James Cramer and the Greenway Group have just released the 13th edition of DesignIntelligence, a compilation of different rankings for accredited architecture schools in the United States. The report attempts to create a level playing ground upon which to rank the universities by polling thousands of students, talking to deans and administrators, interviewing successful designers in private practices, and visiting each university campus. While the findings may raise some debate, overall, the report creates a dialogue as to how, and to what extent, higher education responds to the changing demands of our profession. We will be focusing on key aspects of the report throughout the following weeks such as regional rankings for accredited universities, an interesting deans’ survey, a selection of top educators, and even charts featuring award-wining firms and their graduate affiliations. And, to begin, let’s introduce the top 10 undergraduate and graduate Architecture Programs of 2012.
Check out the list after the break.
Cornell University continues to occupy the top spot for best undergraduate architecture program, a position it has held since 2005. Other highlights from this year’s report include Iowa State University grabbing 9th position after having fallen off the top 20 list last year, and The University of Texas at Austin jumping from 7th position last year to 2nd this year. As usual, Cal Poly has a strong standing and it is worth mentioning that the university has had a remarkable high ranking for the part nine years (it achieved rankings as follows: 4, 3,3,4,6,3,4,3)!
Switching to the top 20 graduate programs, Harvard returned to gain the prized number 1 position (the University of Michigan had ousted Harvard last year), followed by the power houses of Yale and Columbia.
While the top schools show a range of diversity in terms of design philosophy, they share a strength in motivating, inspiring and preparing students for the future. As Cramer explained “We’ve learned that during this economic recession many design schools are perceived to be at their best…It’s not a bleak picture. The hopes and visions for the 21st century are robust, and leaders are envisioning new frontiers of relevance.”
Top 10 Undergraduate Architecture Schools
1. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 2. University of Texas, Austin, Texas 3. Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 5. Rice University, Houston, Texas 6. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 7. Southern California Institute of Architecture , Los Angeles, California 8. Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 9. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 10. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
Top 10 Graduate Architecture Schools
1. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 3. Columbia University, New York City, New York 4. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 5. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 6. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 8. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 9. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
