Master of Architecture granted maximum reaccreditation term by national review board

NAAB is the only agency recognized by registration boards in U.S. jurisdictions to accredit professional degree programs in architecture. To receive NAAB accreditation, programs must be offered by institutions accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Currently, there are 176 NAAB-accredited programs offered by 140 institutions of higher learning in the U.S. and abroad.

In earning continuous accreditation through 2032, UB met all criteria reviewed by NAAB, an extraordinary accomplishment achieved by only 6 percent of schools across the United States under NAAB’s most recent conditions and procedures, released in 2020. Moreover, UB is one of only two schools to do so in 2024, outperforming schools like the University of California Berkeley, the University of Cincinnati and Princeton University.

The review board cited several areas of strength, including UB's dedicated student services, which have expanded significantly in recent years. According to the NAAB’s Visiting Team Report: UB has a “robust team of dedicated staff and clinical faculty who support students throughout their academic journeys and beyond. Adjectives such as ‘miraculous’ and ‘super awesome’ were used [by students] to describe the academic and career advising team. The librarian, Rose Orcutt, is known by name and the entire fabrication team teaches students so much about what it means to engage in the craft of making…The students feel supported.”

The NAAB team also highlighted the program’s “plurality of thinking [which] fosters a culture of open communication, constructive and respective conversations, and a deep appreciation for the diverse viewpoints and life experiences of every member of the UB community.”

Reaccreditation can take several years and requires a significant financial and time commitment on the part of program leadership, faculty and staff. The process involves a self-study, peer review, a report prepared by the NAAB visiting team, and a final judgment by the NAAB Board, as well as ongoing external reviews and annual reporting over the course of the accreditation period.

“Meeting all criteria for an eight-year accreditation places us among the very best architecture programs in the country,” says Korydon Smith, who, as professor and chair of architecture, led the department’s preparation over the past two years in partnership with faculty, staff, administration, students and alumni. “It is a public recognition of the excellent students, faculty, staff and alumni at UB.”

NAAB recognizes three professional degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Doctor of Architecture. UB - the most comprehensive public research university in the Northeast and a flagship of the State University of New York - is the only SUNY institution to offer an accredited Master of Architecture degree.    

This latest NAAB review was further informed by a department-wide curricular assessment that began in 2020 and included faculty and student focus groups; surveys and discussions with alumni; faculty and staff retreats; research into peer programs and the state of the profession; and alignment with UB strategic planning efforts. Resulting improvements across the Department of Architecture include new investments in student services, faculty hiring and development, expanded community engagement, curricular renovations, and facility enhancements such as the comprehensive renovation of our studio hub in Crosby Hall.

In its program report, shared earlier this month with UB’s provost and leadership of the School of Architecture and Planning, NAAB elaborated on UB's strengths as observed during the team's site visit last March.

For instance, the value of equity and inclusion extends across the culture and community of the program, according to the report: “The site visit confirmed how the program considers this shared value as one of its greatest strengths and cites the university and department faculty as international leaders in EDI research, teaching, service and practice.”

Indeed, UB's Department of Architecture serves one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, hosts a large number first-generation and international students, and has students with the highest financial need among all architecture programs in the Association of American Universities. Initiatives include collaboration with K-12 and community-college institutions in underrepresented communities and equity-focused student recruitment and retention. UB also offers diverse tracks in the Master of Architecture, including a two-year research track, two-year synthesis track, and three-year program for those without undergraduate training in architecture.

Citing the role of architecture in advancing research on global challenges like climate change and social justice, the report notes that UB “met with distinction” the NAAB criterion for research and innovation. Through graduate research groups, student engagement in faculty-led research, and facilities for experimental fabrication and making, “the program places emphasis on technological, material, and social entrepreneurship and innovation, all hallmarks of the university as a whole.”

Julia Czerniak, professor and dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, says the NAAB review attests to the program's rising stature.  

“The full-term reaccreditation of UB’s Master of Architecture degree is a resounding validation of our commitment to engaged learning, spirited making, and novel research in design toward more just, resilient and vibrant places. It reaffirms UB as an institution where architecture is for everyone, and excellence is in everything we do," Czerniak says. "On behalf of the entire School, I want to acknowledge Korydon Smith and his team of faculty, staff and students for their dedicated efforts to prepare for the review and organize an inspiring representation of our pedagogy and work.”

In addition to establishing the conditions and performance criteria to prepare students for professional licensure in architecture, NAAB’s latest standards allow programs highlight the innovative ways by which they meet those criteria, as well as distinctive areas of excellence in embodying the discipline’s core values and adapting to a rapidly evolving profession and shifting global context.

Joyce Hwang, FAIA, UB professor of architecture and director of graduate studies, who played a central role in both this most recent assessment and the program's reaccreditation review in 2015, says this was a key difference.

“Rather than being assessed through a standard checklist of student performance criteria, we were asked to develop our own narratives about our programs, highlight areas of distinction, and consider comprehensively how we meet our own criteria within the NAAB framework," says Hwang. "This involved intensive study and consideration of our curriculum on the part of faculty, students, staff and alumni. In the end, we achieved one of the most successful reaccreditation assessments in our program’s history.”

Smith elaborates: “This accreditation, in particular, reflects upon the meaningful collaborations within and across the department’s diverse stakeholder groups, and the shared culture of care we value. Counter to the humility that Buffalonians often display, we deserve to be proud of this collective accomplishment.”

This deep-seated culture of collaboration is perhaps one of the program's greatest strengths, according to the NAAB report.  

Reflecting on the Department of Architecture’s longstanding tradition of community engagement in the Buffalo region, NAAB cited a “palpable sense of collegiality and camaraderie within the department” and a “reciprocal commitment between the local practicing community and the program.”

“The traditions and context of the City of Buffalo contribute to the identity of the architecture programs at UB, informing the scholarly and professional work of the program’s faculty as well as its approach to architectural education,” the NAAB team continued, adding that such commitment is “deserving of celebration.”