go in the fall semester of their fourth year, whereas interior design and landscape architecture students go in the spring semester. School traditions Festival of the Trees Since 1986, the School of Architecture has hosted the annual "Festival of the Tree". The festival is hosted by the interior design department and showcases a variety of designs of trees, topiaries, and particularly, Christmas trees, as the festival marks the beginning of the Christmas season. The festival is open to the public, but is primarily a fund raiser for the interior design department. Since 1986, the festival has raised over $100,000 for the interior design department. Walk on Water The Walk on Water competition is a race that all architecture students in the school must complete to graduate. Students compete in their Methods and Materials class in their sophomore year. The race has been hosted annually since 1989 by Professor Jaime Canavés. Students need to cross the wide lake in front of the Green Library, the university's main library, using some type of walking device, hence the "walking on water". Students must walk across to win and pass the class. Over the years, the event has become a school and university-wide tradition, and considered a rite of passage within the School of Architecture. On average, 85% students manage to make it across the lake. Since 1989, over 1,500 FIU architecture alumni have competed in Walk on Water. The winner receives a $500 prize and an A on the project. The oldest person to cross the lake was 67 years old in 2009. The youngest was 9 years old who walked in place for his mother in 1998. The slowest time to cross the lake has been over 15 minutes. Recent Walk on Water records See also Architecture school in the United States Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing References External links Florida International University Paul L. Cejas CoA Building Bernard Tschumi Miami School of Architecture Photo Gallery Architecture schools in Florida Florida International University Educational institutions established in 1980