The School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID) is a part of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) at the University of Cincinnati. It is located within the Aronoff Center for the Arts in the university's main campus in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The School of Architecture and Interior Design was founded in 1869 at McMicken University. By 1875 the school's offerings expanded to include history, design, and drawing. The architecture coursework did not survive the transfer of programs to the Cincinnati Art Museum Association in 1884, but it established a pattern of architectural education that re-emerged fifty years later.
Cooperative education began with Dean Herman Schneider in 1906, and it remains a core component of the undergraduate and graduate programs in SAID. Alternating semesters of academics and professional experience provide an opportunity to link theory and practice in architecture and design. Operating within a 700-firm employer network, students establish professional learning objectives and identify supervisors to create supportive learning environments. Students do not pay full tuition during co-op terms, only a minimal co-op fee, and can expect to receive hourly compensation or monthly stipends. Architecture students working toward registration may earn Intern Development Program (IDP) hours through co-op experiences.[1]
In 1946, Ernest Picerking, the newly appointed Dean of the College of Applied Arts, could direct the college and architecture division separately from the College of Engineering with sole allegiance to the maintenance and development of applied arts. That year, the college adopted a six-year academic/co-op plan for architecture to meet ACSA accreditation standards. In 1960, the College of Applied Arts was renamed the College of Design, Architecture, and Art (DAA); the college later reorganized to recognize the School of Planning as a distinct school, changing the name to DAAP.
Dean Bert Berenson, appointed in 1975, reorganized the college into the schools that exist today. The creation of the School of Architecture and Interior Design initially created controversy, as many thought architecture would overshadow interior design. However, both tracks continue to flourish.[2]
The four-year, pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree teaches collaborative design and the technical part of architecture. It also includes approximately one year of co-op education.
The five-year Bachelor of Science in Interior Design degree concerns itself with interior design, and includes approximately one and a half years of co-op education.
The professional Master of Architecture degree provides two curricular options: one is for students with a bachelor's degree in other fields (M Arch 1, four years); the other supports those who currently hold undergraduate degrees in architecture (M Arch 2, three years). The three- or four-year program includes approximately one year of co-op education and culminates with a thesis research and design project.
The two-year, post-professional Master of Science in Architecture is usually best suited for those who have completed a professional bachelor's degree or those who have strong backgrounds in other fields and whose interest in architecture is of a theoretical or investigative nature.
The PhD in Architecture includes education on specific styles of architecture, as well as sustainable design and preservation of historic buildings. The first two years include core curriculum, the third year involves exams and a dissertation proposal, and the fourth and fifth years contain dissertation research and writing.[3]
SAID is housed in a complex of four buildings, the most recent of which was designed by Peter Eisenman and completed in 1996. The complex includes many in-house services targeted to architecture and design students,[4] including: