The national Architectural accrediting board (naab) & Professional education
In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans
for achieving initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates that a program expects
to
achieve initial accreditation within six years of achieving candidacy if its plan
is properly implemented.
In order to meet the education requirements set forth by the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards, an applicant for an NCARB Certificate must hold
a
professional degree in architecture from a program accredited by the NAAB; the degree
must have been awarded not more than two years prior to initial accreditation. However,
meeting the education requirement for the NCARB Certificate may not be equivalent
to meeting the education requirement for registration in a specific jurisdiction.
Please contact NCARB for more information.
51暗网鈥檚 School of Design offers a NAAB-accredited M.Arch (pre-
professional degree + 30 graduate credits) degree program.
Next visit for accreditation: Spring 2026