why not just stay in Spain? you wouldn't have to go through any licensing exam there.

I don't think Spain signed the canberra accord but I know that NAAB can evaluate programs in other countries to see if their program is close to our accredited programs in the states. I'm not sure if they would consider it accredited, but it can transfer. I'd suggest you contact NAAB and see if they have some kind of Substantial Equivalency program with schools in Catalunya.

thanks DA. Staying in Spain is a tempting proposition, regardless of the economic implications your user name suggests; the economy here is worse off than the U.S, so I'm looking elsewhere in E.U. as well.

thanks poop. (refraining comments) I'll continue to contact NAAB. My initial communications with them (BEFORE leaving the States) went nowhere. Although I didn't think of asking if they had such a database or program. We'll soon see. All of Spain is on vacation this month anyway, so my only communications on the matter will be back across the Atlantic.

thanks DA. Staying in Spain is a tempting proposition, regardless of the economic implications your user name suggests; the economy here is worse off than the U.S, so I'm looking elsewhere in E.U. as well.

thanks poop. (refraining comments) I'll continue to contact NAAB. My initial communications with them (BEFORE leaving the States) went nowhere. Although I didn't think of asking if they had such a database or program. We'll soon see. All of Spain is on vacation this month anyway, so my only communications on the matter will be back across the Atlantic.

I thought all accredited programs were only in the US?

"Architecture programs outside of the United States and Canada are eligible for NAAB accreditation provided that the program can meet the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation. Programs that cannot meet the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation may apply for NAAB Substantial Equivalency. [Accredited degrees from NAAB and CACB, the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, programs satisfy the NCARB Educational Standard. A professional degree in architecture from a Canadian university certified by the CACB will also satisfy the NCARB Education Standard.]"

Yep, that was what I had in mind... USA and Canada.

Having worked for NAAB, the truth is that there is only one school outside of the U.S. that is currently a candidate program - American University of Sharjah - and this is only because the have Middle States Accreditation.

Thus, there are no accredited programs in Spain. However, someone with a foreign architecture education can have their education evaluated against the NCARB Education Standard through EESA, a service of NAAB -- https://www.eesa-naab.org/home.aspx --

It is expensive but is equivalent to obtaining an accredited degree.

Contact NAAB for more information.

Thank you all.

Dr. Architecture, you are the man. Thank you for this peace of mind, regardless if it's not what I wanted to hear. I was led astray during an NAAB lecture, where I was told that if the IDP process was completed prior to attending a foreign university, one would not be subject to the EESA eval. Not so. I hounded NAAB for 3 months until I finally got this erroneous statement clarified.

What I will investigate further is what you stated about the EESA eval being the equivalence to obtaining an accredited degree. It is my understanding that the EESA eval is neither a guarantee or a substitute for accreditation, merely a comparison against the NCARB standards.

Alas, I may have to take my ARE exams via WI upon returning home to the states; since they don't require a professional degree to satisfy NCARB.

Correct me if I'm wrong Dr. Architecture, but I think what EESA does is evaluate. If they find that the program you did doesn't meet the requirements, you might have to take some more classes, but THEN your education would be the same as an accredited degree.
I guess, sotelo, if you could find out what the requirements are (tell me if you find that, I'd be interested, too) you could compare that to what you get in Spain and see if it's worth it...

Regarding the costs: EESA is about $1600. I'm not sure how much a semester costs you in Spain, but definitely less than in the US, so it might be worth doing it that way...