Credit: William Staffeld/College of Architecture, Art and Planning

Cornell has retained its No. 1 position for the fourth consecutive year among undergraduate architecture programs nationwide in the 2018 rankings of top architecture schools published by Architectural Record.

The professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) program is ranked third in the annual survey, “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools.”

The rankings are based on surveys conducted by DesignIntelligence (DI) of more than 4,300 students and 2,600 hiring professionals at firms, and broken down into skill sets including the best schools for research, design, sustainability and construction knowledge.

“Not only are our students exceptionally committed, creative and talented with an unparalleled work ethic, but our faculty are dedicated to both the fundamental principles of architectural education and the rapid advances of design thinking and design making in an evolving environment,” said Andrea L. Simitch, chair of the Department of Architecture.

“Together with facilities and staff that support the students in every way,” she added, “we are fortunate to graduate versatile professionals prepared to engage the discipline with unabated resilience, optimism and responsibility.”

According to DI, 40 percent of students who responded to the survey plan to seek employment in a private practice, and many said they will look for jobs in the corporate sector after graduation.

Caroline O’Donnell, director of the M.Arch. program, said: “Those of us who are at Cornell every day know that we have incredibly talented and hardworking students, extremely dedicated faculty, and that the work is consequently the highest quality. It’s great to see that that excellence is acknowledged in the discipline at large.”