GRACE AIGNER: Hi everyone! I’m Grace Aigner from the Minnesota Daily. Welcome back to another episode of In The Know, a podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota.
We are about halfway through the semester and if you’re anything like me, you’ve been swamped with midterm papers, presentations and exams. My midterms end on Thursday and I am fighting tooth and nail to get through this hectic week.
Most students are having some of their most stressful days and important grades right now. But many students in the architecture program have been feeling this stress since practically the first day of the semester.
In today’s episode, we’ll hear from students pursuing a bachelor’s of science in architecture about how this school year has brought new stressors over assignments, budget cuts and changing resources.
When Kristina Pratt, a third-year student in the architecture program, walked into Rapson Hall on the first day of classes, she and her classmates were surprised to find the school’s imaging lab — an essential resource — closed.
KRISTINA PRATT: It was the beginning of this semester, all of us just came back, we’re meeting with our professors in a lecture format and they just told us the imaging lab was no longer in use. And we were all pretty confused because nobody had known that had happened over the summer. Nobody knew it was leaving. There was no warning.
All of a sudden that space was not there anymore. So it leaves the question of what happened to all the cameras, what happened to all the rolls of paper for the backgrounds, all the tripods? I can’t even imagine how expensive everything in that room was, and it’s not even the option of it’s in a different space or you can bring it to studio. It’s just all gone. Just very weird.
AIGNER: The imaging lab is essentially a camera equipment library. Located in Rapson Hall, the home of the College of Design, architecture students could use their U cards to check out cameras, backdrops and lighting to take quality photos of models they make for class assignments.
This resource, which is vital to building their professional portfolios, was now gone, without notice. But, it wasn’t the only thing that was missing at the start of the semester.
Kenna Foreman, a third-year architecture student, said she and her classmates also lost access to a $50 “materials fee.” Students use this fee to purchase supplies for projects from a woodshop in Rapson Hall.
KENNA FOREMAN: I have some friends that actually have worked in the shop and usually there’s like a tab or something that they open where they input those costs so that you can use that money. But apparently that was just like completely cut. They weren’t even told that it was gone until like the first week.
And it seems like our professors didn’t know about this. They actually had told us the first day of class, like, “Hey, you also have this budget that you can be using towards our projects.” And then basically we, we get to the shop and they’re like, “No, you actually don’t have access to any of that.
AIGNER: It wasn’t until the sixth week of the semester that students got access back to their $50 and the camera equipment previously in the imaging lab. The camera equipment was moved to individual workshop classrooms for students to use and the fee became a pooled sum all students have access to.
Sophia Zimmerman, a third-year architecture student, said until the sixth week, students had no clue where their resources went and were frustrated by the lack of communication from their school’s administrators.
SOPHIA ZIMMERMAN: I’m just frustrated on the fact that there’s no information being relayed back. I just would’ve liked to know, like being in the loop is something that is so evident of what are the expectations from the professors?
What are the expectations for the students? It’s like what is also the expectation of the College of Design. It’s like I want to know what’s going on in my school, and everyone wants to know what’s going on and how we’re sharing work and everything. But I also wanna know funding wise that I’m here, paying tuition.
AIGNER: The Dean of the College of Design, Prasad Boradkhar, said in a statement to the Minnesota Daily that the college received budget cuts for the 2025-2026 school year. He said it was because of those cuts that the imaging lab had to close.
The University of Minnesota Board of Regents cut 7% of its $5.1 billion budget from campuses, schools and colleges for the university’s 2026 fiscal year, which started on July 1. Which means about $357 million were cut from the university-wide budget.
Boradkhar said the College of Design faculty and staff are committed to providing students resources, support and training to best prepare them for their future careers. They now have to figure out how to give that support with a smaller budget.
Pratt, Foreman and Zimmerman said architecture students rely on things like the $50 materials fee and imaging lab to do their work, but even these resources aren’t enough to support the rigorous demands of their program.
PRATT: We had to do these models and I bought foam because I wanted to make my model instead of foam just pretty thin, half inch, I think it was maybe like a foot by foot sized foam. And I paid $40 outta my own money at Michael’s for this foam for two models.
$50 seems like maybe it would get you far, but $50 can be used on one model that you need for one day in studio. So I think I’ve already spent, just our group model that we made altogether between 13 people was I think like $400.
