| A Sense of Community
A residential
college is more than just a place to live. Students
promote the academic and social activities of their
college, participate in philanthropic activities,
and enjoy informal contact with the faculty, staff
members, and visiting scholars who volunteer to serve
as fellows. Residential college members are involved
both in the life of their college and the larger University.
Lifelong friendships - among students and between students
and college masters and fellows - frequently develop
in the close-knit atmosphere of the colleges. Students
who participate in the activities of their college
earn the right to return the following year. Exploring Common Interests
Most residential
colleges are structured around a theme that provides
a focus for academic and social programming. The
colleges are not extensions of academic departments;
rather, the colleges provide a place where students
can explore common interests with a college master
and fellows. Membership in the colleges is open to
students in all schools of the University; there is
no requirement that members of a college pursue a degree
in an area related to the college's theme. Engineering
majors are members of the fine and performing arts
residential college just as students in the arts are
associated with the Residential College of Science
and Engineering.
Informal Contact with Faculty
A senior faculty
or staff member
- the college master - guides the intellectual and
programmatic
life of each residential college. The master's title
is deeply rooted in tradition. In ancient Rome, any
teacher was a magister. When the first residential
colleges
were organized (by students, for protection from medieval
landlords) at universities such as Cambridge and Oxford,
they were headed by masters and included resident fellows
or tutors.
Today, the college master is a dedicated
and enthusiastic faculty member who provides intellectual
leadership for the college and serves as an adviser
to the college residents. Students, college masters,
and fellows enjoy many opportunities to get to know
each other in contexts beyond the classroom - at firesides,
over meals, or on excursions to Chicago.
Opportunities for Leadership and
Fun
Through participation in the activities
of a college or the intercollege Residential College
Board, students have the opportunity to work with faculty
and administrators to help shape the social and academic
programming of the residential college system. Many
colleges support philanthropic and volunteer programs
that give students opportunities for contact with the
community beyond the University.
Along with
academic programming, residential colleges offer
abundant opportunities for fun. Among the social
activities offered in various colleges are student
performance hours and art exhibits, weekly munchies
(group study breaks), parties, "Frivolous
Readings" featuring poems not generally taught
in literature courses, a student-organized Investment
Club, and special event dinners.
Special Academic Programs
Each college offers a program of
firesides - informal presentations, generally by faculty
members, on a wide variety of subjects of interest
to residents. Firesides give students opportunities
to learn about and discuss subjects without the pressure
of grades or papers. Attendance at activities such
as firesides is voluntary; firesides do not yield academic
credit.
Academic credit may be earned, however,
by students who choose to enroll in residental college
tutorials. Tutorials are intimate academic seminars
reserved for college members; enrollment in tutorials
is generally limited to between four and nine students.
Tutorials allow students and professors to explore
mutual interests in far greater depth than is generally
possible in first and second year classes.
The residential college program also
sponsors a number of Fellow Assistant Researcher Awards
(FARA) each year. The FARA program enhances student-faculty
contact while building and diversifying students academic
research experience.
Back to top. |
Visitors
