Riverside, Calif. (Aug. 27, 2014) -- California Baptist University's architecture program moved one step closer to accreditation recently when The College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design (CAVAD) was notified that the program had officially been named a candidate for accreditation.

The five-year master of architecture degree program began last year with about 30 students. It can seek full accreditation after four years of candidacy and after the first class graduates.

A team from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) visited the program in April, said Mark Roberson, dean of CAVAD. The team reviewed the curriculum, instructional plans and student work.

Graduates of the program take the Architect Registration Examination to become a registered architect. About 45 states now require architects to have an accredited degree before they can take the test.

"The goal at CBU is to provide an accredited degree, because you can't be a registered architect unless you have an accredited degree," Roberson said. "It's really a huge goal of ours to provide our students with something valuable for the amount of investment that they're putting into the program."

CAVAD is expanding the program to include overseas partnerships. About 15 students from Jilin Jianzhu Architectural University in China are enrolling in CBU's program this fall. The plan is develop a two plus three program, where Chinese students would attend JJAU for two years, then come to CBU for three years to complete a degree.