Statement on Accreditation from the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB)
In the United States, most state 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 U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.
Master’s degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. (From 2004 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation.)
Accreditation of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture
The School of Architecture offers the Master of Architecture (M. Arch) as the professional degree accredited by the NAAB. The Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies (BSAS) is a pre-professional degree and is not accredited by the NAAB. The one-year M. Arch program is an unaccredited 1-year program for students who already hold a NAAB accredited B. Arch or M. Arch. Beginning with incoming class of Fall 08, the nomenclature for the one year master's degree will be MSAS, Master of Science in Architectural Studies. The PhD in Architecture is also not a professional degree and is not accredited by the NAAB. The School of Architecture received a full 6-year accreditation in 2003. The next NAAB visit is scheduled for 2009. Faculty members and students may access the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation (including the Student Performance Criteria) on the NAAB web site at http://www.naab.org/
Additional Information
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, Main Stair 