DesignIntelligence Gives Top Marks to Pratt Design Programs

Pratt Institute’s Interior Design, Industrial Design, and Architecture programs are among the best in the country, according to an annual survey of industry professionals coordinated through monthly architecture and design journal DesignIntelligence (DI). These programs have received consistent high marks in DI’s 2014 rankings, which are based largely on companies’ perceptions of how well colleges prepare their graduates for professional experience.

“Rankings play a very important role in where students decide to apply and attend, particularly strong academic students and international students.  The rankings are the first step for them in narrowing down their lists of top 15 schools,” says Judy Aaron, vice president for enrollment.   

While U.S. News and World Report is the most prominent ranking source for universities overall, it only ranks some arts and design graduate programs and no undergraduate programs.

“For us, DesignIntelligence is really the only ranking source in many cases, and so that’s what students pay attention to,” says Aaron. 

According to the rankings, Pratt’s graduate and undergraduate Interior Design programs rank No. 2 in the country–up from No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in 2013. In an interior design skills assessment, Pratt was ranked No. 1 in the categories of communication, research and theory, computer applications, and cross-disciplinary teamwork, and No. 2 in sustainable design practices and principles. Academic leaders ranked Pratt’s undergraduate and graduate programs as the second most-admired programs of their kind in the country.

The Institute’s graduate program in Industrial Design was ranked No. 3 in the country, and its undergraduate program was ranked No. 8. Academic leaders commended Pratt’s undergraduate program’s community involvement and focus on sustainability, and Gina Caspi, an Industrial Design visiting professor and an alumna, was named to DI’s 30 Most Admired Educators for 2014 list.

The Institute’s undergraduate Architecture program ranked No. 11 in the nation. It was also cited in the DI report as one of the top 25 architecture schools attended by the 4,872 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Fellows from 1937 to 2013. 

The rankings are part of DI's 2014 America's Best Architecture and Design Schools issue, which it has published annually since 2000. DI is issued by the Design Futures Council (DFC), a global network of design community professionals, including leaders of architecture and design firms, manufacturers, and service providers.