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Lecturer, Architecture

Education

Teach courses in architecture and architectural design, such as architectural environmental design, interior architecture/design, and landscape architecture. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

EducationArchitecture & Built Environment

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA lecture hall

  • Mostly indoors
  • Sitting for most of the day
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • Regular working hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

Architecture schools in Malaysia (public and private) must follow LAM/Council of Architectural Education accreditation, so studio teaching staff with professional practice experience are valued. The university lecturer scheme explicitly accepts an architecture degree plus full LAM registration in place of a Master's.

How people get into it here
SPM → Foundation/Matriculation/STPM → Bachelor's in Architecture (Part I & Part II, LAM-recognised) (good CGPA) → Master's (minimum for public-university DS45/DS11 appointment) → PhD, increasingly expected for permanent posts; many start as tutors or on SLAB/SLAI-type scholarships; the scheme also allows appointment with an architecture degree plus full registration with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia
Demand
MASCO 2311 (University and higher education teaching professionals) is flagged as a critical occupation in eMASCO. eMASCO (KESUMA) – MASCO 2311 flagged 'Kritikal'

Sources:emasco.mohr.gov.mydocs.jpa.gov.mykudo.tipssistemguruonline.my

Pay in Malaysia

Government starting pay

RM3,320 – RM3,650

per month

Senior grade

RM6,210 – RM14,370

per month

Official basic pay for the government grade, before allowances. Private-sector pay can differ.

UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · Dec 2025

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationDoctoral degree
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

IPG (Teacher Training)

Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline.

~5 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Lecturer, Architecture in Malaysia?

SPM → Foundation/Matriculation/STPM → Bachelor's in Architecture (Part I & Part II, LAM-recognised) (good CGPA) → Master's (minimum for public-university DS45/DS11 appointment) → PhD, increasingly expected for permanent posts; many start as tutors or on SLAB/SLAI-type scholarships; the scheme also allows appointment with an architecture degree plus full registration with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia. Optional registration with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM) – not required to lecture, but full LAM registration is an alternative appointment route for public-university architecture lecturers and needed to practise as an architect is available.

What should I study to become a Lecturer, Architecture?

Related fields of study: Education and Architecture & Built Environment. SPM subjects that help most: Visual Art (PSV), Technical Comm. Graphics, Engineering Drawing and English.

How much does a Lecturer, Architecture earn in Malaysia?

The official pay scale put starting pay at RM3,320 – RM3,650 a month, and RM6,210 – RM14,370 with experience (source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA), Dec 2025).

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
  2. 2Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  3. 3Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as architectural design methods, aesthetics and design, and structures and materials.
  4. 4Evaluate and grade students' work, including work performed in design studios.
  5. 5Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  6. 6Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  7. 7Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  8. 8Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  9. 9Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  10. 10Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  11. 11Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  12. 12Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
  13. 13Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  14. 14Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  15. 15Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  16. 16Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
  17. 17Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
  18. 18Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.
  19. 19Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
  20. 20Act as advisers to student organizations.
  21. 21Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
  22. 22Participate in campus and community events.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Lecturer
  • Professor
  • Instructor
  • Faculty Member
  • Adjunct Professor
  • College Professor
  • Adjunct Instructor
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Architecture Professor

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Technical Comm. GraphicsDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Engineering DrawingDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Civil Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Building and Construction — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Design90%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

  • English Language87%

    English

  • Building and Construction86%

    Civil Engineering StudiesEngineering DrawingDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Education and Training86%
  • Communications and Media76%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • Computers and Electronics75%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleContact most of the time
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherRarely
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingMost of the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

22%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.00%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job, and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 20 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

11 of 20 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM750 – RM2,000

11 of 20 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM750 and RM2,000 a month. Many print none.

Professional bodies named

Built-environment board, CIDB, BEM

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary

Source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · as of Dec 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA)

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org