International Accreditation

(M.UD) and the Master of Urban Studies (M.US) degrees. The M.UD degree, in combination with an M.Arch (Prof), leads to candidacy as an Urban Designer with the Urban Design Institute of South Africa (UDISA). UDISA is not a professional body with a mandate from the Ministry of Public Works like SACAP is; it is only a voluntary professional association. However, some professionals find that Professional Urban Designer qualification leads to some additional career opportunities.

The M.US degree is a single nonprofessional qualification requiring one of five different areas of specialisation: • Sustainable & Energy Efficient Cities • Urban Politics & Governance • Urban Studies • Housing & Human Settlements • Urban Research

Levels of Professional Registration With the BAS degree, one becomes eligible to register as a Candidate Architectural Technologist (C.Arch.T) with SACAP and, following one year of documented work experience and the successful completion of a professional exam, registration as a Professional Architectural Technologist (Pr. Arch.T) Registering in this category allows one to take on certain responsibilities within the profession. Registration in this category is not required to gain eligibility for the BAS (Hons) degree.

Upon graduation with an M.Arch (Prof), one is eligible to register with SACAP as a Candidate Architect (C.Arch). SACAP requires Candidate Architects to gain, document, and submit reports about relevant professional experience they are gaining under the supervision of a Professional Architect (Pr.Arch). Once these requirements are completed, one becomes eligible to sit for the professional registration exams which, if completed successfully, unlock the Pr.Arch category of registration.

The typical journey to becoming a Professional Architect will last a minimum of 7 or 8 years, though it could take longer than that depending on one’s circumstances.

Complete information on the professional registration categories can be found on SACAP’s website: https://www.sacapsa.com

To ensure quality and consistency of professional competence, professional bodies around the world require professional degree programmes to be accredited by their national body (SACAP in South Africa) and in some cases, by international bodies.

The entire sequence of architecture degrees [BAS, BAS (Hons), M.Arch (Prof)] are validated by SACAP nationally, and by the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) internationally.

Both SACAP the CAA is part of an international agreement called the Canberra Accord that recognises university qualifications as equal across all jurisdictions of the signatory bodies. This includes the CAA, (which includes 34 countries, mostly in Africa, the Pacific and the Carribean, but also including Australia and the UK), as well as national professional accreditation bodies of Canada, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico, and the USA.