American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
The AICP-certified planners become the members of APA’s professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners. These members are known for presenting commitment with high standards of professional practice and proficiency of theories and tools of planning. Achieving this certificate is thus much more than just earning a credential. The successful achievement of the AICP Certification will play an Ace move and make candidates’ colleagues/ employers know that the candidates’ have the academic qualifications, relevant work experience, and domination of essential skills required to effectively work as an expert.
Targeted Audience
The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification is primarily for the candidates who are interested, curious, and want to enter into the field of planning and those who are a member of APA are suggested to give this exam.
Recommended Knowledge and Prerequisites
Necessary prerequisites for the AICP examination are –
- Be a current member of the American Planning Association (APA)
- Candidates must be engaged in professional planning; either currently or in the past
- Candidates must have completed one of the combinations of education with corresponding years of experience at the time of application submission.
Type of Education and its corresponding planning experience are as follow as:
- Graduate degree in Planning from a program accredited by the PAB- 2 years.
- Bachelor’s degree in Planning from a program accredited by the PAB- 3 years
- Graduate degree in Planning from a program not accredited by the PAB- 3 years
- Any other post-graduate, graduate, or undergraduate degree – 4 years
- No college degree – 8 years
What is counted as an experience?
Scilicet, Internships, part-time positions and volunteer work are considered favorable for a candidate’s professional experience.
Exam Details
| Exam Name American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) | Exam Fee $425 |
| Exam Duration 210 mins | Exam Format Multiple Choice |
| Passing Score A Score of 55 | Number of Questions 170 Questions |
For More Details visit – American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) FAQ
Course Outline
The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification exam covers the following domains –
Fundamental Knowledge of Planning (25%)
- The history, influence and movements of planning
- Theories regarding planning
- The foundational legal principles and decisions involved in planning
Plan Implementation and Making (30%)
- Acquiring knowledge and performing research
- Analyzing spaces
- Engaging the public
Practice Areas (30%)
- Neighbourhood and community planning
- Planning for sustainability
- Planning for transportation
Management, Administration and Leadership (5%)
- External relationship management
- Management of internal organizations
- Applications related to technology
The ACIP Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics (10%)
- Aspirational principles
- Rules of conduct
- Procedural provisions
Preparation Guide for American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Exam
Preparation is the most important thing when it comes to exams. Preparing well is the ultimate skill that every examinee must possess. It establishes the essence and hints of confidence, pattern, and speed that are adequate and beneficial for the exam. Thus, for overall effective preparation, the following are the resources that will assist every aspirant.
Exam Objectives
Candidates must review the exam content outline and prepare their own time table and schedule for better results. Create slots for every chapter and topic that needs more attention than the other. Also, it’s crucially important to understand the scope of the exam and make an early enthusiastic resolution to cover the areas on which candidates should put in extra efforts. Also, candidates must not forget to consider the percentages indicated for the major exam topic areas and the total number of questions addressing that topic in the exam in the question pot. Candidates must balance those areas well and prepare for the exam.
Learning Resource 1 – The Official website
The Official APA website has its own series and library of content for its aspirants to study peacefully and effectively. It has a series of online videos, chapter wise presentations, CM events, exam review sessions, etc. Candidates are suggested to download all the Pdfs and visit all the links provided by the website and inculcate all the content in their study sessions for better results. Also, don’t forget to download the exam outline provided by them.
Learning Resource 2 – Chapter-wise Professional Interpretation and explanation by APA
Basically, these resources are the presentation slides, CM events, exam review sessions etc. made by professional professors that are directly taken from their classrooms. These are a few resources available from APA chapters provided by APA for examinees:
- Planning magazine.
- PAS Reports.
- Selected Resources: AICP Certification Exam.
- APA Policy Guides.
- AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
- National Planning Pioneers.
- Planning and Law Division.
- Foundational Land Use Law Cases.
- Chapter Presidents Council Exam.
Learning Resource 3 – Official Online Videos
The Exam preparation sessions offered by PDOs or the important chapters are a productive juncture for studying to begin from. This resource is available at the official website and candidates can cross-check and choose the ones they want to particularly study or train themselves by watching the entire series. These videos deliver details on the application process, exam content, and testing tips. The APA community has created these series of videos for their aspirants, the videos are taken from the Exam Prep workshop at NPC19; a two-hour workshop that is available in six parts for the candidates. They are precisely divided into parts for clarity and better interpretation.
Learning Resource 4 – Online Forum
Reliable content is everything during the preparations. Studying from a good resource is always worth it. Rich resources lead to rich learning. An online forum is basically a library of resources and notes. It’s that one single destination for practice tests, content, notes, extra papers, etc.
Practice Tests
Practicing is one of the steps that many aspirants feel lazy to complete. The practice phase plays a very meaningful role here. As mentioned above, online forums can also help aspirants to get access to many practice tests, in fact, many different types. So it’s suggested for candidates to practice as much as they can for favorable results.
