Cornell University, Harvard University, CalPoly and Columbia top this year's list of “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools,” a tabulation conducted annually by DesignIntelligence on behalf of the Design Futures Council. The list ranks undergraduate and graduate programs from the perspective of leading practitioners. This 15th-annual survey was conducted in mid-2014 and reveals the top schools across the country.
The professional practice survey asked select professional leaders the question: “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, they are queried about additional issues, such as how programs rate in teaching various skills.
The results:
Cornell University
Top 10 Undergraduate Architecture Programs
2. California Polytechnic State University
4. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
6. University of Texas at Austin
7. Rhode Island School of Design
8. Southern California Institute of Architecture
10. University of Southern California
Harvard University
Top 10 Graduate Archictecture Programs
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. Rice University tied with University of Pennsylvania*
10. University of California, Berkeley tied with Washington University in St. Louis
Selected professional practice leaders with direct experience hiring and supervising the performance of recent architecture and design graduates are invited to participate in the research.
For the four professions surveyed, a total of 1,426 professional practice organizations participated in the research.
The full report ranked 11-20 and related rankings for interior design, landscape architecture and industrial design programs.
*Where more than one school receives the same number of votes, the schools are given the same numerical ranking, and the next rank is omitted.
