School of Architecture + Design ranked in top ten nationally

The undergraduate and graduate architecture and interior design programs in Virginia Tech's School of Architecture + Design in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech are ranked among the top ten in America.

In its 2007 report, DesignIntelligence, the only national college ranking survey focused exclusively on design, has ranked Virginia Tech's undergraduate architecture program fourth nationwide and first among public universities. The graduate program in architecture was ranked tenth in the nation and second among public universities.

DesignIntelligence ranks the School's undergraduate interior design program seventh in the nation. The graduate interior design program is ranked fifth (up from ninth last year) in the nation.

According to Scott Poole, School of Architecture + Design director, the DesignIntelligence rankings are the result of polling nearly 300 professional firms who have assessed our graduates and found them among the best in the nation.

"These ranking are particularly gratifying considering the fact that there are nearly 120 accredited architecture programs and nearly 150 interior design programs in the United States," said Poole.

Virginia Tech is listed as one of the architecture schools with the most faculty awards in the nation. Gene Egger, the Patrick and Nancy Lathrop Endowed Professor of Architecture and director of the Architecture Study Abroad Travel Studio, was named one of the outstanding educators of the year. Egger, of Blacksburg, attended Mississippi State University and received a professional bachelor's degree from Auburn University and a master's degree from Virginia Tech.

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest of its type in the nation. The college is composed of three schools and the departments of landscape architecture, and art and art history. The School of Architecture + Design includes programs in architecture, industrial design and interior design. The School of Public and International Affairs includes programs in urban affairs and planning, public administration and policy, and government and international affairs. The Myers-Lawson School of Construction, a joint school of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering, includes programs in building construction and construction management. The college enrolls more than 2,000 students offering 25 degrees taught by 160 faculty members.