Accreditation

The degree programs offered by the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) are accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the Ministry of Education's Higher Education Affairs Division in the United Arab Emirates. CAA accreditation involves rigorous and periodic self-study and evaluation by an external team.

The Bachelor of Architecture program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the United States. This is the first program outside of North America to receive this prestigious accreditation. NAAB is the only organization authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture in the United States.

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 US 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, or 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.

The American University of Sharjah College of Architecture, Art and Design offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program:

BArch (159 undergraduate credits)

Next accreditation visit: 2030

• Conditions for Accreditation, 2020 edition
• Conditions for Accreditation in effect at the time of the last visit (2014 or 2020, depending on the date of the last visit)
• Procedures for Accreditation, 2020 edition
• Procedures for accreditation in effect at the time of the last visit (2015 or 2020, depending on the date of the last visit)
• 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 most recent decision letter from NAAB
• The Architecture Program Report (APR) submitted for the most recent visit
• The final edition of the most recent Visiting Team Report, including attachments and addenda
• Plan to Correct
•  NCARB ARE pass rates

The Bachelor of Architecture degree awarded by the American University of Sharjah is recognized by the Government of India (Council of Architecture) under Section 15(1) of the Architects Act, 1972, which governs the registration of architects in India.