Programs in the School of Architecture + Design Highly Ranked
The School of Architecture + Design’s programs have again been highly ranked in the annual survey of design education in the United States by DesignIntelligence, which publishes the only national college rankings focused exclusively on design. Rankings are based on survey responses from 277 private practice organizations that were asked, “In your firm’s hiring experience in the past five years, which of the following schools are best preparing students for success in the profession?” In addition to the school rankings by professionals, deans and chairs from 111 academic programs participated in surveys, the data from which is presented separately from the practitioner rankings.
For 2012, Virginia Tech’s undergraduate Architecture program is ranked #3 in the nation, moving up from #4. The deans ranked the program #2, citing the program’s “design quality, preparation for professional practice, and collaboration with other majors.”
The undergraduate program in Interior Design is tied for #8 nationally. The deans ranked the program #3, citing its “faculty, comprehensive education, and collaborative teaching approach.”
The undergraduate Landscape Architecture program is ranked #13 in the nation, and the graduate program is tied for #12. The deans ranked the undergraduate program #4, citing its “excellent resources, good design program, and diversity of students.”
The deans’ survey ranked the undergraduate program in Industrial Design #2 in the nation, citing its “emphasis on human factors, comprehensive program, and quality of students.”
Again this year, DesignIntelligence has listed the 25 “most admired” design educators from across the U.S.; included in this prestigious group are Prof. Robert Dunay, Director of the Center for Design Research and the T. A. Carter Professor of Architecture (more info…), and Prof. Scott Poole, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the School of Architecture + Design and now Dean of the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee.
In the 2012 Leadership Index of industry leaders in award-winning firms, two Virginia Tech alumni are featured: Jane Cady Wright (B.Arch., 1980) and Nicholas E. Vlattas (B.Arch., 1976), both of Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company.
Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design is one the most comprehensive of its kind, with more than 1,100 students and nearly 100 faculty and staff.