LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are residential clusterings of students who share academic or social and cultural interests.
Texas A&M University provides residential experiences commonly referred to as Living Learning Communities (LLCs). Residents in our LLCs benefit from additional resources, support, and enhanced activities centered around a specific focus in order to elevate their Aggie experience.
The philosophy underlying living learning communities is grounded in the belief that learning is an active and dynamic process that occurs both inside and outside the classroom and is a process in which students use a number of frameworks and modalities to learn. On-campus living spaces provide an ideal learning environment as most students spend more collective hours in their living environment than any other location on campus, including the classroom.
Living Learning Communities are available in four different residential types: Academic Residential Experience Districts, Academic Living Learning Communities, Enhanced Living Learning Communities, and Themed or Interest Group Housing.
These experiences are lived through becoming an active member of a unique and transformative community, where students seeking similar academic goals or personal interests can live, learn, and play together. Explore our communities by visiting their pages on the right.
[Click image for text description of image.]
Types of LLCs
Academic Residential Experience Districts
Academic Residential Experience Districts are communities where students live with other students from their same academic discipline. These robust living-learning spaces provide a supportive, vibrant environment designed to help students succeed at the university.
Our Academic Residential Experience Districts foster a comprehensive experience that combines community activities with enhanced academic support. In your residential district, you will live with students who share the same major, develop enhanced study skills, and engage in university opportunities and experiences that will contribute to your personal and professional growth and development. Academic Residential Experience Districts include professional and student staff from the Department of Residence Life as well as committed members from your academic college. Plus, there are faculty that are committed to the success of the program and you.
What you can expect:
- An academic course requirement with others in the LLC
- Programs relevant to your major/discipline
- Academic advising and other services in the hall
- College faculty and staff around the hall
- Study spaces or specialized spaces that support the community
- Live together with other students in the program
Academic LLCs
Academic Living Learning Communities (ALLCs) are residential programs which allow students who share similar academic interests, or an interest in a specific topical area, to live together in designated on-campus residence.
Academic LLCs require students to attend classes with the same group of peers in their residence hall, and some of the programs have faculty and academic advisers that program or provide services in the same residence hall. ALLCs also offer opportunities for students to participate in academic/extra-curricular programming designed specifically for them.
What you can expect:
- An academic course requirement
- Committed faculty who aid in program administration and teach the program class
- Programs/events related to the community’s focus
- Staff around the hall
- Live together with other students in the program
Enhanced LLCs
Enhanced Living Learning Communities (ELLCs) are residential programs which allow students who share a connection based on a sponsored scholarship program to participate in programming designed to aid in their college transition and success.
Students must be awarded a scholarship by a program who has an affiliated Living Learning Community. Examples include but are not limited to: Terry, Brown, etc.
What you can expect:
- An academic course requirement
- Committed staff from the scholarship program
- Programs/events related to the community’s focus
- May or may not live together with other students in the program
Themed or Interest Group Housing
Themed or Interest Group Housing provide a unique atmosphere for residents who share common interests and cultivate an environment that supports personal growth through academic and social programming.
What you can expect:
- Committed Residence Life Staff and the collaborating unit
- Programs/events related to the community’s focus
- Live together with other students in the program
Benefits Explained
Most LLCs take up a floor or wing of a hall. Academic Residential Experience Districts are different because they take up one or more buildings. This makes districts larger in their size and scope they offer residents. Districts are able to dedicate specialized resources and spaces that support the focus of the community.
Research suggests that LLC students who participate in required shared courses are more engaged with their academics and satisfied with their college experience. Although courses available for communities vary each year, LLCs with linked courses provide students the opportunity to co-enroll in a course affiliated with the theme of their community.
A hallmark of a successful LLC is faculty who are committed to student and the community’s success. Faculty are leading scholars and professionals in their fields of practice, and student learning is their priority.
Living together in a dedicated space with other students in the program enables the residential community to form a stronger connection. Not all of our LLCs require students to live in the same hall, apartment, floor, or building.
All LLCs are intentional, inclusive communities formed around common themes or college programs where students have an opportunity to live and learn together.
All of the LLCs are partnerships that the Department of Residence Life forms with other departments, offices, colleges, etc. In order for an LLC to be successful, the partnership requires dedicated staff from the collaborating unit. These staff aid in creating a seamless and integrated experience for students.
The Department of Residence Life commits professional staff to ensure high-quality residential experiences for students. Students in LLCs can expect to interact with Resident Advisors (RAs) and in-hall professional staff. The Department has a dedicated Academic Initiatives area whose staff support the LLCs.