Cummings School of Architecture Special Programs
In addition to exceptional programs and outstanding facilities, the Cummings School of Architecture has a variety of special programs that benefit our students-- from hands-on experiences and global perspectives to leadership and internship opportunities.
Programs designed to increase the reach of the Cummings School of Architecture:
- Career Investment Program — provides financing for undergraduate and graduate student assistantships on-campus and professional internships off-campus with firms, organizations and government.
- Study Abroad — undergraduate and graduate coursework around the world with our Global Partners in South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
- Summer Academy — scholarship-supported discovery programs in Architecture on the Bristol Campus.
- Summer Programs — undergraduate and graduate coursework for RWU and other students in Bristol and abroad.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships provide mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students in merit-based appointments advancing teaching as well as scholarly, professional and creative activities across the school.
The Graduate Assistantships Program reaches across the Cummings School of Architecture’s disciplines and activities, providing mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students to advance teaching as well as scholarly, professional and creative activities. The School offers a remarkable number of merit-based graduate assistantships per year to all entering students whose gpa is 3.0 or higher, covering approximately 1/3 of tuition costs per student for their participation in academic, faculty and faculty/student research, service and professional activities. Recent assistantships include working with faculty on:
- National and international publications including Architecture and Revolution (University of Texas Press, Professor Luis Carranza); Le Corbusier, Chandigarh and the Modern City (Mapin Publications, Distinguished Professor Hasan-Uddin Khan); The Skyscraper and The Modern City (University of Chicago Press, Professor Gail Fenske)
- National and international award winning design competitions for the Museum for the Abolition of Slavery in Nantes, France and the Babi Yar Memorial, Denver (Professor Julian Bonder)
- Digital manufacturing activities including community outreach with the Town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island (Associate Professor Andrew Thurlow)
- The Community Partnerships Center
- Publication preparation on graduate study abroad on RWU’s Master of Architecture Study Abroad Programs to Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, fall 2010 (Professor Julian Bonder) and Tsinghua University, Beijing, spring 2011 (Dean Stephen White)
- Arts installation assistance, Providence (Associate Professor Murray McMillan)
- Curriculum assessment activities related to 2012 Master of Architecture re-accreditation (Assistant Dean Greg Laramie)
- Tutoring in a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses (Professors McQueen, Dermody, Charles, Turan)
Off-campus internships with leading professional firms and organizations have also been arranged for graduate assistants through the School's Career Investment Program. Recent placements include:
- KPF - Kohn Pederson Fox New York
- HOK - New York
- 3SIX0 Architecture Providence
- LLB Architects Pawtucket
- Preservation Society of Newport County
- Preserve Rhode Island
- Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design Providence
- Brewster Thornton Group Architects, LLP Providence
- Sixteen on Center design/build Tiverton
- Vision 3 Architects Providence
- Providence Revolving Fund Providence
- BRB Architects New York
Internships
Students find placements in local, national and international firms and organizations.
Architecture
Students undertake local and regional internships most often during summers. Some recent internship placements include:
- Sasaki Associates, Watertown, Mass.
- HOK, Washington D.C.
- Lerner Ladds & Bartels, Providence, R.I.
- Newport Collaborative Architects, Newport, R.I.
- Kite Architects, Providence, R.I.
- Urban Design Group, Bristol, R.I.
- Vision III Architects, Providence, R.I.
All students participating in the Graduate Study Abroad in the Global Partners Program are guaranteed internships for credit in leading firms abroad. Internships have been provided in the following firms since the program was founded in Fall 2010:
- Blinder Janches y Asociados, Buenos Aires
- Baudizzone-Lestard y Asociados, Buenos Aires
- Clusellas O’Connor, Buenos Aires
- Rivarola Trosman Norton [RTN], Buenos Aires
- NE3 Arquitectos, Buenos Aires
- Ferrari Frangella Arquitectos, Buenos Aires
- ESTUDIO AISENSON Y ASOCIADOS, Buenos Aires
- Gensler, Shanghai
Art and Architectural History
Institutions that have offered internships to AAH students and graduates in recent years include:
- The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.
- The Children’s Museum, Providence, R.I.
- The Cloisters, N.Y.
- Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.
- Mystic Seaport, Conn.
- National Museum of Illustration, Newport, R.I.
- Newport Restoration Foundation, Newport, R.I.
- The Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
- The RISD Museum, Providence, R.I.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
Historic Preservation
Institutions that have offered internships to AAH students and graduates in recent years include:
- Albert Michaels Conservation, Inc., Harrisburg, Pa.
- Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Keeseville, N.Y.
- Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, Chicago, Ill.
- Harpers Ferry, National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, W.Va.
- Higgins Armory and Museum, Worcester, Mass.
- Historic Charleston Foundation, Charleston, S.C.
- The Hopi Foundation, Kykotsmovi, Ariz.
- Lyndhurst, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Tarrytown, N.Y.
- Preservation Action, Washington, D.C.
- Preservation Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.
- Providence Planning Department, Providence, R.I.
- Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, N.H.
Visual Arts Studies
Institutions that have offered internships to AAH students and graduates in recent years include:
- Trinity Repertory Theater, Providence, R.I.
- The Bristol Workshops in Photography, Ltd., Bristol, R.I.
- National Illustration Museum, Newport, R.I.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.
- REQUEST INFO
- VISIT CAMPUS
Student Leadership
Student leadership programs are designed to develop student leadership through mentorship and collegial engagement within and beyond the university, including recognition programs confirming student achievement:
- Student Leadership — includes involvement in governance, mentoring programs and activities with incoming and current students and alumni.
- Scholarships and Awards — annual donor supported school and national scholarships and recognitions in all programs and levels of the school.