Designing the competency model for architects based on the experts' point of view: A qualitative study

the current research has been conducted with the aim of explaining the competency model of architecture graduates using a qualitative method based on the grounded theory approach, in three stages of open, central and selective coding.The statistical population of this research was made up of 21 university professors and prominent architectural experts in the private and government sectors by purposeful and snowball sampling.  According to the findings, the number of 130 conceptual codes and 40 sub-categories in the form of 6 main categories in the paradigm model including the cultivation of capable and competent architects as the central category, causal conditions (design and idea generation skills, specialized knowledge and awareness, research, coaching and development of others, Administrative skills, entrepreneurial skills, communication-social skills, business and leadership skills, mental ability, architectural professional ethics and personal skills), contextual factors (resources and facilities, motivational models and academic training), intervening conditions (process and type of training, interactions and communication patterns, structural facilities and equipment, legal and support infrastructure), strategies (model education and learning, creating wide communication networks, culture building and social needs assessment), consequences (professional response, educational response, individual response) have been placed. The dimensions, components and indicators calculated from the current research can be used as a framework to make changes in the educational programs of architects and guide the architectural education system in order to improve the professional capabilities of architecture graduates. It can also be used as a reliable framework for evaluating and recruiting architects in the professional world.