NAAB Accreditation

Statement on NAAB-Accredited Degrees

The following statement is located and identified on the Sam Fox School website at samfoxschool.wustl.edu/academics/college-of-architecture/master-of-architecture/naab-accreditation:

National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Statement of Conditions of 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 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, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

Washington University in St. Louis, College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

Master of Architecture 3 (non-professional degree plus 105 graduate credit hours)
Master of Architecture 2 (pre-professional degree plus 75 credits required)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2027

NAAB Conditions and Procedures

Further information on NAAB conditions and procedures can be found by downloading the documents below.

Download 2014 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation (pdf)

Download 2015 NAAB Procedures for Accreditation (pdf)

Download 2020 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation (pdf)

Download 2020 NAAB Procedures for Accreditation (pdf)

Professional Licensure (MArch)

Formal education is just one component of the process to obtain a professional license from the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB). Each state has its own set of education and experience requirements to sit for the Architect Registration Exam (ARE). For more information about professional licensure in each state please consult NCARB’s licensing requirement tool or the MArch Licensure Spreadsheet (below) and follow the link to your state.

Washington University in St. Louis has verified that both NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture (MArch) programs meet the educational requirements for professional licensure in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For information about licensure in U.S. territories, please see the information provided on the MArch Licensure Spreadsheet.

Download MArch Licensure Spreadsheet (xlsx)

Career Development

To develop an understanding of the larger context for architecture education and the careers paths available to graduates of accredited degree programs, please refer to the sources listed below.

Career Engagement: Architecture

The Emerging Professional's Companion

National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (www.ncarb.org)

American Institute of Architects (www.aia.org)

American Institute of Architecture Students (www.aias.org)

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (www.acsa-arch.org)

Public Access to APRs and VTRs

The documents listed below are available to the public in the library of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts:

Download NAAB 5th Year Interim Progress Report, 2023 (pdf)
Download NAAB 3rd Year Interim Progress Report, 2021 (pdf)
Download NAAB Annual Report, 2014 (pdf)

Download the most recent decision letter from the NAAB (pdf)
Download the most recent Architecture Program Report (APR) (pdf)
Download the most recent Visiting Team Report (VTR) (pdf)

ARE Pass Rates

Pass rates for graduates of the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis taking the Architectural Registration Exam can be found at the websites listed below.

ARE 5.0 Pass Rates

ARE 4.0 Pass Rates