New Engineering Living-Learning Community at the University of Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, OH – Engineering students that live together learn better together. That’s the thinking behind the new engineering living-learning community at the University of Cincinnati (UC).

The engineering living-learning community, which is part of the university’s Department of Engineering Education’s new first-year model, will occupy four floors in Daniels Hall residence hall. These floors will house up to 280 first-year students who have been accepted to UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).

The overall goal is to create an environment that fosters community, collaborative learning, and campus engagement.

“We’re bringing students together to develop a CEAS identity,” says P.K. Imbrie, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Engineering Education. “We believe that identity will help build community while retaining more engineering students.”

The living-learning community groups students from all engineering disciplines together. Since the first-year curriculum is very similar for all CEAS students, students can easily study together regardless of major.

“We’re putting 280 engineering students in close proximity,” says Imbrie. “These students can walk down the hall and work with someone taking the same course as them, even if they’re not in the same section.”

Students that live in the living-learning community will also take part in co-curricular activities. These activities can range from reassembling a lawn-mower engine to constructing a trebuchet.

Imbrie sees the engineering living-learning community growing. He hopes UC eventually can offer multiple residence halls at various price points to include more engineering students. As UC gets ready for another academic year, its new engineering living-learning community will help shape the incoming class of students.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management May 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.