The Consortium for Research Practices is fundamentally about the people who have made a sustained commitment to one of the most unique academic+industry partnerships and educational models in the nation.

Since 2012, students and faculty from the University of Minnesota, and built environment industry professionals from across the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, have agreed to a more intentional exchange of applied research agendas, processes and findings. At the same time, this exchange network also operates as a support system, especially for students as they progress through the MS-ARP degree requirements.  

The consortium network—and your MS-ARP support system—can be considered first and foremost through its three core member types: students, industry partners and affiliate faculty. Beyond this core, member types are described in this section of the handbook, along with a few other people resources and a short glossary of acronyms and short-hand terms. 

MS-ARP Student Cohort 

First and foremost, you’ll get to know your MS-ARP student peers especially well through regular class sessions as well as through ongoing consortium activities and events. In a typical year, there may be five to seven MS-ARP students in various stages of degree progress, and while much of your time in the MS-ARP degree program will be dedicated to advancing your academic and professional research work with faculty and practitioners, your peers will remain a steady presence and sounding board throughout your MS-ARP journey.  

AEC Industry Partners and Affiliate Professionals 

Architecture and interior design firms, as well as construction companies and other organizations dedicated to improving the built environment, are the professional practice members of the consortium. Each industry partner identifies one or more affiliate professionals who mentor MS-ARP students and who participate in consortium meetings, activities and events. Our industry partners become part of your professional network and support system throughout your time as an MS-ARP student, especially during your Research Practices Internship with one of the consortium member industry partners.     

Affiliate Faculty

While most MS-ARP faculty are at the University of Minnesota and in built environment disciplines (including architecture, interior design, and urban design), the list of affiliate faculty expands each year to meet the needs of MS-ARP students and industry partners. UMN faculty experts in product and apparel design, for example, as well as chemical engineering, law, computer science, and human resource development, have taught MS-ARP coursework and/or advised MS-ARP students.

Consortium Alums and Affiliates

After graduation, MS-ARP alumni may choose to remain part of the consortium network as alumni. Similarly, affiliated faculty often stay connected with the consortium network even when they are not actively teaching or advising students. All this is to say that the Consortium for Research Practices is a continuously expanding network of people with applied research practice interests and a willingness to support current graduate students and emerging professionals.

Program Director: Malini Srivastava, DDes., AIA [she/her/hers]

Contact: malini@umn.edu

Office Hour: On Leave

Dr Malini Srivastava, AIA, is a licensed architect, Associate Professor in Resilient and Regenerative Design, and Associate Dean for Research, Creative Scholarship and Engagement for the College of Design. She serves as the Director of the MS in Architecture and the Consortium for Research Practices. Malini is a 2024 recipient of University of Minnesota’s Graduate and Professional Teaching Award where she was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Professors. In 2020, she completed her Doctorate in Design at Carnegie Mellon University, titled, Purposeful Play. Her efargo research project utilizes games to impact city-wide energy use and received the Georgetown University Energy Prize and an Architect R+D award in 2022. Malini is the co-Principal of the award-winning design firm, Dandelab and a 2018 recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Young Architect Award.

Director of Graduate Studies (ALI): Ben Smith [he/him/his]

Contact: bensmith@umn.edu

Benjamin J. Smith, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota. He teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including Master’s Final Project and Design Fundamentals. Smith's research centers on the history and theory of architecture, design pedagogy, and architectural aesthetics. Prior to joining University of Minnesota, Smith taught at Tulane University, where he was an assistant professor of architecture and director of graduate architecture programs. He has also taught at SCI-Arc and University of Michigan and worked for internationally recognized firms such as Morphosis Architects and George Yu Architects in Los Angeles, California. His degrees include a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, an M.Arch from SCI-Arc, and a B.A. from St. Olaf College.

Interim Co-Director: Molly Dalsin, AIA [she/her/hers]

Contact: dimo0026@umn.edu

Office Hour: By Appointment 

Molly Dalsin is an architect, educator, and researcher in Minneapolis and founder of Mesh Architecture. With an initial interest in large-scale civic projects and the revolution of public space, Molly has now taken on an evolutionary practice consisting of multiple, smaller community interventions. Although she has worked on a myriad of building types, housing projects have become a priority. Beyond housing as a basic human right and a high-priority need, housing exhibits an exciting tension between ideas of privacy, escapism, and individuality, and those of community, cooperative living, and deeper human relationships. With a proclivity to understand financial and economic systems at play in real estate development, Molly brings years of experience leading complex design processes with multi-disciplinary teams to establish alternative modes of viable real estate development and their subsequent unique spatial opportunities.

Licensing Advisor: Mike Christenson, AIA [he/him/his]

Contact: mike001@umn.edu

Office Hour: By Appointment (https://tinyurl.com/christensonfall23)

Mike Christenson has published extensively in the areas of architectural representation, design technology, and the production and dissemination of architectural knowledge. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture, and he is the Associate Editor for Architectural Computing for the journal Architectural Science Review. Christenson's professional work includes experience at Minneapolis-based Alliiance on teams in collaboration with Jean Nouvel on the design of the Guthrie Theater on the River and in collaboration with Cesar Pelli on the design of the Minneapolis Central Library. 

Learn more about the Consortium for Research Practices HERE:

• Leadership and Contacts

• Planning, Calendars and Milestones

• Policies and Expectations

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

AEC — Architecture, Engineering and Construction

These building industry professionals are often bundled together.

ALI — the Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design

The MS-ARP degree is administered within ALI. These three professional disciplines are often bundled together in the building industry. 

CDes — College of Design

CDes comprises two academic departments: ALI and GARP (Graphic Design, Apparel Design, Retail Merchandising and Product Design).

COGS — Council of Graduate Students (University of Minnesota)

ISSS — International Student and Scholar Services 

MArch — Master of Architecture degree

Some MS-ARP students are pursuing an MS and M.Arch degree concurrently. 

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

MS-ARP — Master of Science in Architecture, Applied Research in Practice track

Once and awhile you may see references to MS-RP, as the degree was known at its inception.  

MS-RP — Master of Science in Architecture, Research Practices track

Once and awhile you may see references to MS-RP, as the degree was known at its inception.  

OneStop — the UMNTC’s primary clearinghouse for all things student-related

RPI — Research Practices Internship

UMNTC — University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The UMNTC is further split into its Minneapolis (East and West Bank) and St. Paul campuses.