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16 architecture deans criticize and opt out of DesignIntelligence school rankings

2022-09-06T19:14:00-04:00

Academic ranking systems, and their methodology, in particular, are once again at the center of a nationwide conversation that has brought together the deans of sixteen prominent architecture schools. In a recently-published joint letter, the signees voice their concern over what they call "lack of rigor" — and the subsequent negative implications on the design community — of the annual DesignIntelligence survey and ranking, describing it as "out of touch" with the goals and ambitions of their respective programs.

"However well-intentioned they may be," the letter states, "we believe that the DI rankings have the potential to create a disservice to the public." The deans express their disappointment that, despite allegedly sharing their concerns with the DesignIntelligence leadership and following a short hiatus at the beginning of the pandemic, the publication returned as "ratings" instead of "rankings."

Acknowledging that many of the represented schools have done very well in past...

2020 "most admired" architecture schools according to DesignIntelligence

2019-10-03T09:53:00-04:00

We also survey students, and this year two unexpected results stood out from the 4,000-plus responses we received. First was the 5 percent drop in architecture undergraduate students wishing to go on to graduate school. [...] The second standout was the answer to the following question: “If there were no barriers, what firm would you want to work for?” The No. 1 response overall was to be self-employed.

The DesignIntelligence 2020 architecture school rankings are out! The annual design industry survey asks hiring professionals two basic questions:

"What schools do you most admire for a combination of faculty, programs, culture, and student preparation for the profession?”
“From which schools have you hired the greatest number of (undergraduate or graduate) students in the last five years?”

The responses record the degree to which students have the ability to hit the ground running in their new jobs following graduation, among other factors. The survey, according to DesignIntelligence, assesses how recent graduates perform according to 12 skill areas encompassing knowledge of how buildings come together, communication and decision-making abilities, and digital technology skills. Using the accumulated responses, the organization tabulates top 10 rankings for both graduate and undergraduate programs, shown below.

The Top 10 Most Admired Architecture Undergraduate Programs

1. Cornell Un...

2018 top 10 architecture schools according to DesignIntelligence's new survey questions

2018-09-05T13:18:00-04:00

Each year for the past 19 years, DesignIntelligence has conducted the same survey across the design industry regarding architecture-school rankings. The number of valid responses from hiring managers of architecture and design-professional firms typically range between 2,600 and 3,200, year over year. But this year was markedly different: we had more than 4,500 valid responses, which may reflect the urgency of improving architectural education.

DesignIntelligence has been conducting a yearly design industry survey to rank architecture undergraduate and graduate programs for the past 19 years. For this year's ranking DI has changed their primary question of “Which programs are best preparing students for a future in the profession?” to asking two different questions:

"What schools do you most admire for a combination of faculty, programs, culture, and student preparation for the profession?”
“From which schools have you hired the greatest number of (undergraduate or graduate) students in the last five years?”

Through asking these two questions in the design industry DesignIntelligence has ranked the following schools in the top 10 for 2018.

The Top 10 Architecture Undergraduate Programs

1 Cornell University
2 Rice University
3 Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (SLO)
4 Syracuse University
5 Cooper Union
6 Rhode Island School of Design
7 Pratt Institute
8 Virginia Tech
9 Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
10 University of...

Top 10 U.S. architecture schools of 2017, according to Design Intelligence

2016-09-09T14:52:00-04:00

Since 2010, Cornell has topped DI's Undergraduate rankings (except for 2014, when Cal Poly San Louis Obispo was first), with Harvard consistently being first in Graduate programs (excluding 2011, when University of Michigan got the top spot). How 2017's top 10 schools compare to one another since 2010 can be seen below:

The rankings are formed under the following methodology, according to a report in Architectural Record:

DesignIntelligence sent surveys to CEOs, managing partners, and human-resource directors asking about their findings in hiring architecture graduates. The respondents could select up to 10 National Architectural Accrediting Board–certified undergraduate and graduate programs in each category. Each survey response was checked for authenticity and validated by the research staff at DesignIntelligence. In cases of dubious or unreliable information that could not be confirmed, researchers eliminated the questionable return. Researchers also confirmed that the person resp...

Cornell, Harvard and Louisiana State top Design Intelligence's Best Architecture & Design Schools of 2016

2015-11-10T20:32:00-05:00

For every year since 2007, Cornell has held first place for undergraduate architecture (save for being supplanted by Virgina Tech in 2008 and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2014), and Harvard has consistently held first place for graduate. In the 2016 rankings for landscape architecture, Louisiana State University took the top undergraduate position, with Harvard as the #1 graduate school.

For all Design Intelligence 2016 rankings in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and industrial design, please see the image gallery below.

Check out previous years' rankings below:

Update 9/9/2016: an earlier version of this piece incorrectly listed Cal Poly SLO as the top undergraduate program in 2016, when that spot belongs to Cornell.

DI releases Design School Rankings for 2013

2012-11-01T20:45:00-04:00

This year’s rankings by deans, administrators, students and practitioners show that there is considerable quality in design schools but also reveals an unrelenting and increasingly dynamic restlessness for renewed strength and fresh relevance. Any drifting away from quality expectations is most certainly the enemy to the design professions of the future.

Architecture, Graduate

1 Harvard University
2 Columbia University
3 Yale University
4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5 Cornell University

Architecture, Undergraduate

1 Cornell University
2 Southern California Institute of Architecture
3 Rice University
3 Syracuse University
5 California Polytechnic State Univ., San Luis Obispo

Landscape Architecture, Graduate

1 Harvard University
2 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
3 Cornell University
3 Louisiana State University
5 University of Virginia

Landscape Architecture, Undergraduate

1 Louisiana State University
2 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
3 Pennsylvania State University
4 Kansas State University
5 Texas A&M University

Interior Design, Graduate

1 Savannah College of Art and Design
2 Rhode Island School of Design
3 Pratt Institute
4 Cornell University
4 Parsons The New School of Design

Interior Design, Undergraduate

1 Savannah College of Art and De...

Design Thinking meets the USA Army

2010-05-03T17:58:45-04:00

Design is almost overnight the centerpiece of military doctrine and the U.S. Army has gotten design thinking quite right. The struggle to get design thinking ensconced in Army doctrine, though, is no easy feat. More in Design Observer Also, covered previously on Archinect.

Practicing design in a complex world

2009-04-01T08:35:55-04:00

Students from the US Armed Forces, USAID, FBI and international militaries applied design theory to future scenarios templated in CENTCOM, EUCOM, PACOM, and NORTHCOM.

At the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, KS, 96 SAMS students, faculty and contractors recently finished a six week experimentation period using “design” to approach military operations. Read about how "Students from the US Armed Forces, USAID, FBI and international militaries applied design theory to future scenarios templated in CENTCOM, EUCOM, PACOM, and NORTHCOM. The design principles concentrated the student’s efforts not on solving “the” problem, but first on defining the “correct” problem set and developing a methodology to manage the environment through application of all elements of national power. The most recent experiment took the design efforts and focused on producing information to be used by planners. The interface for designers and planners in this case was a campaign directive."