Auburn’s Industrial Design and Architecture Programs Ranked in Top Ten Nationally

Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) programs once again are ranked among the nation’s best by DesignIntelligence in its annual survey, “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools 2016.” This year, CADC’s graduate and undergraduate programs in industrial design are ranked in the top five degree programs in their fields nationally. The architecture program is ranked eighth. These rankings are based on annual surveys of leading practitioners in these fields.

The industrial design graduate program in the School of Industrial +Graphic Design is ranked third nationally for 2016 and has been in the top ten nationally for the last ten years. Ranked fifth nationally in 2016, Auburn’s undergraduate industrial design program has been ranked in the top ten since 2007. Hiring firms rank Auburn’s industrial design program first in the skill areas of communication skills, construction methods and materials, cross-disciplinary teamwork, planning, research, sustainable design practices and principles; second in theory; third in computer applications; and fourth in design skills.

For ten consecutive years, the Auburn architecture program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture has been ranked in the top twenty architecture programs nationally. Ranked eighth nationally in 2016, hiring firms have ranked the architecture program second nationally in the skill areas of construction methods and materials; fourth in sustainable design practices and principles; fifth in cross-disciplinary team work, and seventh in communication skills. Architecture deans from across the country rank Auburn’s architecture program fourth “for its highly admired Rural Studio and leadership in community service and design.”

Vini Nathan, dean and McWhorter Endowed Chair in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, said, “These national rankings reflect the consistently high academic rigor and professional relevance of the design programs in our college. The exemplary nature of our programs is testimony to the convergence of our bright students, dedicated faculty and staff, supportive administration, generous alumni and advisory boards, and engaged 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 top graphic design programs from around the country “for nurturing the award-winners and game-changers of the future.”