school of architecture 21
highest professional standards
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 two types of degrees: the
Bachelor of Architecture and the Master
of Architecture. A program may be
granted a five-year, three-year, or two-
year term of accreditation, depending
on its degree of conformance with
established educational standards.
Master’s degree programs may consist
of a pre-professional undergraduate
degree and a post-professional graduate
degree, which, when earned sequentially,
constitute an accredited professional
education. The pre-professional degree is
not, by itself, recognized as an accredited
degree, however.
The NAAB grants candidacy status
to new programs that have developed
viable plans for achieving initial
accreditation. Candidacy status indicates
that a program should be accredited
within six years of achieving candidacy,
if its plan is properly implemented.
The School of Architecture offers
graduate degrees in accredited and
nonaccredited programs. The M. Arch.
first professional degree program is a
three-year professional program. The
program is accredited by NAAB in 2010.
The M.S. Arch. and Urban Design
programs are post-professional and offer
a three-semester Master’s degree in
Architecture and Urban Design.Post-
professional programs in the United
States are not accredited by the NAAB.
Pratt’s Graduate Planning Program is
accredited by the Planning Accreditation
Board and offers a two-year Master of
Science degree in City and Regional
Planning. The Facilities Management
program is non-accredited and offers a
two-year Master of Science degree in
Facilities Management.
admission requirements
Please refer to the Admissions section.
student work
The School of Architecture reserves
the right to temporarily retain during
the academic year, for exhibition and
classroom purposes, representative work
of any student enrolled in its programs.
“In 1980, Pratt was wonderful
in many of the same ways
it is wonderful now. The
professors I had talked about
the values in architecture:
the importance of space,
proportion, and light. And
those are values that I hold
dearly to this day.”
—Annabelle Selldorf,
B. Arch. ’85,
Founding principal,
Selldorf Architects