DesignIntelligence Announces Best Landscape Architecture Schools for 2014
By Lucy Wang on	 November 6, 2013 5 Comments	/ 1193 views
DesignIntelligence has just released their list for the best landscape architecture schools of 2014 with some interesting new insights. Penn State University leads this year's undergraduate pack, snatching the coveted position as America's top BLA program from Louisiana State University, which held the number one position for the past three years. And for the tenth year in a row, Harvard University still dominates the ranks as the best graduate landscape architecture program in America. Keep reading to see if your school made the list!
Every year, DesignIntelligence surveys hundreds of selected professional practice leaders–over 300 different landscape architecture firms participated this year–on questions ranging from their biggest concerns about the profession to which schools they think best prepare students for the profession.
Though 74% of respondents said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the current state of American landscape architecture education, nearly 30% reported that they felt that graduating students lacked adequate understanding on subjects of biology, biodiversity and environmental degradation.
While 50.6% of firms ranked design quality as a major concern, 58.5% of firms crowned sustainability/climate change as the leading concern for 2014 (an increase of 10% from last year's estimation). Integrated design (42.3%), urbanization (35.1%), and speed of technological change (31.7%) round out the firms' top five concerns.
According to the firms' hiring experiences in the past five years, the following schools were ranked in order of how well they prepared students for success in landscape architecture:
Top Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Programs of 2014
1. Pennsylvania State University
2. Louisiana State University
3. Purdue University
4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
5. University of Georgia
Top Graduate Landscape Architecture Programs of 2014
1. Harvard University
2. Kansas State University
4. University of Pennsylvania
Firms also broke down which collegiate programs they deemed strongest in each of the following skill areas:
2. University of California at Berkeley
5. Texas A&M University
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PRACTICES & PRINCIPLES
What do you think of these rankings? Are you surprised by any of the findings? Let us know in the comments!
Per DesignIntelligence's request, we are only allowed to publish the top five for each list. For the full rankings, please visit their website.
Photographs © Lucy Wang
Lucy Wang
How Landscape Architecture Helps to Integrate Two Monumental Buildings
TechBeat Tuesday – AutoCAD Tip #5: Quantity Takeoff and Costing Spreadsheet
Atelier Dreiseitl Opens Firm in Portland
Two books on Geodesign
History and Imagination Used to Build a Playground for the People
From Forgotten Rail Line to Awesome Greenway
The Award-winning Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London: Top 5 Features Showcasing the Future of Sustainable Design
3 Considerations When Selecting a Crane Hire Company
How Governors Island Transformed a Forgotten Land into a Vibrant Open Space
Phil Moorehead	 November 6, 2013, 6:59 pm
Well… at least Knowlton made it into the accompanying pictures.
Lucy Wang	 November 6, 2013, 7:04 pm
@Phil Moorehead: OSU is actually ranked #6 in undergrad but since it wasn't top 5, I couldn't include it in the article!
Matthew Stubbs	 November 6, 2013, 8:23 pm
Can anyone that purchased the book tell me were Texas A&M finished on the overall category? Curious to see where they finished but not $40 curious.
@ Matthew Stubbs: Texas A&M ranked 8th for undergrad and 9th for grad.
ASLA-NY	 November 10, 2013, 2:57 pm
Can you post the top 10 list?