Product Description

AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE. A designer couldn't begin a project without the input of the client or the tools to make informed decisions. Choosing a design program should be no different. DesignIntelligence provides the tools, evaluations, and insight, to make informed decisions about design programs in the Ninth Annual survey of America's Best Architecture & Design Schools - 2009. For a decade DesignIntelligence has surveyed organizations across the nation to determine which schools produce graduates meeting and exceeding the demands of professional practice. Hiring managers from the nation's top corporations, organizations, municipalities, and design firms evaluate recent new hire graduates for practice readiness in a range of disciplines and skills. * Which programs best prepare students for the rigors of professional practice? * How are design programs meeting emerging needs in the fields? * Who are the most admired design educators? * How do I know which programs are good value for the investment? * How do programs in my area measure up? * Where can my firm recruit top graduates? These questions and more are answered in the pages of the 2009 edition of America's Best Architecture & Design Schools. The only survey of its kind to evaluate programs based on the satisfaction of the profession, the historical survey of programs provides readers a glimpse of the standings for programs over recent years. Offering readers an understanding of just what makes a top design program, the tenth edition of America's Best Architecture & Design Schools is the definitive source for information on accredited US Architecture and Design Schools. From Architecture and Landscape Architecture, to Interior Design and Industrial Design, America's Best Architecture and Design Schools 2009 provides students, parents, counselors and industry professionals with targeted and timely information, the tools for an evaluation of the nation's top performing schools and a benchmark for evaluating other programs. School counselors can utilize this guide's facts, figures, and resources to advise students interested in design careers; parents can develop the necessary, in-depth understanding of the complexities of a design education and the profession; and hiring managers can target their recruitment efforts towards top performing programs. Filled with insight and discussions on choosing a school, the 2009 edition of America's Best Architecture & Design Schools builds on a tradition of careful and detailed analysis of trends and best practices in design education based on the overall satisfaction of leading firms and organizations. The 2009 print edition of America's Best Architecture & Design Schools is 110 perfect-bound color pages of charts, graphs, data, and analysis of design programs across the nation that no student, prospective student, school counselor, or hiring manager should be without. Design the best future possible, with the right tools for the job: DesignIntelligence America's Best Architecture & Design Schools - 2009.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #539751 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 111 pages

Customer Reviews

Well researched and comprehensive guide, very helpful to us
This guide has been very valuable to us. We also have a previous edition, and feel this 2009 edition is a major improvement. The other reviews mentioned it not being comprehensive, and I can't even remotely agree with that, though perhaps they were referring to an older edition. At least, our copy (2009 edition) had more than 100 pages, and was very comprehensive. It's far more comprehensive than anything we've been able to find online or offline. I guess that if you've already selected one or two schools, and are looking for an exhaustive resource on those specific schools, then you might be disappointed. But this is a book on architecture/design schools in general, not an encyclopedia set.

As for methodology of the rankings, it is outlined very clearly and accurately, I'm really not sure what the other review was talking about. You do have to read it to understand it, and the methodology is precisely why we value the credibility of rankings. Though, I should say that the rankings are just one part of what's in this book.

We would recommend this to anyone in the process of shopping for architecture schools. This will get you started on finding good direction. But this guide should not be considered a substitute for doing your own research on which schools best meet your own needs. That being said, the information has been very valuable to us.

Specific, thorough Resource
Wondering which school offers the best program for you? This is must have for anyone wanting a concise overview of school rankings and the practice of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design and Industrial Design. We used it to select potential colleges for for my daughter.It was well worth the price.

Not a comprehensive guide for future students
The description of this book gives the impression that it is a comprehensive guide to college architecture programs. I expected it to be a good resource for my high school age son who is interested in studying architecture. In fact, it concentrates on the top 20 or so schools. Even for those top schools, there is very little information on what makes those schools the best. The ranking methodology is not described in detail. In the portion where schools are ranked by specific skills, only the top 5 are shown. There is somewhat more detailed info on exam pass rates. The information on the schools not in the top group is mostly based on student surveys. Again, results are tabulated but little detail is offered. Many schools are omitted because students did not respond to the survey. The directory of accredited schools contains only the names,locations, degrees offered and web addresses of the schools. This info is easily available on the internet. Some of the articles might be useful, including "Advice for Students" and "The Multi-Skilled Architect". Given the high cost of the publication, the amount of information was disappointing.