Overall, graduate architecture programs are more likely to require the design thesis than undergraduate ones. Of sixty-nine NAAB accredited undergraduate B Arch architecture programs, twenty-three or 33% require the design thesis. Of eighty-one NAAB accredited graduate M Arch architecture programs forty or 49.4% require the design thesis.

The length of time allowed for completion of the design thesis also fluctuates but preference is given to a one-semester time period. Of the twenty-three NAAB accredited undergraduate B Arch architecture programs that require a design thesis, fifteen or 65% require a one-semester design thesis, seven programs or 31% require a two-semester design thesis, and one program or 4% requires a three-quarter design thesis. Three undergraduate programs offer an optional design thesis. A thesis preparation course is required in sixteen of twenty-three undergraduate programs or 70%.

Of the forty NAAB accredited graduate M Arch architecture programs that require a design thesis, twenty-seven or 68% require a one-semester design thesis and thirteen or 32% require a two-semester design thesis. Eleven graduate programs offer an optional design thesis. A thesis preparation course is required in forty of forty graduate programs or 100%.