural awareness
  • Business and engineering aptitude

Academic & Career Benefits

  • Apply knowledge and professional experience to your university projects.
  • Gain an understanding of the scope of work needed in a professional architecture setting.
  • Gain confidence in your design and technical abilities.
  • Develop your skills using software like Revit and Autocad.
  • Benefit from professional mentorship and an increased network of contacts.
  • Demonstrate to future employers that you have a diverse skill set and practical experience.

Ideal Internship Applicant

  • Some experience studying architecture or design.
  • Good written and verbal communication skills.
  • Some experience using software like Revit and Autocad.
  • A small portfolio of previous architecture or design work.

Programme highlights:

  • Gain practical and professional work experience.
  • Stand out from the crowd in future job applications.
  • Have the chance to work in some of the leading architectural firms in South Africa.
  • Experience life in a dynamic and beautiful city.
  • Enjoy a fully customized adventure of a life time!

Minimum Requirements

  • Minimum age: 18
  • Completed (or will have completed) A2-Levels or equivalent
  • Minimum of 4 weeks duration, no maximum
  • Not a resident of South Africa
  • Currently studying or been accepted to study architecture or design.

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KEY INSIGHT

Skills you'll hone through your Architecture internship

Of course, the list is much longer - but these are the skills our intern alumni reported back that they grew in the most!

Creative thinking
Communication
Problem Solving
Attention to detail
Design/Drawing
Cultural awareness
Engineering aptitude
IT and technical skills

Ready?

Turbo charge your career in Architecture

What are you waiting for - get started now!

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KEY INSIGHT

Architecture internship programme reviews & ratings

We managed to grab some detailed interviews from previous interns on this programme, you can click on them below.

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What separates Bridging Gaps from every other company is there love for what they do and the city that they live in. They truly care for each of their interns and provide tremendous help and support through the entire duration of the internship.
Leah MacAulay
Undergraduate
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KEY INSIGHT

A hypothetical Architecture Internship Programme

What might your programme in this career field look like? Here's how it has typically shaped up for our alumni!

Week One

Arrival & orientation. Introduction to Cape Town, your accommodation and your internship host organisation and colleagues.

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Internship Programmes South Africa - Hypothetical week 1
Internship Programmes South Africa - Hypothetical week 2
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Week Two

Get stuck into your Architecture internship placement and establish yourself with your organisation. Come to our free social events.

Week Three

Enjoy a great work-life balance, getting out and about to see the sites alongside working hard on your internship.

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Internship Programmes South Africa - Hypothetical week 3
Internship Programmes South Africa - Hypothetical week 4
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Week Four

Pick up more responsibility in your internship as you prove your capability. Enjoy regular activities in Cape Town outside of work. Come to another social!

Week Five

Now you're flying (metaphorically) at work, you'll be more and more autonomous. Expect to pick up even more challenges!

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Week Six

Internship is going swimmingly, now go and do something crazy like swimming with some great white sharks or abseiling off of a mountain.

Week Seven

Regularly enjoy the benefits of Cape Town and at work, gather materials needed for portfolio (e.g. references from us and provider).

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Week Eight

Putting the finishing touches to your internship and gathering feedback from us and your internship provider for use in your academic / career portfolio. Finalise paperwork for university (if needed)

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Download and read a free guide.

13 Essential Insights for a Fulfilling and Safe Internship in Cape Town

TAKE ME TO THE GUIDE
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KEY INSIGHT

Architecture internship programme features

What makes our internship programmes a worthwhile investment? Here's a swift overview of what you can expect!

Choice of two programmes

We have two primary programmes to suit your needs. In some instances we also offer virtual placements.

Unlimited duration as standard

You can come for as long as you need without paying any extra fees.You'll receive the same level of support.

Backed by concrete promises

We are 100% on your side. We guarantee every aspect of your trip with unrivalled promises.

Career
Focus

Need to focus on a precise niche or two? No problem! Your programme can focus on your specialist areas.

Immersive cultural experience

We'll help you engage with the culture and personal benefits of being in a foreign country.

Virtual placements

Save on travel and accommodation costs, pay a far lower fee. All while building your professional network.

Academia friendly

We will handle all aspects of academic accreditation, including direct liaison with your tutors and academic staff.

Future career friendly

We will write full reference letters for your placement(s) to optimise future employers' first impression of you.

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Current Architecture Job Openings

Here are some current or recent internship job opportunities in this career area. We do not publish all openings - so please contact us to hear about others.

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Explore your custom Architecture programme now

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KEY INSIGHT

A straightforward process

We have worked very hard to streamline our process to make your experience easy, fun and highly rewarding personally and professionally. Flick through the steps below, or read about our process in more detail.

