2014 Design Rankings Place UC Programs Among Nation s Best

Design employers across the nation have once again named the University of Cincinnati’s undergraduate industrial design program as the country’s best in preparing students for success in the profession.

In the just-released 2014 survey by DesignIntelligence

, UC’s design programs, housed within the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), were ranked in the nation's top tier. This has been the case since the employer survey began in 1999.

The main findings in the latest survey are based on a straightforward question to employers: “In your firm’s hiring experience in the past five years, which of the following schools are best preparing students for success in the profession?”

UC programs and faculty ranked as follows:

• No. 1 in the nation: UC’s undergraduate industrial design program. This is the third year in a row that this UC program has been named best in the nation. The program also ranked No. 1 in the Midwest, and No. 1 in a subsurvey of industrial design deans and department heads as the “most admired undergraduate industrial design program,” cited for its industry collaborations and highly admired cooperative education program which requires students to alternate semesters in the classroom with semesters of paid, professional work. In a separate survey of students, 100 percent of students in the program say they’re well prepared for the profession upon graduation.

• No. 4 in the nation: UC’s undergraduate interior design program. UC’s interior design program was also ranked No. 1 in the Midwest, and No. 1 in a subsurvey of interior design deans and department heads as the “most admired undergraduate interior design program” in the country. UC’s interior design program was specifically cited for the quality of the student work and its highly admired cooperative education program which requires students to alternate semesters in the classroom with semesters of paid, professional work. In a separate survey of students, 100 percent of students in the program say they’re well prepared for the profession upon graduation.

• No. 15 in the nation: UC’s graduate architecture program. UC’s graduate architecture program was ranked No. 4 in the Midwest, and in a separate survey of students, 98 percent of students in the program stated they’re well prepared for their profession upon graduation.  

In addition to surveying employers and students, DesignIntelligence each year names the 30 most-admired design educators in their respective fields. Their selections are based on feedback from their surveys. Two UC industrial design faculty made this year’s list:

• Dale Murray, associate professor of design, is described as “…an educator, personally well-versed designer and an advocate for design to help others throughout the world. He is admired for his knowledge of sustainable design, his passion for industrial design, and his encouragement of logical research and strong presentation skills.”

• Brigid O’Kane, design associate professor of practice, is described as having a great deal of industry experience which she uses to provide “her students…a broad range of insightful information about how the industry really works.”

• Apply to UC’s undergraduate industrial design program.

• Apply to UC’s undergraduate interior design program.

• Apply to UC’s graduate architecture program.