Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Living/Learning Communities

Why Choose a Learning Community?
Participants in Living/Learning Communities tend to achieve higher grade point averages, make friends quickly, and transition into college life smoothly. The Colleges have a long history of promoting active engagement with Living/Learning Communities, which have been linked to positive student engagement, overall satisfaction with college, increased interpersonal skills, and a greater understanding of diversity. In short, students who take part in a Living/Learning Community leave their first year with the tools and resources necessary to be highly successful in college and beyond.

LLCs bridge the academic world and residential world, as nearly all LLCs are taught in a hybrid classroom within the residence hall, known as a Residential Learning Lab. These labs are classrooms during the academic day, located right on your residence hall floor, and then a social/study space in the evening. They come equipped with standard smart classroom technology and have flexible seating arrangements to maximize use of the room. In addition, to being taught on your floor, faculty members work closely with residential education staff to create co-curricular programs that align with what you're learning in class and help students connect to their faculty member and each other in more intentional ways. As a team, the residential education staff, faculty, and writing/teaching colleagues meet monthly to update each other on the community and plan programs to continually engage students.

First-Year Seminar LLCs

For a full guide to first-year seminar descriptions, click here. If assigned to a LLC, you will reside on the same floor as all other students in the LLC.

fall 2025 offerings

• Mars! 
  Professor of Geoscience Nan Crystal Arens
• Beyond the Straight and Narrow: Identifying Heteronormativity and Heterosexism
  Vice President for Campus Life and Director of the Master of Arts In Higher Education Leadership Becca Barile 
• Exploring community: Relationships, Happiness and Service
  Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Shelle Basilio 
• Sustainability Mythbusters: A Living and Learning Community
  Professor of Environmental Studies Kristen Brubaker
• 20 Questions
  Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Rob Carson
• “X” Marks Your Spot
  Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology Brian Clark
• Sustainability Mythbusters: A Living and Learning Community
  Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Beth Kinne
• The Secret Science of Learning
  Professor of Chemistry Kristin Slade