All first-year liberal arts students at Purchase College participate in smaller intellectual communities designed to appeal to students’ different academic interests and learning styles. Students may choose from three different types of intellectual communities.

Students in Residential Learning Communities take a minimum of two
courses together and live together in a freshman residence hall. The Learning Communities are coordinated by a faculty director who lives on campus and is therefore available for formal and informal advising, social and academic events and access all year. 

So choose your Learning Community now! Places are limited.

Learning Communities are designed for the bright and highly motivated students who will benefit from collaborative and concentrated learning. They are NOT remedial groups.

Students in Residential Learning Communities:

•   live together in preferential student accommodations, are guaranteed a double room and have a specially selected Resident Advisor
•   work closely with and are advised by a faculty member who lives on campus
•   have a minimum of two courses and faculty in common
•  will be given special peer advisors and tutors
•   participate in special academic and extracurricular activities, including   theater performances, field trips, dinners, and celebrations with their Faculty member-in-residence 

Why participate?

•   to get extra attention from faculty, staff and peer advisors who will help you excel and find informal ways of studying inside and outside of the traditional classroom
•  to get priority housing
•  to get to know other students who share similar interests
•  to join a community that lasts throughout your undergraduate years, to feel more bonded, more quickly, to the College and its academic and social life

2007-08 Residential Learning Communities:

• Arts Management
• Literature and Media
• Mass Media and the Shaping of Culture
• Nature and Outdoors Skills

Arts Management (Residential Learning Community)
The Arts Management Learning Community will focus on the interaction of the arts, economics and society. Students will enroll in The Arts and Entertainment in Business and Economics and a special section of the Freshman Seminar taught by Professor Rex McKenzie. This learning community takes advantage of Purchase’s unique focus on the arts and liberal arts. Students will be exposed both to the cultural production of art and the business of entertainment. For more information, email: rex.mckenzie@purchase.edu

Literature and Media (Residential Learning Community)
The Media and Literature Learning Community analyzes representations of marginalized groups in the media and in literature. Students enroll in a special section of College Writing and the Freshman Seminar, taught by the director of this Learning Community, Kathleen McCormick. Students also enroll in a complementary section of Culture and Society in the West I and participate in many social and intellectual activities, including theater and gallery visits in NYC and on campus. For more information, email: kathleen.mccormick@purchase.edu

Mass Media and the Shaping of Culture (Residential Learning Community)
The Mass Media Learning Community will focus on the effect that mass media has on the individual and society as a whole.  Particular emphasis will be on the impact of television and its ramifications on children, body image, expectations of crime, terrorism, sexual activity, political affiliation, racism, and the rising culture of fear. This learning community is designed for students interested in the field of social science or for any student who has always wondered about the effects of growing up in a mass media age. Students will also take a Journalism class. Bryan Roberts, Director of the Academic Resource Center, will coordinate the learning community and also teach the accompanying sections of College Writing and the Freshman Seminar. For more information, email: bryan.roberts@purchase.edu

Nature and Outdoors Skills (Residential Learning Community)
This Learning Community is for students who love nature and the outdoors, including camping, hiking, paddling, and climbing. Students enroll in a special section of College Writing that emphasizes nature writing and the development of the environmental movement.  Students take the course “Outdoor Skills,” taught by the Director of this learning community, Professor Jim Daly, as well his section of the Freshman Seminar. Students take part in weekend trips exploring the Hudson Valley and evening workshops that teach basic outdoor and safety skills. No prior outdoor experience is necessary but is encouraged. For more information, email: james.daly@purchase.edu

Updated October 23, 2007