In its thirty-five year existence, the New Jersey School of Architecture has played an important role in architectural education in New Jersey. The need for a public College of Architecture in New Jersey was recognized as early as 1958, when the New Jersey Society of Architects (NJSA) actively lobbied for its creation.

In 1972, the NJSA asked the AIA to appoint a National Advisory Committee to make recommendations for a public School of Architecture in New Jersey. The Committee subsequently recommended that the School be established in Newark. In 1973, the Newark College of Engineering submitted a formal proposal to the State Board of Higher Education. With the Board's approval, the New Jersey School of Architecture was born.

By September of that year, the NJSOA established office space in temporary quarters in Tiernan Hall. In its first year, the School consisted of founding dean Harlyn Thompson, an administrative assistant, a secretary, and two work-study students. By the first full operating year (1974-75), the School had grown to include 240 full-time students and 8 faculty members, some of whom are still active today.

Accreditation was granted in 1978, following the graduation of the first class in 1977. Dean Thompson resigned in 1979 and was followed by Professor Barry Jackson, who was appointed acting dean and served until January, 1981. At that time, Sanford Greenfield was appointed dean and served for nearly ten years. The present dean, Urs Gauchat, was appointed in February, 1991.

Since its inception, the New Jersey School of Architecture has continuously built its academic, research, and technical strength. In addition to the initial accredited Bachelor of Architecture program, the School initiated other undergraduate and graduate programs to provide our students more educational opportunities, particularly for those interested in pursuing study in related fields.

• 1984/85: Master of Architecture (accredited program)
• 1984/85: Master of Science in Architecture
• 1996/97: Master of Infrastructure Planning

In 2009, NJIT created a new School of Art and Design and created a College of Architecture and Design to house both schools.

Mission

Architecture is intrinsically an optimistic profession. As designers, we aspire to better the conditions of human life - to elevate the spirit, stir the emotions, engage the intellect, and improve the quality of human experience through intervention in the built environmnent. Architecture is also an ambitious profession. Most architects - practitioners and educators alike - set goals well beyond our legal obligation to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. This is the spirit that infuses the graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture at the New Jersey School of Architecture.

The goal of the undergraduate program has been and will continue to be to prepare students with the skills and knowledge necessary for employment in a "generalized" architecture practice immediately upon graduation. To that end, the NJSOA curriculum addresses the changing demands imposed by the 21st century, as well as satisfies the mandates required for accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

The mission of the graduate program of NJSOA is not only to prepare students for careers within the broad field of architecture, but also to help them find a direction and a footing within that field. The graduate program is enriched by the diverse educational backgrounds of our entering students, many of whom earned their undergraduate degrees in fields outside of architecture.

The NJSOA vision anticipates continued growth and change primarily in related design disciplines and foresees the transformation of the New Jersey School of Architecture into a more broadly-based College of Design. We have already begun to move toward that future with the introduction of the Industrial Design, Interior Design, Digital Design and Fine Arts programs. Such expansion will diversify not only our program offerings, but the range of our student population, the experience and diversity they bring to NJIT, and the richness of their subsequent careers and contributions to society.

_{In the United States, most state 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 U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extend of its conformance with established educational standards.}

_{Master's degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. richness of their subsequent careers and contributions to society.}

_{The NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans for achiveing initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates that a program should be accredited within 6 years of achieving candidacy, if its plan is properly implemented.}

_{The New Jersey School of Architecture at NJIT is an accredited degree program.}