Related Programs

Community Design Assistance Group

As part of the effort to enhance student education and strengthen community/University relations, the Department of Architecture and Interior Design maintains the Community Design Assistance Group (CDAG). This group is composed of faculty and students who offer design services to community and non-profit groups in southwestern Ohio and elsewhere. The program directly exposes students to the social, political, economic, and environmental factors influential in determining physical form. CDAG constitutes a vehicle for students to augment the theory of the University with practical experience.

College of Creative Arts Interdisciplinary Programs

Interdisciplinary programs are offered through the College of Creative Arts. Architecture and Interior Design majors frequently participate in CCA programs including, Emerging Technology in Business + Design (ETBD), Fashion, and Arts Management and Entrepreneurship.

Senior Independent Studio

Under certain circumstances, seniors in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design may apply to conduct an independent studio project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. This could be a competition design or a project to explore a certain design issue. Selection is based on appropriate academic record, review of the student's application by the undergraduate studio coordinator, and the approval of the project by a faculty member who will oversee the work. Interior Design majors use the capstone thesis studio as an independent studio experience.

Student-Faculty Research Projects

Members of the faculty will, on occasion, engage students in their research. Such projects may involve design, the building sciences, computer applications, theory, history, preservation, or a variety of other research areas. Students negotiate their contribution to the work with the sponsoring faculty member and can be paid a modest hourly wage. Published research, whether in the form of competition designs, papers, articles, chapters, or books cite the student as a research assistant. In some cases, students have presented their own research conclusions at academic or professional meetings.

Undergraduate Summer Scholars

Undergraduate Summer Scholars is a program of undergraduate research in which rising Juniors and Seniors develop a research proposal with a faculty sponsor or mentor.  Students in Architecture and Interior Design have conducted summer scholar research in Ghana, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Laguna Beach, southeastern Indiana, inner-city Cincinnati, in Oxford and elsewhere. Research results are presented to the Department of Architecture and Interior Design by its Summer Scholars in the fall semester after the projects have been completed.

Undergraduate Associateships

The Undergraduate Associates program allows students to work with a Miami University faculty member to assist a faculty member with their academic and professional responsibilities, including: teaching, assisting with labs, responding to student work, engaging in research. Students who take advantage of this program have the designation "Undergraduate Associate" marked on their final transcript when they graduate.

University, Creative Arts, and Departmental Honors

University, Creative Arts, and Departmental Honors provide important opportunities for independent research and scholarship. Students admitted to the University Honors Program may pursue University Honors in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design. Departmental and divisional advisers will assist students during summer orientation in the establishment of a relationship between studies in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design and the University Honors Program. Similarly, students admitted as Creative Arts Scholars are provided unique opportunities to engage with visiting scholars and lecturers, to serve on the Dean's Advisory Council, to work directly with alumni mentors, and to participate in off-campus travel. The Department also sponsors its own honors program. Students who wish to graduate with departmental honors must maintain high academic standing (a minimum 3.5 gpa is required); participate in courses, projects, and service activities outside the normal boundaries of the prescribed curriculum; and be endorsed by the faculty.

Awards and Scholarships

The department also offers many merit-based awards and scholarships. While the specific criteria for scholarships vary, all students are considered for these awards. In addition to class standing, GPA, and financial need, decisions are based on faculty surveys identifying:

1. Excellence in design and artistic ability
2. Excellence in technical and professional subjects
3. Excellence in thinking, history and theory, or academics
4. Unusually positive personal attitude
5. Unusual financial need combined with personal effort
6. Social concerns and activism
7. Unusual transformational improvement