With today's upcoming ELA Informational Session, hosted by AIA Virginia via Zoom -- Our Board has decided to offer our members more time to learn about the program and forgo today's original deadline - Extending the ELA Application deadline to Friday, October 24th.

If you have already submitted, you are welcome to review and resubmit Friday. We look forward to hearing from you!

Full application and program details, click here.

The class project for 2026 will be in Richmond, Virginia, so many sessions and the project workdays will be located in the Richmond area.

How to Apply The committee seeks applicants from three categories:

Component Nominees: Each of the five AIA Virginia local component Boards may nominate one or more individuals for admission to the program. One participant will be selected from each component for a total of five. If interested, please contact your local AIA chapter representative. Each chapter sets its own deadline and application requirements for these positions.

• Applications due to Central Virginia: October 24th 2025

• Please email your application to aiacentralva@gmail.com

Student Nominees: Any student enrolled in an architecture degree program (UVA, VT, Hampton, WAAC, or JMU) may apply. A maximum of 2 student participants will be selected each year for the class.

Open Applications: Applicants may apply independently or be nominated by someone else. Participants will be selected from among these applicants to fill the class.

★ Component Nominee category due October 24th 2025.

★ All other application categories are due November 12th 2025.