An exciting component of the program is the potential opportunity for students to experience working and conducting research within a firm member of our Consortium for Research Practices. Hourly compensation for MSRP Research-related work at the firm is paid directly to you by the firm and the time is focused on a research topic negotiated between the student, faculty advisor, and firm advisor. 

The Research Practice internship typically lasts a minimum of 15 - 19.5 weeks to coincide with the academic calendar dates at the University of Minnesota. 

Sometimes summer internships that may or may not have research goals are available during summer.

1. The RP internships include interactions with leaders of practice groups and firm principals.

2. Students lead research-based projects related to the future of design practice and emerging issues in practice. Students gain expertise in emerging issues and get opportunities to present their research, design, and solutions publicly.

3. Advising from academic and practice advisors creates supportive networked mentorship to help students succeed. Typical internships may not include mentorship from faculty experts.

4. Students get opportunities to present their work to firm leaders from multiple firms throughout the program and network with them. The networked mentorship with leaders has the potential to accelerate students toward advancement in practice.

5. The AXP hours earned in a research practice internship are the same as the combined total of hours earned in practice (15 hours x 15 weeks/semester = 225 hrs/semester in AXP experience-setting A) and earned in an assistant position during the University payroll time period (10 hours x 19.5 weeks/semester = 195 hrs/semester in AXP experience-setting O). The core advantage of a research practice internship over a typical internship and/or assistant position is the synergy between the two. Also, the firms commit to helping meet your AXP plan goals as best they can within the research goals of the project.

Regardless of IP ownership, the work will be cited as your authorship, with appropriate citation to the Faculty Advisor and Practice Mentor who may have contributed greatly to defining the research questions, methods and implementation. You can use the work in your resumé and in your portfolio, you can also write articles on the research but must inform your faculty advisor.

IP for work done under the firm employment (summer internship, practice internship) resides with the firm. IP for work done in the academic setting (research internship, Plan C (final projects) would normally be shared between the U and the student.

When the consortium, internship, and the MSRP program were developed by Renee Cheng, they compared with models in the building industry and the University. It helped author the consortium arrangements to have a single point of IP ownership (the University of Minnesota) for work produced in the academic setting.

Yes, if you do not have licensed architects, your firm will need to collaborate with another firm and/or one of our licensed faculty members.

It is impossible for any of us to predict what will happen in the future. We ask for a good faith effort to fulfill your commitment and good communication so we can explore options with as much advance planning as possible. See the agreement for terms of withdrawal from the consortium.

Our interns operate the same way as typical summer interns, so yes they certainly can work on billable projects. Many projects include research expectations from clients and the research practice internship can be billable, but we ask that the first priority be given to research goals and the second priority to the student’s AXP plan. Summer practice internships may be split or dedicated to working on billable projects where research goals may or may not be prioritized. This is decided in discussion with the Director and students.  The Final project research that students lead for Plan C completion cannot be billable.

We expect that each consortium member will participate in pursuing practice and discipline goals and pursuing firm-specific goals over the course of the three-year initial membership period. During the three-year period, there will be regular assessments by the program director to determine the appropriate balance of shared vs. specific goals. Sharing knowledge with the Consortium is also an important goal of the program and can be through pursuing firm, discipline and practice goals.

This is a business decision for your firm. A common strategy we have seen from other models is payment for costs from marketing or research budgets. The most promising option we have seen is to explain the investment in terms of effort saved on projects or future projects. In this case, some of the costs may be assigned to project overhead.

In cases of non-profits or public entities, which are prevented by their structure to pay for these costs, we will partner with you to apply to foundations, many of which will only give to these entities. Our initial priorities are to approach foundations with an interest in accessible and affordable housing, sustainable design, community-based design, and design that addresses equity and climate change.

We believe the value is inherently tied to employing students in the research practices internships and summer practice internships.

Research Practice internships may be distributed at the discretion of the consortium member within the three-year membership period but are subject to student and faculty availability.  Each Consortium Member hires students for ten to fifteen (10-15) hours, for at least eight (8) consecutive weeks (a minimum duration requirement of IDP), and ideally for fifteen (15-19) weeks matched with the academic calendar. Research Practice internships that last at least two semesters are able to conduct more in-depth research and knowledge development and sharing.

In addition to an academic year paid research practices internship, a Consortium Member is expected to provide at least one summer practice internship opportunity for a University architecture student each year of its Consortium Membership according to program needs. 

For the trial small firm membership, the summer internship shall be optional. Three months prior to the last day of the spring semester for the academic year, the small firm shall determine the optional summer internship placement with the Director of the MS-RP program.

The matching process is very important to successful outcomes. The Director of the MSRP program and Consortium works with you to understand research needs and goals. The Director subsequently identifies students and enlists faculty expertise but cannot guarantee their availability will match firm needs. Depending on the project, the timing of the work may need to be accelerated or delayed to accommodate faculty availability. 

If the firm is unable to continue to employ a student, they need to discuss it with the program director. We make every effort to plan in advance and to effectively match students, faculty, and firms to ensure success. If something goes wrong, regardless of fault, the Program Director will pursue mediation efforts.