Statement on NAAB-Accredited Degrees
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.
Louisiana Tech University’s School of Design offers a NAAB-accredited M.Arch (pre- professional degree + 30 graduate credits) degree program.
Architecture Program Mission Statement
To provide a comprehensive and uncompromising, balanced, and demanding education in the art (poetic expression), craft (technical processes), and practice (professional services) of ethical building through the polytechnic tradition of “hands-on” experiences and empirical learning that prepares an individual to be an architect in the fullest sense of the word.
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.
Louisiana Tech University’s School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program:
- M.Arch (pre-professional degree + 30 graduate credits)
CIP Code = 049999
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