The Research in Architecture program is designed to support impactful individual and group-based faculty research and creative work in all of the disciplinary and sub-disciplinary areas represented by the school’s academic programs; to encourage and strengthen our colleagues’ research/creative work activity and foster a community of researchers/scholars/designers across disciplines. The RiA will assist faculty in developing sustained research programs that serve as seed-funding for new ideas. This program also supports faculty whose research field has limited external funding opportunities, in an effort to make external funding proposals more competitive.
The RiA program provides research funding up to $20,000 per project in targeted funding areas as outlined below. Awards are
intended for individual and cohorts of faculty pursuing a coherent research project. Projects are competitively funded based on
overall quality of approach, project team and innovative nature of the project idea and intended impacts. Applicants are expected to demonstrate need and impact; and the likelihood that they can utilize the work product to attain other internal university funds and/or external funds for their research projects.
- Grant range: Up to $20,000; Double-blind peer reviewed externally
- Full-time faculty are eligible
- Funding areas (for unsolicited proposals):
- Research / Creative Work in Urban Design and Mobility Infrastructure:
- Los Angeles, Fresno, California-Mexico Border (one or more of the 3 geographic areas)
- Research / Creative Work in Urban Workforce Housing: Asia and the Americas (one or more of the 2 geographic areas)
- Research / Creative Work in Technology, Environment and Social Justice
- Solicited proposals:
- Research / Creative Work Reimagining American Inner City: Imperial Courts Housing in Watts, CA (in partnership with Housing Authority of City of Los Angeles (HACLA))
Note: Applicants should conduct their own initial due diligence on opportunities to re-imagine the Imperial Courts Housing Project in Watts, CA. The partnership with HACLA will forbid individuals who work on this research project to bid for fee-based professional architecture work on projects within the same project area.
More detailed information can be obtained through Kay Chang (kaychang@usc.edu).