NAAB Accreditation

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 at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

• M.Arch 2-Year Synthesis and Integrated Track (pre-professional undergraduate degree + 60 graduate credits)
• M.Arch 2-Year Research Track (pre-professional undergraduate degree + 60 graduate credits)
• M.Arch 3-Year (non pre-professional undergraduate degree + 90 graduate credits)

UB’s architecture programs are reaccredited through 2032. UB is also in the exemplary status of being among the few programs in the U.S. to meet all accreditation criteria. In fact, the 2024 visiting accreditation team cited the department’s culture of care for students, climate of mutual respect among faculty and staff, and reciprocal commitment to stakeholder partnerships to all be “deserving of celebration.” They also praised the department’s distinctive research and innovation.

• Architecture Program Report
• NAAB Board Decision Letter
• Visiting Team Report
• Optional Program Response
• Conditions for Accreditation 2020 Edition 
• Procedures for Accreditation 2020 Edition

• NCARB ARE Pass Rates 
• Commitment to Inclusive Excellence 
  

Buffalo is a city of tenacity, grit, and invention, and reinvention. It is a place of industry, artistry, and making – where the challenges are complex and dynamic, and the opportunities transformative. The Department of Architecture at UB mirrors these attributes, in turn, shaping our approach to architectural education.

We see the grand challenge of architectural education as how to promote students’ critical and creative, analytical and integrative, confident and flexible thinking for uncertain futures. As the next generation of architects, designers, researchers, and civic participants, today’s students must be prepared for climatic and economic volatility, social and technological revolutions, and unforeseen legal and professional changes.

For us, the challenge is especially salient. The department serves one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, hosts a large number first-generation and international students, and has students with the highest financial need among all AAU architecture programs. Delivering an accessible, supportive, top-tier professional education is our leading mission.

We strive to become a national leader in all phases of student development:

• supporting K-12 and community-college institutions in underrepresented communities
• carrying out equity- and integrity-focused student recruitment and holistic admissions
• stewarding integrative student retention and success
• delivering a competent, comprehensive architectural educational
• developing radically inclusive pedagogies
• providing comprehensive student mentoring and professional development
• coordinating diverse opportunities for internships, fellowships, and career paths

To achieve this, we:

• Deliver an accredited architecture education that emphasizes design and general education at the undergraduate level, and specialized, research-based design at the graduate level.
• Strive for courses and pedagogies that not only impart disciplinary knowledge but also facilitate positive identity development, self-actualization, and autonomy.
• Provide an interlaced net of student supports, including comprehensive wellness and financial services, learning communities, academic advising, peer mentoring, and career advisement.
• Promote student-faculty-staff dialogue and decision-making through mentored student organizations, cohort-based focus groups, and the Student Representatives Working Group.
• Offer expansive opportunities to learn from and with local and distant communities through industry partnerships, community-based projects, and study abroad.
• Provide world-class facilities, tools, and technologies in Hayes, Crosby, and Parker Halls.