Introduce yourself to our friendly team

Getting your dream internship all starts with you saying hello! Just pop your details into our enquiry form and we'll reach out to schedule a conversation with you that we call a 'discovery call'.

Ask questions & learn how we can help

In your discovery call, you can ask us any questions you still have. We'll talk about your options in the career fields you've told us you're interested in to help you imagine your placement and decide if our service is right for you.

Complete your programme application

If everything sounds good to you, complete your application to put into words your dream programme. This forms the basis of the 'design' of your customised placement and will be the primary framework against which we validate potentially suitable opportunities.

We'll source you the best opportunities

We maintain a large and varied network of the best organisations in Cape Town. We will identify the best potential fits for your programme goals and preferences and reach out on your behalf to assess those organisations for suitability (learn about their current projects and initiatives).

Prepare and plan for your experience

Once you've confirmed which placement offer you prefer, we'll start helping you plan the rest of your trip. We'll book your accommodation, help with your travel arrangements and provide extensive advice and information on how to get ready for your time in Cape Town. Your Bridging Gaps mentor will be on hand to make sure you're fully prepared for your placement.

Maximise your experience & learning

Finally, every member of our team will move mountains to make sure you get what you came for and MORE! It's essential to us that you're safe, you're learning and growing in confidence and developing the most important skills for your future career.

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KEY INSIGHT

Architecture internship programme cost

Our programme fees are shown below, for a full description of our service offering please click to view the programme or a side-to-side comparison.

Bootstrap

£
795
one-off, fixed

Bespoke programme

Backed by 4
concrete promises

VIEW BOOTSTRAP

Concierge

£
1195
one-off, fixed

Comprehensive support

Visa & travel assist

Accommodation assistance

Social events & excursions

... and lots more

VIEW CONCIERGE

Virtual

£
395
one-off, fixed

Tailored Search

Ongoing support
& mentoring

VIEW VIRTUAL
Click to see detailed programme feature comparison.
FAQ
Architecture Internship Programmes FAQs

We've answered some specific questions about this internship programme below.

How do I get an architecture internship abroad?

There are many ways to go about getting an architecture internship abroad. The simplest and most popular is to go through an agency that can source the best opportunities for you and assist in the logistics of your internship planning. When choosing a provider it is important to look at their services, their fees affiliated with their programmes, the partners they work with and the success rate and reviews from their previous interns. 


What is the best degree for architecture?

For most countries, the baseline requirement for becoming an architect would be to gain a bachelor's of architecture from an accredited institution. Courses you can expect to be covered include, architectural design, visualisation, history, environmental systems and calculus. 


Can an architect be rich?

Architecture can be a very profitable industry to get involved with. As the qualifications are not easy to obtain, they are in high demand and entry-level jobs are relatively higher paying than other industries.


How much do architect interns make an hour?

Since South African law prohibits any foreign nationals from doing any form of paid work in the country without a valid working visa, all architecture internship opportunities for international visitors are unpaid. Local South African's can get paid for an internship but paid opportunities are difficult to find. A lot of companies offer a small stipend to cover travel and other costs. The wage that architecture interns can expect to earn in other countries very much depends on the location and type of company they work for. Architecture interns will generally be offered a higher wage in places where the cost of living is higher.


Which country is best for an architecture internship?

Every country offers a unique internship experience and will attract people for different reasons. Cape Town was recognized as the World Design Capital in 2014 and the country's rich cultural heritage is showcased in contemporary new developments. The city is home to a wide range of dynamic architecture firms that work on residential, industrial and commercial projects, urban design and sustainable/green projects. Spain is also a popular country for architecture internships with its major cities boasting a mix of state of the art buildings alongside historical buildings which are famous for their incredibly unique design. Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan have also been popular cities in recent years for architecture internships.


What type of work will I be doing during my architecture internship?

Interns can expect to be involved in a variety of projects and tasks during their internship including; liaising with clients at the start of a project, working on design briefs, sketching, office administration, site visits, collaborating with construction teams and engineers, liaising with local authorities, project management and technical documentation.

Do I need architecture experience to do this internship?

Not necessarily, however it is required that you have already embarked on an architecture course, or have been accepted to do so within the next year.  A good understanding of maths, as well as an interest in design and drawing are also beneficial.

Will I be working for a large architecture firm?

The internship organisation you work for depends on your own personal and professional goals, as well as your previous experience.  We base our placement search completely on your interests and goals and then it is at the discretion of the local firms we contact, whether they offer you an internship or not.  We work with a wide range of local architecture firms in Cape Town- some internationally recognised large firms, and some locally focused small firms.

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Architecture Internship Programmes

Hi, we're really sorry but we are no longer offering internship opportunities in this career field. However, we wish you the best with your search.