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Sources: Tim de Noble, 785-532-5950, tdenoble@k-state.edu;
and Susan Lannou, 785-532-5047, archdesstuserv@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Diane Potts, 785-532-1090, potts@k-state.edu
Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
K-STATE'S ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PROGRAMS RECEIVE HIGH RANKINGS IN NATIONAL SURVEY
MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's accredited academic design programs have again been ranked highly by professionals in a recent survey published in the journal DesignIntelligence.
According to the 11th annual survey, K-State is ranked:
* Third among bachelor of interior architecture/design programs;
* Third among bachelor of landscape architecture programs;
* Fourth among master of landscape architecture programs;
* Sixth among bachelor of architecture programs;
* Seventh among master of interior architecture/design programs; and
* 16th among master of architecture programs.
"Ours is one of the few schools with such high rankings in multiple programs, an indication of the continued strength of our programs and the potency residing in having the allied professions housed in one college," said Tim de Noble, dean of K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design. "These rankings afford us an even greater opportunity to build upon on our recognized strengths in the future."
Kirk Schulz, K-State president, said the rankings illustrate the quality education provided by K-State.
"The extremely high rankings of these professional programs are a clear indication of how our land-grant university can consistently compete with the finest private or public institutions in the country," Schulz said.
The annual survey is conducted by DesignIntelligence and the Design Futures Council in conjunction with the Almanac of Architecture and Design. A cross section of U.S. architectural and design professionals were asked to rank accredited undergraduate and graduate programs they've had direct experience hiring graduates from. Respondents were asked to select from lists of accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in each discipline, and were asked which college and university programs had best prepared students for professional practice.
K-State's programs in landscape architecture and interior architecture/design have continually ranked in the top eight of the survey and this is the ninth time the K-State architecture program has been in the ranking.
K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design is currently nearing the end of a multiple-year transition from five-year professional bachelor's degrees to offering only five-year professional master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture and product design and landscape architecture. The transition has resulted in the ranking of both the former undergraduate and the new graduate programs in the three disciplines.
Also for survey purposes, K-State's bachelor's programs in interior architecture and product design and interior design – the latter offered by K-State's College of Human Ecology -- are combined.
"Being recognized by employers as being one of the best at preparing students for their profession is indeed a distinction," said Virginia Moxley, dean of the College of Human Ecology. "We are honored to contribute to K-State's excellence in the design disciplines."
The 2010 study also asked about the preparedness of recent graduates in a range of skills. K-State's interior architecture/design programs were ranked third in communication, and the landscape architecture program was ranked second in computer applications, fourth in design and fifth in communication.
Deans and department heads from 166 academic programs also identified the programs they most admired. K-State's undergraduate programs in interior architecture/design and landscape architecture were ranked third in that category.
For the fourth time the survey also listed Dennis Law, professor of landscape architecture and former dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, as one of 25 educators and administrators who exemplify excellence in design education leadership.
According to the survey sponsors, the rankings provide feedback on where quality education is being delivered, valued and communicated. The results can be used, along with other considerations, to help current and future students plan their educational paths. The U.S. has approximately 148 accredited interior architecture/interior design programs, 151 accredited architecture programs, and 63 accredited landscape architecture programs.
