Living Learning Communities
Learning doesn’t take place exclusively in the classroom, so UT Dallas offers Living Learning Communities where freshmen with similar majors and interests live together, participate in social functions and interact regularly with faculty advisors.
Living Learning Communities are small groups of students who share common academic objectives, goals and interests. Students involved in these communities live in the same apartment building, attend one class a semester together and participate as a group in various activities, such as service learning projects and social events.
Why should I join a Living Learning Community?
Living Learning Communities offer a broad range of benefits, including:
- An easier transition into college
- Friendships with people who share common pursuits
- A support network with other students, peer advisors and professors
- Increased faculty and staff contact outside the classroom
- Customized programs
- Opportunities to develop and refine leadership skills
- Connection to the community through service learning projects
How do students benefit from Living Learning Community programs?
An evalution of academic outcomes showed that UT Dallas students in Living Learning Communities outperformed their peers in both grade point average and credit hours earned.
In addition, a recent study conducted by the National Study of Living Learning Programs found that Living Learning Community students were more likely than their non-Living Learning Community peers to:
- Talk with peers about academic and social issues
- Have a faculty mentor
- Find campus living academically and socially supportive
- Transition smoothly into college
- Think critically
- Commit to civic engagement
- Avoid alcohol and negative consequences of drinking