So for each person that was $30 just to make this group model, then it was like an additional $30 because you had to make an individual model. Then it was an additional, I don’t know, I spent $40 on my next two models. So just in the month that we’ve been at school, I’ve probably spent like $150 on materials. So that $50, I don’t even know if it would’ve made that big of a dent.
AIGNER: Pratt revealed that on top of extra material costs, architecture students often need to pay for laser printing and software like Adobe Photoshop and an upgraded version of Rhino, an architecture design software. Adobe Suite products are available for free in Rapson Hall’s computer lab, but students often need access to the software outside of school, which costs about $25 a month for an Adobe student subscription.
While these additional costs are not explicitly required of students, Zimmerman said they almost feel nonnegotiable in order to succeed in the major. On a recent project, she and her groupmates spent $70 on material from Blick, an art supplies store, and paid 20 cents per minute to use the school’s laser printer, which can take hours. She said this situation feels unique to the architecture program.
ZIMMERMAN: After having friends in other majors, specifically Mech E or journalism, or one of my roommates is an art major, there are resources like laser printing and 3D printing that are available for use. Like there are cameras I’ve heard that you can check out at no cost. Just as you sign a waiver and you can take them.
And that comes as a surprise because I have a cost for everything that I do, and maybe I do a lot of work that requires me to use those materials, but I feel as if it should be no different because of the expectation that comes from all of these students.
We all need these resources. It’s not just me. And thinking about the challenges that I’m facing, trying to go and outsource them makes me feel that other people are also doing the same.
AIGNER: The College of Design has the second highest “collegiate fee” across all University of Minnesota colleges. Students taking six credits each semester will pay $445 in collegiate fees. A collegiate fee is separate from tuition that funds things like special equipment, tech support and resources.
Foreman said the extra costs for supplies and tools creates a large barrier to entry into the architecture program. Students who can’t afford the extra costs or the steep time commitment, often can’t join or stay in the architecture program.
FOREMAN: At the end of the day, all of us are kind of trying to get opportunities in internships or jobs or maybe applying for master’s programs. And it also creates a gap between students who are able to find those resources outside of school that are able to pay for those resources outside of school. And it makes it really difficult for students who are relying on those resources, um, who don’t have access to spend a bunch of money on laser printing.
Not to say that that $50 would’ve gotten as far, architecture is kind of a very expensive major, but I don’t think it should be that way. And when you’re already spending a lot of money and then you’re continuing to take more resources away, um, and not giving us solutions to, like, fix them, it’s really frustrating.
AIGNER: Pratt said the bachelors of science in architecture pushes the limits of students’ financial and physical resources—a limit that can exclude students who could succeed in the program, but can’t afford the time and money it demands.
PRATT: I absolutely love my major. I can’t imagine any other major that I would feel better in. I think the community is extremely strong. But that being said, I don’t think architecture is a very equitable major. It is very much if you can afford to be in it, which is very unfortunate and very difficult on a lot of students, and it puts a lot of strain because the more money you put into it, the more time you put into it. I mean, time is money.
There’s, you know, if you have to work a job, you can’t put in as many hours on your model. So it’s, it’s all about the time and the money that you’re willing to put in to produce. A certain quality, a certain standard which I think gets really difficult, especially when those resources that were offered to aid in that are now gone.
I think the state of the program right now is one that it’s just kind of questioning how far, how much do you have to spend to be successful in it? You know, what are the physical limits your body can go? What are the physical limits your money can go to get you to succeed?
And it’s something that I’m really passionate about and it’s something that I’m fortunate enough that I can pay for my own materials. But it, it does kind of leave you questioning about, you know, what if that isn’t an option for you, then is this not a major you can do anymore? Which is pretty sad, I think.
AIGNER: The first half of the semester sparked a broader conversation for students about barriers to being in the architecture program and its demanding workload. The major’s studio classes are a main reason behind the program’s intense time, financial and mental commitment.
Pratt said she and her peers have stayed in their studio classroom as late as 5 in the morning working on projects and other homework.
PRATT: So classes typically end around 5:00 p.m. and then usually most people will stay about an hour after, like the classes end in the studio. Me personally, I feel like I can focus best in there because with a work environment of people that are doing the same thing that you’re doing, I’ll probably stay until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. on a regular night.
