Challenges of architecture graduates of Urmia universities at the beginning of entering the profession with an emphasis on professional-oriented education

The significant demand of graduates in all educational systems is finding a job matched with the university educational major. Architecture graduates face serious challenges when entering this profession due to increasing demands in recent years. The purpose of this combined research is to diagnose the problems of architectural graduates of Urmia universities at the beginning of entering the profession and provide some solutions for career-focused academic education. In the qualitative step, data analysis is done through interviews with architecture professors and engineers based on the theories collected from reviewed library studies and grounded theory. In the quantitative phase, the descriptive-analytical method is used and data analysis is done through SPSS software. The statistical population comprises 100 BS architecture graduates at Urmia Universities 2016-2018. Purposive sampling is used to find the sample size of graduates. Findings express that the following are the most substantial problems graduates’ experience: different conditions of occupational market and university, low skills of graduates, improper teaching techniques of some professors and using unprofessional educational techniques, emphasis on theoretical teaching instead of workshops, lack of potential for employing graduates in public and private organizations. The mentioned problems can be solved by employing professors with professional experience, cooperating with Engineering Organizations allowing students to attend executive projects and apprenticeships under the supervision of experienced engineers, using hybrid education, and revising the curriculum. The results show that architectural graduates of Urmia universities challenges when entering the profession are rooted in weak educational systems in creating productive architects, so revising the curriculum and closer relationship between industry and education system by holding workshops under the supervision of skilled engineers in the architecture field can be effective.