Funding Model

The NAAB funding model is different from many other accreditation organizations and reflects the long-standing priority of the Collateral Organizations to uphold quality assurance throughout the field of architecture — on behalf of the students (AIAS) at the programmatic instruction level (ACSA) through to professional registration (NCARB) and ongoing professional development (AIA).

NAAB currently accredits 175 architecture programs, but they do not pay accreditation fees directly to NAAB. Instead, accreditation is supported financially by the Collateral Organizations as a function of their service to the architectural field at large.

In 2023, NAAB accredited 175 programs. ACSA, AIA, and NCARB each contributed $2,436.63 per program; AIAS contributed $57.14 per program. This shared contribution translates to approximately $39 per student attending a NAAB accredited program.

Collateral Contributions Per Program

This translates to $39 per student

In addition to accreditation, NAAB offers quality assurance programs that operate separately from the accreditation work of the organization and are not funded by the shared contributions made by the Collateral Organizations:

• Education Evaluation Services for Architects (EESA) is a partnership between the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) to support individuals seeking an NCARB certification or registration in a U.S. jurisdiction who do not have a professional degree in architecture from a program accredited by NAAB or Canadian Architectural Certification Board- Conseil Canadien de Certification en Architecture (CACB/CCCA).
  
  
• NAAB International Certification (ICert) identifies an international program that has met the Conditions for NAAB International Certification, which are comparable to the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation in all significant aspects. Although NAAB International Certification is not accreditation, it represents that a program of architecture has achieved the highest standard of quality assurance in professional architecture education.

The revenue generated by ESSA And ICert programs are reinvested into those services and do not contribute to accreditation operations. Similarly, all accreditation services are funded by contributions from the Collateral Organizations.

2022 NAAB Revenue Sources