Education
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- Overview
- Accredited and Non-Accredited Degree Programs
- Field Related to Architecture
- Community Colleges and Technical Schools
- Foreign
Overview
CAB does not require an accredited degree in architecture to receive an architect license, unlike many other states. A candidate may document education in partial lieu of training (work) experience in architectural work to fulfill the eight-year (8) experience requirement to receive a license.
Candidates who have some postsecondary education but have not earn a degree may also receive some educational experience credit. In this case, CAB will conduct a unit evaluation to determine the amount of educational experience credit that will be granted. For the unit evaluation, 30 semester or 45 quarter units are considered one academic year. Fractions greater than one–half of an academic year are counted as one–half of a year, and smaller fractions are not counted.
Transcripts may be submitted by your school to either NCARB or CAB. However, we recommend having your school submit transcript sent to NCARB and added to your NCARB Record. This will make accessing the transcripts easier when the time comes to evaluate your record for licensure. Please be advised that direct submission of transcripts to CAB by a candidate or transcripts issued to a candidate are not acceptable.
Candidates typically will not receive credit for more than one earned degree. However, a candidate who possesses a professional degree in architecture and a postprofessional degree in architecture may receive one additional year of credit for the postprofessional degree. A professional degree for the purposes of this additional educational experience credit is defined as follows:
- A Bachelor of Architecture or
- Master of Architecture, four-year undergraduate program in architecture plus a two-year graduate program in architecture. or
- Master of Architecture, four-year undergraduate program in another discipline plus a three-year graduate program in architecture
Accredited and Non–Accredited Degree Programs
The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is the only accrediting body for professional architectural degree programs in the United States. NAAB accredits the professional degree programs within the schools, not the schools themselves.
Many architectural schools offer both NAAB–accredited and nonaccredited degree programs. A degree from a NAAB-accredited program may facilitate easier future reciprocal licensure, if desired, with another state or NCARB Certification. Visit the NAAB website for a list of the most current accredited degree programs.
Architectural degrees from programs accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) are considered equivalent to NAAB–accredited degrees and granted five years of educational experience credit.
Field Related to Architecture
Degrees in a field related to Architecture are defined as the following degrees identified by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Series:
04: Architecture and Related Services EXCEPT 04.10 Real Estate Development
14.04 Architectural Engineering
14.33 Construction Engineering
Community Colleges and Technical Schools
CAB grants credit for a community college education only if a degree is obtained. Credit is granted for units earned at a community college without a degree only if those units are transferred to and accepted by a higher institution. A candidate who has a degree from both a community college and a university will only be granted credit for the degree that gives the most credit.
CAB may allow credit for a technical school degree if it is in a field related to architecture. Credit is granted for a technical school education only if a candidate obtains a certificate of completion.
Foreign Education
A candidate with a foreign degree may receive credit for education at foreign colleges and universities. A foreign education evaluation by one of the services on our list of approved foreign education evaluation services or through NAAB Education Evaluation Services for Architects (EESA) is required to receive education experience credit.
The approved services and NAAB EESA must evaluate certified original transcripts and diplomas from the foreign school(s) and equate the degree to a comparable U.S. degree for education experience credit to be granted. The approved educational evaluation service must submit the original evaluation report along with transcripts directly to the Board. Candidates are responsible for the cost of any evaluation.
Candidates who use one of our approved services should request that an original general report be submitted directly to CAB along with a copy of the original transcripts. Professional degrees accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) are equivalent to NAAB-accredited degrees and do not require an education evaluation service.
It must be noted that NCARB only accepts foreign degrees evaluated by the NAAB Education Evaluation Services for Architects (EESA) for NCARB Certification.