Rice School of Architecture rises in national rankings

The Rice School of Architecture (RSA) has risen to No. 3 in a national ranking for undergraduate education in the Design Futures Council’s “2013 America’s Best Schools of Architecture and Design,” published this week by DesignIntelligence.

Rice ranked No. 6 in the 2012 edition and No. 3 in 2011. RSA has ranked in the top 10 for nine of the last 10 years.

The rankings are the results of a survey of the leaders of hundreds of architecture firms who have had direct experience in hiring and judging the performance of recent architecture graduates. The participants were asked which accredited programs have best prepared students for real-world practice.

“Given how these rankings are determined, it is not surprising that all of the other schools in the top 10 are very large programs,” said RSA Dean Sarah Whiting, the William Ward Watkin Professor of Architecture. “That makes it especially striking that we’re at No. 3. It’s a clear message that our small program reverberates loudly across the country.”

Cornell was No. 1 in this year’s undergraduate rankings, followed by the Southern California Institute of Architecture.