Editor’s note: This article was updated in May 2025 to reflect the most recent licensure pass rate data from National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) [2021-2024] and to improve readability and context for prospective students.
Choosing the right architecture program can shape your career path long after graduation. One way to assess a school’s effectiveness is by looking at how well its students perform on the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) – the final hurdle to licensure. In this guide, we break down the top-performing undergraduate and graduate architecture programs based on average ARE 5.0 pass rates. Whether you’re an architecture student weighing school options or a recent graduate curious about how your alma mater stacks up, this data offers a valuable benchmark for evaluating program outcomes.
Composite average pass rates for schools offering an NAAB-accredited BArch degree.
Rank | School | Pass Rate |
1 | University of Notre Dame | 78% |
2 | Rice University | 75% |
3 | Carnegie Mellon University | 72% |
4 | University of Texas at Austin | 71% |
5 | University of Oregon | 70% |
6 | Virginia Tech | 69% |
7 | Pennsylvania State University | 67% |
8 | Tulane University | 67% |
9 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 67% |
10 | Cornell University | 67% |
11 | California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo | 66% |
12 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 66% |
13 | North Carolina State University | 64% |
14 | Ball State University | 64% |
15 | Drexel University | 63% |
16 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 62% |
17 | University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 62% |
18 | Oklahoma State University | 61% |
19 | Iowa State University | 61% |
20 | Auburn University | 60% |
21 | University of Arkansas | 60% |
22 | Mississippi State University | 59% |
23 | Syracuse University | 59% |
24 | Rhode Island School of Design | 59% |
25 | Marywood University | 57% |
26 | The Cooper Union | 56% |
27 | University of Oklahoma | 56% |
28 | University of Southern California | 56% |
29 | Louisiana State University | 54% |
30 | University of Arizona | 53% |
31 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 52% |
32 | Boston Architectural College | 51% |
33 | Pratt Institute | 51% |
34 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 50% |
35 | California College of the Arts | 49% |
36 | University of Miami | 49% |
37 | California State Polytechnic University – Pomona | 48% |
38 | Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) | 48% |
39 | Kennesaw State University | 48% |
40 | University of Houston | 47% |
41 | American University of Sharjah | 45% |
42 | City College of New York | 43% |
43 | NewSchool of Architecture & Design | 41% |
44 | Academy of Art University | 40% |
45 | New York Institute of Technology | 40% |
46 | Florida Atlantic University | 40% |
47 | Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | 38% |
48 | Woodbury University | 38% |
49 | Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico | 34% |
50 | Florida A&M University | 32% |
51 | Tuskegee University | 19% |
Composite average pass rates for schools offering a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited March degree.
Rank | School | Pass Rate |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 79% |
2 | University of Notre Dame | 78% |
3 | Princeton University | 78% |
4 | Rice University | 75% |
5 | Harvard University | 75% |
6 | University of Virginia | 75% |
7 | Yale University | 74% |
8 | Ohio State University | 73% |
9 | University of California at Berkeley | 73% |
10 | Carnegie Mellon University | 72% |
11 | University of Texas at Austin | 71% |
12 | Judson University | 70% |
13 | University of Oregon | 70% |
14 | Virginia Tech | 69% |
15 | Kent State University | 69% |
16 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture | 67% |
17 | Northeastern University | 67% |
18 | Pennsylvania State University | 67% |
19 | Montana State University | 67% |
20 | University of Washington | 67% |
21 | Tulane University | 67% |
22 | Cornell University | 67% |
23 | Portland State University | 66% |
24 | North Dakota State University | 66% |
25 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 66% |
26 | Columbia University | 65% |
27 | Drury University | 65% |
28 | University of Michigan | 64% |
29 | North Carolina State University | 64% |
30 | University of Cincinnati | 64% |
31 | Clemson University | 64% |
32 | Ball State University | 64% |
33 | University of Maryland | 63% |
34 | South Dakota State University | 63% |
35 | University of Memphis | 63% |
36 | University of Colorado at Denver | 63% |
37 | Washington University in St. Louis | 62% |
38 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 62% |
39 | University of Minnesota | 62% |
40 | Kansas State University | 62% |
41 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 62% |
42 | University of Kentucky | 62% |
43 | University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 62% |
