The University of Southern California, the ninth-largest private research university in the United States, is located in the heart of Los Angeles, only minutes away from the central business district.
The university enrolls close to 30,000 students, yet the School of Architecture enjoys the intimacy of a student body of 600 students. Founded in 1919, it is the only private school of architecture in the western United States associated with a major research university.
The fundamental premises of the school include: recognition of the interdependence of theory and practice; understanding the basis of architecture as a profound response to the human condition and human experience; and respect for the disciplines of visual form and technology as a means for realization of the objectives of the design process. The academic mission of the school is states in four principal dimensions:
* To train professionals within the context of a humanistic academic tradition
* To advance knowledge about the theory and practice of architecture
* To address social and cultural issues
* To be a stimulating environment for learning
NAAB Catalog Statement
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 US professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Masters of Architecture. A program may be granted a five, six-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.
Masters degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself recognized as an accredited degree.
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 USC School of Architecture Bachelor of Architecture program and the Master of Architecture "+2" program are accredited by the NAAB.
Click here for more information about the NAAB's conditions for accreditation.