NEWS
Department of Architecture at the University of Bahrain Obtains Academic Accreditation of the National Architectural Accrediting Board “NAAB”
University of Bahrain – Sakhir (Ali Al-Sabbagh)
25 May 2022
The President of the University of Bahrain, Dr. Jawaher bint Shaheen Al-Mudhaki, congratulated the College of Engineering and the Department of Architecture and Interior Design on accrediting the Bachelor of Architecture by the U.S. National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) for six more years.
The President of UoB pointed out that the importance of obtaining this accreditation lies not only in confirming the reliability of the architecture program, its high quality and compliance with the international standards, but also in providing its graduates with the opportunity to register for the licensed practice of architecture in many parts of the world, including the United States of America. Dr. Al-Mudhaki lauded the efforts the College of Engineering and the Department of Architecture and Interior Design exerted to facilitate the process of evaluation of the program by the most prominent institution for accrediting architecture programs in the world.
For her part, the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Bahrain, Dr. Sheikha Haifa bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, explained that the process of accrediting the architecture program by NAAB is a voluntary quality assurance process, through which all aspects of the program (inputs, outputs, material, etc.) are evaluated by a third party, in accordance with a set of standards and conditions.
Dr. Haifa bint Ibrahim indicated that accrediting the program for six more years confirms that the program is compatible with the latest procedures and conditions of obtaining international accreditation by “NAAB”, as the program is substantially equivalent to the accredited architecture programs offered in American universities.
The head of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design, Dr. Huda Mohammad Al-Madhoub, pointed out that the evaluation system adopted by NAAB depends mainly on achievements of students, to prove that the program provides all the graduates with the engineering skills required for their future careers to enable them to join the labour market, or do postgraduate studies at international universities.
Concerning whether the Department will seek to obtain accreditation for the Landscape Architecture and Interior Design programs, Dr. Huda stated, “Each major has a different international accreditation body which adopts different conditions, procedures and accreditation cycle.” She stressed that “the two programs will seek to obtain international accreditation from the concerned institutions in the near future.”
It is worthy to note that the Bachelor of Architecture program, which was NAAB accredited for the first time in 2015 consists of 169 curriculum hours, starting with the study of basic design principles and graphic training. Students gradually acquire basic communication and design skills through simple, small-scale projects to large and complex projects in the final year for their graduation projects.
During the study, students learn how to design a variety of projects, ranging from simple houses to complex buildings including hospitals, hotels, and museums, taking into account the social, cultural, psychological, physical and environmental requirements that affect the creation of spaces and configurations in these projects.