44 | Miami University | 61% |
45 | University of Idaho | 61% |
46 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 61% |
47 | Washington State University | 61% |
48 | Iowa State University | 61% |
49 | Roger Williams University | 61% |
50 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 60% |
51 | University of Illinois at Chicago | 60% |
52 | University of Pennsylvania | 60% |
53 | University of Kansas | 60% |
54 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | 60% |
55 | University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) | 60% |
56 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | 59% |
57 | Temple University | 59% |
58 | Syracuse University | 59% |
59 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 59% |
60 | Rhode Island School of Design | 59% |
61 | Norwich University | 58% |
62 | California Baptist University | 58% |
63 | Lawrence Technological University | 57% |
64 | Thomas Jefferson University | 56% |
65 | University of Oklahoma | 56% |
66 | University of Southern California | 56% |
67 | The Catholic University of America | 55% |
68 | Louisiana State University | 54% |
69 | Arizona State University | 54% |
70 | University of Utah | 54% |
71 | Texas A&M University | 54% |
72 | Louisiana Tech University | 53% |
73 | University of Hartford | 53% |
74 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 53% |
75 | University of Arizona | 53% |
76 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 52% |
77 | Boston Architectural College | 51% |
78 | Texas Tech University | 51% |
79 | University of New Mexico | 51% |
80 | Pratt Institute | 51% |
81 | Andrews University | 51% |
82 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 50% |
83 | University of South Florida | 49% |
84 | University of Detroit Mercy | 49% |
85 | School of the Art Institute of Chicago | 49% |
86 | Massachusetts College of Art and Design | 49% |
87 | California College of the Arts | 49% |
88 | University of Miami | 49% |
89 | California State Polytechnic University – Pomona | 48% |
90 | Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) | 48% |
91 | University of Florida | 48% |
92 | University of Houston | 47% |
93 | University of Texas at Arlington | 47% |
94 | University of Hawai’i at Mānoa | 46% |
95 | University of Texas at San Antonio | 45% |
96 | Savannah College of Arts & Design | 44% |
97 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas | 43% |
98 | City College of New York | 43% |
99 | Morgan State University | 42% |
100 | NewSchool of Architecture & Design | 41% |
101 | Academy of Art University | 40% |
102 | New York Institute of Technology | 40% |
103 | Florida International University | 40% |
104 | Woodbury University | 38% |
105 | Howard University | 35% |
106 | Hampton University | 33% |
107 | Florida A&M University | 32% |
108 | Prairie View A&M University | 25% |
Attending one of the “best architecture schools” doesn’t guarantee a passing score. Whether your school of architecture is near the top of this list or not, your personal path to licensure is what really counts. Consistent study habits and the right prep tools can make all the difference. That’s where Amber Book comes in. Our course is trusted by thousands of candidates to help them pass all six divisions of the ARE 5.0 – faster and with confidence.
Learn more about our ARE 5.0 Prep Course here.
You can also explore our blog for 9 Tips for Passing the ARE or compare your scores to the national average.
All the data used was pulled from NCARB’s ARE 5.0 Pass Rates by School. No trained statisticians were used for this ranking, and we make no claims of scientific validity. We simply culled data from publicly available sources, averaged it, and rank-ordered it.
School licensure pass rates were derived from the average pass rates for each of the six architecture licensure exams averaged over four years (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), so 24 cells in total (six exams multiplied by four years). We averaged the CE division pass rates with the PjM division pass rates (and all the others) and weighted each exam division and year as equal.
We used “missing teeth” in the data as a proxy for “a school is too small or too new to have useful data.” The vast majority of schools had data for each exam, each year. Those that didn’t were left off this rankings list.
While NCARB has found that candidates with graduate degrees, on average, pass exams at a +4% rate relative to candidates with only undergraduate architecture degrees, the school-level data that NCARB provides for programs that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees does not differentiate between the pass rates of the school’s undergraduates and graduates. Therefore, if a university offers both degrees, the overall pass rates for all degrees were reported in each list. Only programs with NAAB accreditation were included in this ranking. Enroll in Amber Book’s multi-exam course today to best prepare for the ARE 5.0.
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