Service learning
Use your skills to serve communities
In the College of Art and Architecture, your education goes beyond the classroom. Through service-learning projects, you’ll collaborate with peers, faculty and community partners to create meaningful community impact. Whether you're designing a public park, reimagining interior spaces for local nonprofits or building structures from the ground up, these experiences help you grow as both a designer and a citizen.
Our programs connect you with rural and urban communities across the state of Idaho, giving you the chance to engage with diverse perspectives while strengthening your creative problem-solving and project management skills.
These experiences are often integrated into your coursework and include outreach projects, design-build opportunities and interdisciplinary initiatives that support sustainable, human-centered environments.
Architecture Design-Build Program
From conception to construction, as an architecture student in our design-build program, you’ll work with real clients on real-world projects — like the Hat Ranch Winery in Caldwell and the Moose Creek Warming Hut just north of Sandpoint.
In this dynamic, hands-on program, you’ll learn what it takes to bring designs to life. You’ll also gather portfolio pieces that showcase designs that were actually built — by you. We work with non-profits and local businesses to positively impact Idaho’s communities because it’s our land grant mission to serve the state.
Design-build opportunities are available through a six-credit upper-division and graduate-level studio course and through the Idaho Architecture Collaborative — an internal organization of the architecture program, open to all students, aimed at incubating projects that wouldn’t be possible without some form of design assistance.
Contact information
For more information, contact the College of Art and Architecture. Call at 208-885-4409 or email us below.
Design-Build Projects
Put your creativity to the test in design competitions
Participate in competitions that push your creative boundaries, sharpen your design skills and build your professional portfolio. These opportunities allow you to earn industry recognition, connect with professionals in the field and enhance your resume with real-world achievements.