If I have a project due, it gets pushed to nine or 10, and if that project deadline is within three days, it’ll probably be anywhere from 11 to 2:00 a.m.. The latest I’ve stayed in studio is 5:30.
AIGNER: The studio class is a six-credit, required course for architecture students pursuing a bachelor’s of science. Students take the class every semester starting their second year, and meet for four hours three days a week.
These workshop courses ask students to work individually and in groups to plan, design and construct architectural models. Right now students are designing and building a model of a kindercare space in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood.
Zimmerman said the hands-on studio class is essential to their education experience, creating bonds between students and a connection to their work.
ZIMMERMAN: My studio is 50 people and I am with the same people for my other three classes this semester, and I am with those same people in my first studio last semester, and I will be with those same 50 people until I graduate. So safe to say we have bonded and I personally love that.
I find that, considering the rigorous amount of work and processing we have to do just to get ideas out and to develop them, being with the same people really helps me think. Because they get to know me and I get to know them and we can really bounce ideas off of each other, which in design is just like really important because you’re never working alone.
And that’s great for the peer portion, like we get to complain about the same things and we also get to hype each other up and push each other to keep going.
AIGNER: She added that the intense time commitment of her studio class can also create a consuming and competitive environment.
ZIMMERMAN: I feel like it’s very tricky just within the studio culture itself, because I’m comparing myself constantly with my peers just on workload, but then I’m also comparing my ideas with my peers and I’m comparing everything with the instructors and their feedback.
So it’s, it’s like a constant loop that you kind of get stuck in and then your kind of life turns into studio. That’s everything you’re thinking about. And I think that’s how I would sum it up in my best words, which is kind of a lot, it’s very intense when you’re in it.
AIGNER: Starting next semester, the College of Design will remove the “materials course fee” charge from student accounts, according to an email statement from Boradkhar. Jennifer Yoos, the director of undergraduate studies for landscape, architecture and interior design, said in an email statement to the Daily the decision to cut the standard fee was to give students more flexibility in choosing their materials.
This likely means that students would be paying for all of their materials out of their own pocket, though this was not explicitly confirmed by Boradkhar or Yoos. However, the “materials fee” would be the same $50 set aside for students to use to purchase materials from Rapson’s woodshop.
Zimmerman said that while she loves what she studies, this semester she’s been questioning how her major program is actually helping her improve her design skills and prepare for her future.
ZIMMERMAN: Thoughts about my program have shifted as I’d like to say, more negative. I’d like to think very highly of myself as an art student and architecture student. I love working with my friends. But even beyond friends, I love expanding upon the ideas of what architecture can be in the future and what it currently is.
However, our education is the one thing that is pushing us toward this future. How can the U make me a better designer? Obviously, I’m going through the studios and I’m learning the conceptual framework of what design is and how we can design for people, and how we can design to make a healthy and positive environment, and hearing from other students.
I’m here and I’m expected to put out this work, but you’re not providing me the resources to give you the level of work you expect. And so it feels very challenging just to, to grasp on and to hold on. And especially the amount of time and dedication we have.
I know that we’re on campus for very long nights and the amount of work we put in, I really want it to show, and you should be proud of everything you put out, you know? And it makes it very hard when there’s other obstacles in the way.
AIGNER: Foreman said she can’t imagine being in any other major. She loves what she does but doesn’t feel the architecture program reciprocates that love.
FOREMAN: I feel like sometimes this major is like, I’m in like a, what is it? Stockholm syndrome. It’s like, I love it, but I, I hate it, but I love it. Like, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else, and I think I could say the same for all of my peers.
So knowing that everyone is putting their all into these assignments, and then we’re not really getting, I don’t know, the support that we need is frustrating.
AIGNER: The University of Minnesota’s bachelor’s of science architecture students are passionate about the work they do. They love their program, their classmates and their professors. But this semester has shown them that the same money, time and energy they commit to their major, they want to feel given back to them.
The next time you walk past Rapson Hall, I encourage you to think about the students and professors in its classrooms, what they’re working on that day and what support they still need.
That’s all I’ve got for you today folks! This episode was written by Grace Aigner and produced by Ceci Heinen. Thanks for listening and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, don’t be afraid to send us an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.
My name is Grace Aigner, and I’ll talk to you next time on In The Know.
