Master of Architecture NAAB Accreditation
NAAB Accreditation
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.
NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans for achieving initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates that a program should be accredited within 6 years of achieving candidacy, if its plan is properly implemented. In order to meet the education requirement set forth by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), 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.
Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design was granted candidacy for the following professional degree programs in architecture:
Master of Architecture
Track I Program - 102 credits (Students from programs other than architecture - 42 credits which match the MassArt pre-professional program plus 60 graduate credit hours.) - 2007
Track II Program - 60 credits (Students from BArch, BS Arch and BA, and BFA Arch programs, including MassArt would start no later than the fourth semester of Track I for a minimum of four semesters - some may require additional specific courses from the earlier three semesters of the program based upon extensive review of their coursework, including review of portfolios for design studios and professional studio electives, and all course descriptions, syllabi, papers and other learning outcomes.) - 2007
Accreditation Review
A visiting team reviewed Massachusetts College of Art and Design for initial accreditation in the fall of 2011 and recommended continued candidacy for NAAB accreditation for the degree of Master of Architecture (M.Arch). Copies of the NAAB Visiting Team Report (VTR) and MassArt's Annual Program Report (APR) are available in MassArt's Godine library and PDF's are available below. A NAAB visiting team review for initial accreditation will occur during calendar year 2013.
Next accreditation team visit: 2013
Projected year of initial accreditation: 2013
Accreditation Reports
NAAB 2011 VTR (Initial Accreditation Visiting Team Report) pdf
MassArt 2011 APR (Initial Accreditation Architecture Program Report) pdf
Accreditation Conditions and Procedures
Students may review the Conditions for Accreditation (2009 edition) paying particular attention to the "Student Performance Criteria", and Procedures for Accreditation (2012 edition) below and at the National Architectural Accrediting Board website NAAB.org.
NAAB Conditions for Accreditation 2009
NAAB Procedures for Accreditation 2012
Annual Reports
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008