Residential Colleges

Admitted Students

The Residential College program attracts students with different interests and backgrounds to live in a friendly environment where social activities build on classroom learning.

Each of the six colleges (listed below) offers up to three small, engaging Foundation Seminars taught in the fall semester of your first year. