Accreditation

The O'More College of Architecture and Design's Interior Design program has been granted Council for Interior Design (CIDA) Accreditation since 1984. The O'More College's Bachelor of Architecture program is currently in candidacy for National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Accreditation, and is projected to receive accreditation status in 2025. The O'More College's Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising and Interior Design programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

Interior Design

Council for Interior Design (CIDA) Accreditation

Belmont University's O'More College of Architecture & Design (formerly known as the O’More College of Design) has maintained CIDA accreditation (formerly known as FIDER) since 1984. Attending a CIDA-accredited interior design program ensures that you are receiving a quality education that will prepare you for entry into the profession upon graduation and lay the foundation for your future growth as an interior design professional.

In order to receive accreditation through CIDA, an interior design program must meet a set of high academic standards and maintain those standards through a rigorous process of program self-evaluation and peer review.

View our Student Achievement Data

The interior design program leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, www.accredit-id.org, 206 Grandville Avenue, Suite 350, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

The CIDA-accredited program prepares students for entry-level interior design practice, for advanced study, and to apply for membership in professional interior design organizations. The BFA in Interior Design granted by Belmont University meets the educational requirement for eligibility to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification Examination (NCIDQ Exam). For more information about NCIDQ Exam eligibility visit: https://www.cidq.org/eligibility-requirements.

Please visit asid.org/advocate-by-design/state-policy for registration laws including, but not limited to, Practice Act, Title Act, and No Legislation. Use of the terms “interior designer”, “registered interior designer”, and “certified interior designer” vary from state to state.

Architecture

National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Accreditation

In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year, eight-year with conditions, or two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans for achieving initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates a program expects to achieve initial accreditation within six years of achieving candidacy, if its plan is properly implemented.

In order to meet the education requirement set forth by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, an applicant for an NCARB Certificate must hold a professional degree in architecture from a program accredited by the NAAB; the degree must have been awarded not more than two years prior to initial accreditation. However, meeting the education requirement for the NCARB Certificate may not be equivalent to meeting the education requirement for registration in a specific jurisdiction. Please contact NCARB for more information.

Belmont University is currently seeking candidacy status for the following professional degree program in architecture:

• B. Arch. (155 undergraduate credits)
• Year Candidacy Awarded: 2020
• Next Visit: Candidacy (Fall, 2023)
• Projected Year to Achieve Initial Accreditation: 2025
• Earliest Graduation Date projected to meet NCARB education requirement: 2025
• Eligibility Decision Letter (May 20, 2022)
• Architecture Program Report (February 2021)
• Architecture Program Report (March 2023)

Belmont’s B.Arch. will abide by the following documents:

• The 2020 Conditions for Accreditation
• The 2020 Procedures for Accreditation
• Learning and Teaching Culture Statement 
• 2023 NAAB Visiting Team Report (VTR)
• NAAB Decision Letter for Continuing Candidacy

Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising & Interior Design

Founded in 1944, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges, and universities with approximately 321 accredited institutional members. It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for art and design and art/design-related disciplines, and provides assistance to institutions and individuals engaged in artistic, scholarly, educational, and other art/design-related endeavors. 

Educational Requirements for Licensure

Once it achieves accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), Belmont University's Architecture Program will meet the educational requirements for licensure as listed below:

The following territories do not offer a license to practice architecture:

American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Architecture Admissions and Placement 

A major in architecture is declared by the individual student during the application and admission process to the University. If a student meets the admission criteria of the University, they are accepted for advising in their architecture major.

The Architecture Department does not require a specific portfolio or interview process for admission, but may initiate either of them to determine whether transfer credit or advanced standing in the architecture department curriculum map is a consideration during advising.

Any Advanced Placement (AP) or other transfer course credits are first evaluated by the Office of the Registrar. They are available to advisors after the student is admitted to the University. Courses given specific course credit are designated once the Registrar evaluates official transcripts submitted for each student applicant; the remainder of transferred course credits are considered electives at Belmont.

The Architecture Department Chair and other academic advisors assist the student in preparation for course registration and address specific major curricular requirements in keeping with the following information on the website regarding accreditation standards for the program describes: https://www.belmont.edu/academics/majors-programs/barch-architecture/

Transfer Credit Policy

Determination of eligibility for general education transfer credit will be determined by the Office of the Registrar.

Determination of eligibility for architecture program requirements transfer credit (ARC courses) will be determined by the Chair of the Department of Architecture, based on:

• Alignment of general course content
• Demonstration of achievement of applicable NAAB-defined Program or Student Criteria

Students requesting that courses completed at another institution be considered for Belmont ARC credit must submit to the Department Chair:

• that institution’s catalog description for the course and
• the syllabus for the semester it was taken.

For some courses, the Chair may also request examples of coursework. In most cases, transfer courses proposed for credit for Belmont ARC courses numbered 3000- or higher must be completed in an NAAB-accredited program.

The Architecture Program at Belmont currently has no established articulation agreement with other institutions and does not award credit for other prior learning experience.

The student and advisors submit requests to waive a course or prerequisite requirement to the Department Chair for approval. A University registration form is used for this and the Registrar creates updated records that advisors and students use for meeting degree requirements. The DegreeWorks platform is currently used for University degrees based on each major and minor the student has chosen.

The department chair must make the final decision in approving credit, and the architecture program has not considered transfer credit for any third-year or above course for an architecture major unless it came from a NAAB accredited degree program. Courses prior to the third year in the B.Arch. curriculum map are considered at the student’s request during advising for entrance to the major. The following additional guidelines are considered by the chair in the advising process:

• Students with transfer credits are interviewed by the chair or advising coordinator for possible placement in the second year of the curriculum through transfer credit or waiving courses based on previous learning through education or work experience.
• Students with over 30 transfer credits are interviewed by the chair or advising coordinator and advised of the possibility for waiving courses or taking some prerequisites as corequisites. The chair reviews the course descriptions and student learning outcomes with the students and compares the students previous course performance to make recommendations. An overall grade point average of 3.0 or above for transfer courses is recommended if a student is to consider prerequisites being taken as co-requisites.
• The Adult Degree Program (ADP) students are admitted through the University College and much of their advising process is done through consultation with the department chair. A consistent approval process is achieved through the chair’s oversight and the use of both the review of student work and the interview process.

The program seeks to provide access to the degree path that will accommodate persons form a variety of preparatory backgrounds. We also understand that previous investments in higher education and professional experience require due consideration both for the quality of education we offer and recommend as well as sharing known opportunities to consider for better stewardship of the financial and time investments required for the B.Arch degree and the path to licensure as an architect.

Important note: Up to this point, these processes have been overseen by Prof. Thomas Lowing in his capacity as Department Chair. Beginning in the Spring 2026 semester, Prof. Lowing will transition to the role of Advising and AXP Coordinator, focusing on the reception of incoming and transfer students as well as engagement with our alumni. He will continue to oversee these procedures and provide recommendations to the incoming Department Chair, Dr. Fernando Lima.