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, 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 preprofessional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

Kent State University, College of Architecture and Environmental Design offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

  • Master of Architecture (pre-professional degree + 44 credit hours)

The next accreditation visit for the accredited sequence is 2026; the last accreditation visit was in 2018 which provided for an eight-year term of accreditation, the duration of full accreditation permitted at that time. A professional program in architecture at Kent State University has been continuously accredited since 1962.

 


The National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) expects programs to be transparent and accountable regarding the information provided to students, faculty, and the public. As a result, all NAAB-accredited programs are required to ensure that the following information is posted online and is easily available to the public:

Statement on NAAB-Accredited Degrees
All institutions offering a NAAB-accredited degree program or any candidacy program must include the exact language found in the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation, 2020 Edition, Appendix 2, in catalogs and promotional media, including the program’s website. See above.

Access to NAAB Conditions and Procedures
The program must make the following documents available to all students, faculty, and the public, via the program’s website:

Public Access to Accreditation Reports and Related Documents
To promote transparency in the process of accreditation in architecture education, the program must make the following documents available to all students, faculty, and the public, via the program’s website:

All Interim Progress Reports and narratives of Program Annual Reports submitted since the last team visit

All NAAB responses to any Plan to Correct and any NAAB responses to the Program Annual Reports since the last team visit

The 2018 final decision letter from the NAAB

The Architecture Program Report submitted for the last visit

The final edition of the 2018 Visiting Team Report, including attachments

Kent State Architecture alumni pass rates on the Architect Registration Exam


Remediation and Advanced Standing

The Kent State Bachelor of Science in Architecture pre-professional degree is used to evaluate preparatory / pre-professional education for all applicants regardless of prior degree. Depending upon their background, this review by the program director generates the necessary SPC fulfillment for each student. Many may receive study programs that will add requirements beyond those found in the 44-credits for the M.Arch.

For eligible applicants, following a positive admission decision by the Graduate Committee, courses and work from the candidate’s prior degree program are reviewed for conformance to or consistency with the pre-professional program at Kent State as it relates to the completion of SPC. Syllabi and student work are solicited for additional information on SPC at the undergraduate level. When appropriate, the  Program Director will request faculty input on the performance of student work or the syllabus content in a particular course being evaluated.

When deficient SPC or courses are recognized, they are added to the student’s Graduation Requirements Sheet (GRS). This sheet is included in the materials sent to admits for their signature when accepting their offer of admission. A student’s individual GRS ensures the requirements and SPC are met for graduation.

 

Diversity and Admissions

  • While the college strives to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion within the curriculum and faculty, neither Kent State University nor the College of Architecture and Environmental Design use diversity criteria to influence admissions.
     
  • Dean’s Letter on Cultivating Excellence


Licensing of Architects

In general, all states require registration, licenses or certificates for the practice of architecture. Laws governing such licensing vary from state to state. Typically, three elements are required to become a Registered Architect, education, experience and examination.

Education is governed by a set of organizations that comprise the NAAB. Most U.S. state registration boards require any applicant for licensure to graduate from a NAAB-Accredited program, obtaining such a degree is an essential aspect of preparing for the professional practice of architecture. While graduation from a NAAB-Accredited program does not assure registration, the accrediting process is intended to verify that each accredited program substantially meets those standards that, as a whole, comprise an appropriate education for an architect. 

The National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) is the national organization that administers both the Architecture Experience Program (AXP), experience, and the Architect Registration Exam (ARE), examination. NCARB is made up of the architects boards the states and territories of the United States. In Ohio, an architect may practice professionally upon satisfactorily completing all three elements of training as administered by the State of Ohio Board of Examiners of Architects.
 

Career Development Information

The Architecture Program recommends the following sources for information on careers in Architecture. Students are encouraged to discuss career plans with faculty and advisors, consider taking the ARCH 44611 Portfolio and take advantage of Career Fair Preparation Workshops and the CAED Career Fair each year. Please find additional career development information on the Architecture Experience Program page as it relates to licensure. You may also consider visiting Kent State Career Exploration and Development. 

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