So as a recent grad, i'm making the shift from summer student to a full-fledged intern. With this, I now get my own business card from the office, which in my youth, I'm probably more excited about this than I should be.

So what is the norm in architecture for the post nominal letters? In other industries, I've seen ppl list everything they can after their name. Can I list my Bachelors degree and the masters degree? or just the masters? Or is it enough to have the intern title alongside the local association?

If it makes a difference, I'm in Canada.

This is actually a great question, and not just for Canadians.

The answer has to do with how you'd like to come across, and to whom. Are you trying to impress your youthful cohort, many of whom don't have a master's degree? Or are you aiming to wow a more experienced audience of potential employers and future in-laws? The former will be dazzled by a long string of meaningless letters. The latter will see through that ploy as shallow and desperate.

If you have a master's degree, cite that but not the bachelor's. Cite your job title. And leave it at that.

In my opinion, it's better to have nothing after your name than a string of acronyms few are familiar with. Go for substance, not flash.

are you asking whether or not to put your degree on your business card? if so, never seen it.

the term: 'post nominal letters' is new to me. i presume you mean letters after your name on your card, but you may also be referring to your title.

my confusion being apparent, i'll just post what my business card says and hope this helps:

j, aia
architect

I just got my first business card over the summer, and was also quite excited. Mine has no letters after my name, and neither do those of anyone else in the office, including the principal. It's very clean, and I like it. Some of my friends have tons of letters: Assoc. AIA, LEED-AP, whatever after their names and I think it looks cluttered and silly. I'd rather come across as clean, organized and with a well-designed card than a slew of letters. We're designers, not lawyers or accountants and I think the design speaks the most on our business cards.

I worked for a guy one time who had only his name and a graphic of the globe on it. If you wanted to contact him, you did the work to figure out how. If you were important - he contacted you. It was a powerful message.

Gee, as proud as I am of my hard-earned masters', I would not consider it a credential worthy of my business card. Perhaps you could frame and hang your diploma in your work space.

I would not put education on a business card, only credentials.

I am now working in Trinidad & it seems that if you have gotten any kind of post-High School coursework, it is acceptable to tag it after your name.
Bachelor's Degrees & the local 'MBA' are the most laughable, but heyll, I've seen Associate Degrees listed after names. This place (& the Caribbean, in general) is just plain Silly. i guess that's no surprise, though.

gawd-

I like that idea. I think it could work very well for someone that 'googles' well especially.

ive only ever seen RA or AIA /FAIA after a name on a business card. its not a resume.


also consider this:

crgixxer
architect

crgixxer
architects

Sort of unrelated, but I find this concept fascinating...

That he uses a 3 instead of III?

I know someone who got a stack of business cards for free from his printer... they read:

big phone number

name
vagina destroyer

yes... it reminds me of the dana carvey bit about when sting first changed his name to sting, and the balls it must of taken for him try to get his friends to start calling him that. I wonder if it's something his parents forced upon him or if it's something he switched to at some point in his life. If he switched... when? Was it before or after architecture school? My guess is it probably started with the issue crgixxer brings up now-the business card.

in terms of business cards, it's appropriate to list professional credentials like AIA, LEED-AP, etc. This can get cluttered graphically if you aren't careful. I keep in subtle in the cards for my private practice, but I want potential clients to be aware of my credentials.

for an email signature, I'd go with what is typical at your office...some offices really market the number of LEED-AP's or registered architects they have. Don't put your MArch or (worse) bachelor's on an email sig...looks pretentious. There was a guy in my old office that had both architectural and engineering degrees/certifications, and he had like two lines of acronyms after his name in the email sig. So we would leave him voicemails and sign off with a 30-second rattle of other acronyms that we made up.

Otherwise, if there is some other need to use the post nominal letters (new term to me too), you need only list your terminal degree. It is understood that if you have a masters that you had education prior to that degree.