UMA Bachelor of Architecture Program awarded accreditation from NAAB

The University of Maine at Augusta Architecture Program is pleased to receive initial accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). This accreditation is the culmination of self-study and written report by the academic program and a peer review and site visit by a NAAB team of educators, practitioners, students, and regulators leading to a final action of accreditation by the NAAB board.

UMA is the only public higher education institution in the northeast with a professionally accredited five-year Bachelor of Architecture degree program.

Associate Professor of Architecture Eric Stark, courtesy of UMA

“We are thrilled to achieve accreditation,” said Eric Stark, Architecture Program Coordinator and Associate Professor of Architecture. “The key to our success is our mission of providing a small, integrated and hands-on program that focuses on people: our students, our faculty, and our community partners. We are very pleased that NAAB sees the value of our program’s teaching, scholarship, creative work, research, and service to the state of Maine.”

“This is a testament to our faculty, staff, and students who have built this program over 32 years from an initial concept of a two-year associate’s degree program into the only five-year professionally accredited architecture degree program at a public university north of New York City,” stated UMA President Rebecca Wyke. “This is a significant milestone for the Architecture Program and our institution.”

UMA’s Bachelor of Architecture program provides students with a path towards architectural licensure. The program faculty teach architecture through engagement, educating, and empowering students to explore, investigate, and analyze the built environment. Engagement brings students into active contact with each other, their coursework, and community partners across Maine.


UMA transforms the lives of students of every age and background across the State of Maine and beyond through access to high-quality distance and on-site education, excellence in student support, civic engagement, and professional and liberal arts programs.

“The NAAB develops and maintains an accreditation system in professional degree education that enhances the value, relevance, and effectiveness of the profession of architecture.”