Liberal Arts & Sciences | Freshman Programs | Learning Communities | Senior Project

Learning Communities

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 the following:

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

Non-Residential Learning Communities. Students take a minimum of two courses together but may live in any freshman residence hall or off campus. These Learning Communities are a particularly excellent way for both residential and commuter students to participate in the intellectual community at Purchase College.

Freshman Interest Groups (FIGS). Students who do not choose to participate in a Learning Community will work with an academic advisor this summer to choose a cluster of courses organized around a specific course or major. FIGs are offered in almost every academic area.

Students in Residential Learning Communities:

• Learning Communities are designed for the bright and highly motivated students who will benefit from collaborative and concentrated learning. They are NOT remedial groups.
• 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 mentors and tutors
• participate in special academic and extracurricular activities, including theater performances, field trips, dinners, and celebrations with their Faculty member-in-residence 

Students in Non-Residential Learning Communities:

• have a minimum of two courses and faculty in common
• work closely with the faculty teaching these courses and have a special advisor
• are given specially selected peer mentors and tutors
• have an opportunity to participate in a community that will include residential and commuter students

Why participate?

• to get extra attention from faculty, staff and peer mentors 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
• feel more bonded, more quickly, to the College and its academic and social life

Visit the Learning Communities site in Academic Programs for details on this year’s learning communities.