NAAB Accreditation

Accredited Programs

The department's NAAB-accredited programs include the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) program and the Master of Architecture, Professional (M.Arch.) program.

Note on Professional Accreditation Programs

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, 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.

Cornell University, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.)
154 undergraduate credits
Next accreditation visit for the B.Arch.: 2025

Master of Architecture, Professional (M.Arch.)
Accredited four-year degree from a U.S. institution or equivalent and 113 graduate credits
Next accreditation visit for the M.Arch.: 2029

The revised (2020) NAAB Conditions for Accreditation and Guidelines.

2020 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation

2014 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation

2020 Procedures for Accreditation

2015 Procedures for Accreditation

Part of the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation is the Student Performance Criteria. The criteria encompass two levels of accomplishment:

Understanding: means the assimilation and comprehension of information without necessarily being able to see its full implication.

Ability: means the skill in using specific information to accomplish a task, in correctly selecting the appropriate information, and in applying it to the solution of a specific problem.

 

Cornell AAP will furnish electronic versions of the following documents on demand, in PDF format, or in another format if the person requesting requires accommodations for a disability.

• All Interim Progress Reports (and Annual Reports [narrative only] submitted 2009–21
• All NAAB responses to Interim Progress Reports (and NAAB Responses to Annual Reports [narrative] submitted 2009–21
• The most recent decision letter from the NAAB (M. Arch. program (2021))
• The most recent decision letter from the NAAB (B. Arch. program (2016))
• The most recent APR (M. Arch. program (2021))
• The most recent APR (B. Arch. program (2016))
• The final edition of the most recent Visiting Team Report (M. Arch. program (2021)), including attachments and addenda
• The final edition of the most recent Visiting Team Report (B. Arch. program (2016)), including attachments and addenda

Other websites that may be of interest:

• NCARB pass rates
• Admissions Procedures and Diversity Goals: Undergraduate Architecture
• Graduate Admissions:  Architecture
• M. Arch. Program Policy on Equivalency
• International Degree Equivalencies: Cornell Graduate School (cornell.edu) 
• Cornell AAP's commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging