In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architecture 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, 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.

Pratt Institute School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program:

Bachelor of Architecture B. Arch (170 credits)
Master of Architecture – M. Arch (84 credits, First Professional)
Master of Architecture, Advanced Standing Track  – M. Arch (56 credits, First Professional)

Next accreditation visit 2033

The Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is a three-year NAAB-accredited, STEM-certified professional program. Our 84-credit, three-year track is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree, including majors other than one of the architectural design professions. This program is also available in a 56-credit, two-year Advanced Standing track. Admission to Advanced Standing is highly competitive and merit-based. Candidates for Advanced Standing are selected by the Architecture Department’s Admissions Committee and the Chair of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design.

The M.Arch program is structured with a core curriculum of design, history-theory, technology, and media courses, followed by an advanced curriculum of applied research and elective courses. The entire curriculum is designed to equip students with the professional knowledge required for becoming a successful architect.

We believe in an integrative approach to architecture. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the diverse practices and modes of inquiry that converge in the architectural discipline and profession.

In the first three semesters, the core curriculum is structured to coordinate learning across design, technical, historico-theoretical, and media courses. In the fourth semester, this coordinated learning culminates in the Integrative Studio. Unique to the GA/LA/UD, the Integrative Studio combines the teaching of architectural design, building systems, and regulatory compliance into a single course. Collaboration is a fundamental aspect of the Integrative studio: students work on a single architectural project in teams, supported by GA/LA/UD faculty and a cohort of technical consultants from leading New York City firms. During the last two semesters, our M.Arch program further compliments the Integrative Studio with an advanced curriculum of studio and elective courses. In these advanced courses, students engage in directed research projects alongside a diverse group of faculty members from Pratt Institute and the architectural profession at large.

Our integrative approach begins, does not end, with our program. By integrating different modes of architectural knowledge and practice, and engaging audiences both within and outside the architectural professions, our M.Arch program equips graduates with the unique ability to intervene in the complex systems shaping the building and living environment.

Integrative Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to make complex design decisions that integrate architectural ideas with structural, building, and regulatory systems. Their integrative thinking advances environmental stewardship, social equity, and community resilience in all aspects of design work.

Environmental Design Practice:

Our M.Arch students are trained to embrace their responsibility as stewards of the environment. Their work reflects a deep awareness of architecture’s impact on the living and building environments by integrating research on fragile ecosystems, ecologically responsive technologies, and sustainable materials.

Inclusive and Equitable Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to view equity, diversity, and inclusion as an integral aspect of design. They understand their responsibility to consider diverse needs, values, and physical abilities in design practices, and act on that understanding by integrating an ethos of equity and inclusion in their architectural solutions.

Design Knowledge:

Our M.Arch students are trained to think critically about architecture’s role in the world. They use cutting-edge design methods, media, and technologies to advance architectural knowledge within the discipline and in culture more broadly. 

Collaborative Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to practice creative leadership that benefits their clients, communities, and society at large. Their design work builds relationships, from collaborations with consultants and industry experts to outreach with community partners and stakeholders.

Design Learning:

Our M.Arch students are trained to ask thought-provoking questions throughout their careers and their lives. They value forms of inquiry and collaborative exploration that deepen their understanding of architecture’s connections to complex systems, including bodies of historical-theoretical knowledge, socio-economic forces, environmental dynamics, and cultural contexts.

Pratt’s department of Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design (GA/LA/UD) balances knowledge and understanding, enhancing your individual capacities to ask often difficult and challenging questions facing the profession and discipline, specifically through design and with audiences outside of architecture and urban design. This program is intended for students holding a four-year undergraduate, nonprofessional degree in any field.

Integrative Studio

Unique to the GA/LA/UD, the Integrative Studio is a combined design and integrative building-systems course and brings together a number of related disciplines into a single project, which students develop in teams. An ensemble of technical consultants from world-leading firms in New York City work directly with GA/LA/UD faculty and students on their design projects engaging in facade design, structural design, energy design and more. 

Seminars, Lectures & Events

Immersive seminars, lectures and events accompany each semester. They explore contemporary issues in architectural practice and research, and foster discussion between students and prominent scholars. Exhibitions spotlight exceptional faculty and student work, and the student publication offers students opportunities to engage in theoretical, editorial, and writing activities.

Study Abroad

Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the university experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. In the first, second, or third year, students may elect to participate in one or both of our international programs. See where you can go.

Learning Resources

We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn about resources.

Take A Look At How Our Courses Advance Design Research And Thinking

Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.

Career Opportunities:

Graduates from the M.Arch program go on to work in leading architectural firms and other creative fields, both nationally and internationally. Take a look at where some of our recent graduates work:

Where They Work

• Architect – Morphosis
• Junior Designer – BIG Bjarke Ingels Group
• Architectural Designer — Foster + Partners
• Director – KPF
• Senior Associate – SHoP Architects
• Architect – Woods Bagot
• Lead Designer – Zaha Hadid Architects
• Architectural Designer – UNStudio
• Assistant Chair, Interior Design – Pratt Institute