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

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.