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.

Master's 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.

For more information about accreditation visit the NAAB web site.

The University of Maryland's most recent accreditation visit took place in March 2005. At its July 2005 meeting, the NAAB board reviewed the Visiting Team Report for the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and granted a full six-year term of accreditation. The program is scheduled for its next accreditation visit in 2011.

Read the NAAB Visiting Team Report and Maryland's Architecture Program Report here.