Auburn’s Industrial Design and Architecture Programs Ranked in Top Fifteen

Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) programs continue to be ranked among the nation’s best by DesignIntelligence in its annual survey, “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools 2015.” This year, CADC’s graduate and undergraduate programs in Industrial Design are ranked in the top 10 degree programs in their fields nationally. The architecture program is ranked 12. These rankings are based on annual surveys of leading practitioners in these fields.

Ranked eighth nationally in 2015, Auburn’s industrial design undergraduate program in the School of Industrial + Graphic Design has been ranked in the top ten since 2007. It is ranked third in the South.

The Industrial Design graduate program is ranked ninth this year and has been in the top ten nationally for the last ten years. It is ranked fourth in the South. Hiring firms nationally rank Auburn’s Industrial Design program third in the skill area of communication and fifth in computer applications.

Among the strengths that make Auburn’s Industrial Design undergraduate and graduate programs highly regarded are its industry-sponsored collaborations. These offer students invaluable opportunities to work with corporate clients in studios that replicate the product design team and client relationship. Among the many industries industrial design has collaborated with, the Emerson Tool Company has worked with program for twelve consecutive years. “I really enjoy the studios with the Industrial Design students at Auburn because of their creativity and energy,” says Chad Severson, President of Emerson Tool. “Given the potential of the students we’ve seen firsthand, it’s no wonder Emerson’s own industrial design department is dominated by Auburn graduates.”

For ten consecutive years, the Auburn Architecture program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture has been ranked in the top 20 architecture programs nationally. Ranked 12 nationally, CADC’s undergraduate architecture program was ranked fourth in the South. Hiring firms have ranked the Architecture program second nationally in the skill areas of construction methods and materials, fifth in sustainable design practices and principles, and ninth in cross-disciplinary teamwork.

“The recognition of Auburn as a top tier school surprises none of us who work with architects across our profession,” says Don Brown, FAIA, who is a 1971 Auburn architecture graduate, and Vice President of the American Institute of Architects as well as Senior Principal of Brown Studio Architecture in Montgomery, Alabama. Brown goes on to say, “Auburn’s excellent talent is consistently nurtured by insightful faculty. Auburn is preparing the future of our great profession, and I am proud wherever I speak across the country to claim Auburn as my start.”

DesignIntelligence also recognized the exemplary talent of CADC faculty and graduates in their list of “30 Most Admired Educators for 2015.” Andrew Freear, director of CADC’s Rural Studio, was chosen as a “humble and dedicated leader to both his students and community.” Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, a 1980 graduate of CADC’s architecture program, was selected as an “exemplar as a practicing architect and academic leader.” He is Department Head and Distinguished Professor in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas and founder and principal of Marlon Blackwell Architect.

Vini Nathan, dean and McWhorter chair in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, said, “I am delighted that our programs continue to receive national recognition. It serves to support the high academic rigor and professional relevance of the design programs in the CADC. The extremely strong reputation of our programs is testimony to the convergence of our bright students, dedicated faculty and staff, and supportive administration, alumni, advisory board, and industry partners.”

The Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction is comprised of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, the McWhorter School of Building Science, one of the oldest, largest and most respected construction management programs in the United States, and the School of Industrial and Graphic Design, whose Graphic Design program was included in Graphic Design USA’s 23 top graphic design programs from around the country “for nurturing the award-winners and game-changers of the future.”