Association of Licensed Architects
The Next Generation of Design

Student Merit Awards

ALA invites you to showcase your architectural talent. The program recognizes strong student work in a format that is clear, simple, and approachable: we want to see your capability, your vision, and your execution, presented directly to the professional community.

Awards and recognition

Selected students receive direct scholarship funding, and every submitting student automatically receives a complimentary Student Membership with immediate access to resources and professional connections.

Gold Award

$1,000

Silver Award

$750

Bronze Award

$500

Submission parameters

What to submit

Your single best design to date: an outstanding studio project, a personal design concept, or independent work. The one piece that truly represents your current skill and architectural thinking. Individual and group projects are equally welcome.

Strict blind judging

The Board of Directors judges every entry blind. Be absolutely certain your visuals include no name, no academic institution, and no identifying markers of any kind.

Technical requirements

A five-hundred-word brief explaining the design, plus up to four single-page visual files: drawings, renderings, diagrams, or site photography. Standard digital image files and PDFs only.

2026 Cycle

Submissions opened April 1 and closed May 22

The 2026 application window is currently closed and judging is underway. Watch this page for the inaugural new-format results and the 2027 cycle dates.

2025 award recipients

These students represent the future of architecture through thoughtful concepts, strong presentation, and creative problem solving.

Gold

Jilliana Pilutti

Illinois Institute of Technology · Botenica Hall

Silver

Nishtha Mehta, Rob Lashley, Alejandra Gonzalez

Illinois Institute of Technology · Enlighten

Bronze

Sydnie Wolf

Judson University · The Cove

2024 award recipients

Eduardo Hidalgo and John Kent, Bowling Green State University · Nathanael Newman and Thomas Hermes Escamilla, California Baptist University · Nahshon White and Luiza Heleno, Florida International University · Madison Kendall Psinas and Jerez B. Rinehart, Judson University · Marisa Sandoval and Will Monroe, Miami University · Barbara Bende and Finn Larson, Andrews University · Jillian Kirchner, Drury University · Shir Gross, Harold Washington College

Historical archives of recipients from 1998 through 2020 are available from the ALA office.

Build Your Network

Students are the future of the built environment.

Join the association to access critical resources, mentorship, and the tools to accelerate your path to licensure. Student membership is free.

Join as a Student