College deans urge participation in 2018 DesignIntelligence survey

Dear friends and former students,

For the past 18 years, * [DesignIntelligence] (https://www.di.net/) has conducted annual surveys ranking America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools. These surveys, evaluating programs on their ability to prepare graduates for professional practice, are significant in that there are few other national rankings for higher education programs in these disciplines.

The College of Architecture strongly encourages all who are eligible to participate in this year’s DesignIntelligence survey prior to the Friday, June 8 deadline.

Professional Surveys

The primary surveys, which rank graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture and landscape architecture, should be completed by hiring professionals in these disciplines. The survey asks from which schools new employees are hired, why and which schools are strongest in 12 specialty focus areas, and it also seeks opinions on changes in the world of professional practice.

If you are a person in a firm who hires architects or landscape architects, we strongly encourage you to share your experiences and perspectives in the two surveys most important to the Texas A&M College of Architecture.

Professional surveys:

• Architecture program survey
• Landscape architecture program survey

Each survey requires about 15-20 minutes of your time and can be completed in more than one sitting, should you need to exit and return to complete it at a later time. The responding party must be in a leadership position qualified to hire employees. If you are not qualified to complete the survey on your firm’s behalf, we ask that you forward it to the appropriate person in your firm. Individual responses will be kept confidential but a listing of all responding firms may be published.

Student surveys

In another survey, current students and recent graduates are asked how programs prepare them for practice and what their intentions are for applying their training after they graduate.

Survey participants will also have an opportunity to identify the educator they most admire.

Student surveys:

• Architecture student survey
• Landscape architecture student survey

This year, DI survey results will be published online as the 2018 America’s Top Ranked Architecture & Design Schools with three sets of rankings will be reported:

• Most admired programs
• Schools from which the greatest number of graduates are hired
• Schools chosen as the strongest in each of 12 specialty focus areas

Thank you for your thoughtful and confidential participation.

Dr. Jorge Vanegas
Dean

Dr. Dawn Jourdan
Executive Associate Dean

College of Architecture
Texas A&M University

* DesignIntelligence (DI) is an independent company dedicated to the business success of organizations in architecture, engineering, construction and design. DI supports its clients’ success through [Design Futures Council] (https://designfuturescouncil.com/) leadership events and network; public and privately commissioned studies conducted by DI Research; and the publishing of practical research and thought leadership through traditional and digital platforms in DI Media.