Hello Aryan,

Thank you for reaching out about your eligibility situation.

The only reason why we have the 18 months rule is because in some countries the architecture studies are divided in an undergraduate program + master, which is not optional. You don’t become an architect until you complete that masters, and so you are basically working towards becoming an architect even though you are technically enrolled in a masters. Some countries have a 5 year undergraduate program, others have a 4 year undergraduate program + 1 year masters. That is why we allow masters students to participate, and the 18 months rule guarantees that if Norman Fosters decides to go back to school and enrolls in a masters program, he wont be eligible to participate (That probably won’t happen, it’s an extreme example, but it proofs the need for that rule).

The education systems around the world are very different and it’s hard to consider all the possible combinations. We know our eligibility criteria is not perfect, but our goal is to make the competition fair for students, including those in first and second year of university.

In the future we might consider a separate category for young graduates, but as of now our competitions are specially tailored toward students.

Really sorry! Good luck!