Accreditation

NAAB

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 University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program:

Master of Architecture (MArch) degree (required non-architecture or preprofessional undergraduate degree + requires 100 credits)

Master of Architecture (MArch) degree with advanced standing (required preprofessional undergraduate degree in architecture + requires 64 credits)

The next NAAB accreditation visit will be in 2032.

The 2020 Conditions and Procedures for Accreditation were in effect for the last NAAB accreditation visit in 2024.