AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)– Three Auburn University programs and two faculty members have been recognized in DesignIntelligence magazine’s annual survey of “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools 2017-2018.”
The undergraduate programs in architecture and interior design were each ranked 11th in the nation, and Auburn’s graduate program in landscape architecture was ranked 20th. Interior design is in the College of Human Sciences, and architecture and landscape architecture are in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.
The magazine’s rankings are based on surveys of leading practitioners in the fields of architecture and design. In its Architecture Dean Survey, Auburn ranked fourth among most admired undergraduate architecture programs for its “outreach and community focus, socially relevant programs (rural studio) and solid undergraduate education.”
Additionally, Associate Professor Melanie Duffey and Lecturer Anna Ruth Gatlin, both faculty members in interior design, were included among the nation’s top 25 Most Admired Educators, a category that recognizes role models of excellence in education and education administration.
DesignIntelligence cited Duffey as consistently challenging her students to reach their full potential and partnering with design firms to bring real life experiences to her classes. Gatlin was admired for her knowledge and humility. She brings a zeal for interior design to her teaching and is known for sharing her professional mistakes to help move her students forward in their own growth.
Hiring professionals have voted Auburn architecture among the top 10 of the following design focus areas: third in sustainable built environments/adaptive design/resilient design; fifth in construction material and methods; seventh in healthy built environments; eighth in project planning and management and also in practice management; and 10th in engineering fundamentals and also in interdisciplinary studies.
