Programs in the School of Architecture + Design Ranked in Top 10 Nationally
All programs within the School of Architecture + Design have again been highly ranked in a survey of design education in the United States, and for the first time all four undergraduate programs in the School are ranked in the top 10 in their disciplines.
DesignIntelligence publishes the only national college rankings focused exclusively on design. Rankings are based on survey responses from 220 private practice firms and other organizations that hire architects, landscape architects, interior designers, or industrial designers. The survey also includes a “skills assessment” for each discipline. In addition, deans and chairs from 126 academic programs participated in a survey which is presented separately from the rankings.
For 2011, the Architecture Deans’ Survey of “most admired” B. Arch programs lists Virginia Tech #3 nationally, citing the program’s “high admission standards, excellent facilities and innovative pedagogy.”
The undergraduate Architecture program is tied for #4 in the rankings of B.Arch. programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), and the graduate Architecture program is ranked #12 among accredited graduate programs. The Architecture Skills Assessment ranking, which surveys both undergraduate and graduate programs, lists Virginia Tech #2 in Construction Methods and Materials, #4 in both Analysis and Planning and in Sustainable Design Practices and Principles, and #5 in Computer Applications and in Communication.
The undergraduate Landscape Architecture program is tied for #3 in the nation, and the graduate program is tied for #4. In the Landscape Architecture Skills Assessment, Virginia Tech is ranked #4 in the three categories of Design, Communication and Computer Applications.
The undergraduate program in Interior Design is tied for #6 nationally, and the graduate program is tied for #9. In the Interior Design Skills Assessment rankings the program is tied for #1 in Computer Applications and tied for #3 in Communication.
The Industrial Design program is tied for #10 in the nation and, in the Industrial Design Skills Assessment, is tied for #3 in Computer Applications.
This year again, DesignIntelligence has listed the 25 “most admired” design educators from across the U.S., and two are from the School of Architecture and School of Design. They are:
- Robert Dunay, Director of the Center for Design Research and the T. A. Carter Professor of Architecture.
- Ron Kemnitzer, Professor and Chair of the Industrial Design Program.
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.