School programs ranked highly in annual DesignIntelligence rankings: Landscape Architecture ranked #1
All programs within the School of Architecture + Design have again been highly ranked in a survey of design education in the United States. The 2010 rankings by DesignIntelligence, the only national college rankings focused exclusively on design, are based on a survey of 381 private practice firms and other organizations that hire architects, landscape architects, interior designers, or industrial designers who were asked: “From your hiring experience in the past five years, which schools are best preparing students for success in the architecture/landscape architecture/interior design/industrial design profession?”
This year the Landscape Architecture undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the U.S. among programs accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), and the graduate program is ranked #2.
The undergraduate Architecture program is ranked #4 nationally among B.Arch. programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and is tied at #2 in the survey of college deans and academic program chairs, cited for its well-rounded preparation of students, its integrated design approach, and comprehensive balance of design and technology. The graduate program in Architecture is ranked #8 among NAAB-accredited graduate programs.
The graduate program in Interior Design is ranked #7, and the undergraduate program is tied at #4 in the survey of college deans and academic program chairs, admired for the quality of its faculty and for balancing design excellence with professional preparation.
The Industrial Design undergraduate program is ranked #11 in the nation.
Significantly, of the 25 design educators from across the U.S. listed by DesignIntelligence as the “most admired,” four are from the School of Architecture + Design. They are:
Brian Katen, Associate Professor and Chair of the Landscape Architecture program.
Ronald Kemnitzer, Professor and Chair of the Industrial Design program.
Patrick Miller, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Outreach.
Lisa Tucker, Assistant Professor of Interior Design.
The DesignIntelligence report also includes an architecture student survey, statistics on architecture and design schools, and a multidimensional ranking of landscape architecture programs based on five criteria: current rankings by professional practices, historic 10-year rankings by professional practices, rankings by academic program chairs and deans, overall campus environment and student evaluations, and program accreditation. In addition, the report contains writings on various topics of interest to architects and designers, including an article on “Ongoing Education,” featuring CAUS Dean Jack Davis and Prof. Robert Dunay and alumni Jane Cady Wright, Keith Storms, and Matthew Pearson of Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Co.
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.