Virginia Tech Architecture and Interior Design Programs Move Up in 2004 National Rankings

For the 5th year, DesignIntelligence and the Almanac of Architecture and Design asked the leaders of the country's best design firms to rank which colleges and universities have the most outstanding programs. For 2004, the Virginia Tech architecture undergraduate program ranked 4^th in the nation, up from14 ^th in 2003, and the interior design program ranked 8^th, up from 10^th place, in 2003. The annual rankings are compiled in conjunction with Counsel House Research.

The surveys were targeted to individuals in each firm who have direct experience with the hiring and performance of graduates, asking them to choose the institutions that produced graduates most prepared for real-world practice.

The survey also examined how architecture and design firms rank the academic programs of the colleges and universities in their own regions, dividing the country into four regions. In the southern region, comprised of 14 states from Virginia to Texas, Virginia Tech's bachelor of architecture program ranked 2^nd (with North Carolina State University and University of Tennesee Knoxville) and the master of architecture program ranked 9^th in the region.

The report also listed Virginia Tech as 12^th for Editor's Choice value ranking among design schools with tuition under $19,999, also taking into consideration other factors such as overall reputation, technology, studios, library resources, and learning environment.

Virginia Tech's School of Architecture + Design in the College of Architecture & Urban Studies is one of 113 national accredited* schools of architecture in the United States offering a Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Science in industrial design, and Bachelor of Science in interior design**, as well as Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Architecture, and Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning . It is the largest of six programs offered in the state of Virginia with nearly 1,100 students and more than 65 faculty members.

Further information about the 2004 Design Intelligence report can be found at http://www.di.net/.

*NAAB-accredited (National Architectural Accrediting Board)

**FIDER-accredited (Foundation for Interior Design Education Research)