January 13, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tracee de Hahn
College of Architecture and Environmental Engineering
805-756-7114; tdehahn@calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Earns Top National Rankings in Survey of Architecture and Design Professionals
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Two programs in Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design placed in the 2009 DesignIntelligence survey ranking public and private degree programs nationally.
Cal Poly’s Architecture Department ranked third among undergraduate programs, up from fourth place the previous year. Cal Poly’s Architecture program has made the nation’s Top 20 list since 2003 with a ranking of sixth or better.
The Landscape Architecture Department ranked 10th in the list of the nation’s Top 20 undergraduate programs. The Landscape Architecture program has made the list since 2005, ranking as high as fifth in 2007.
The survey also rates the best institutions at preparing students for specific skills. For the second year in a row, Cal Poly’s architecture program earned the nation’s top honor in the Construction Methods and Materials category. This ranking is based on a range of skills such as design, analysis and planning, and research and theory. Responses cited Cal Poly’s “integrated curriculum, preparation of graduates ready for work, and sustainability.”
The 10th annual survey queried leading practitioners from a cross-section of industries and regions about the programs they considered to be best overall, and their satisfaction with new graduates.
“The Architecture Department remains ambitious about educating creative leaders who are successful in an integrative and interdisciplinary environment. We are pleased that the DesignIntelligence rankings confirm that through the success of our alumni,” said Henri T. de Hahn, department head, Architecture.
Administrators in the Landscape Architecture Department are proud to be building a reputation beyond the Western region. “Making the Top 20 on a national list is really a tribute, since about 85 percent of our alumni work within California,” said Margarita M. Hill, department head, Landscape Architecture.
For more information about programs in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design go to www.caed.calpoly.edu.
DesignIntelligence is a bi-monthly journal published by the Design Futures Council, a Washington, D.C. think tank that examines architecture, engineering and building technology.
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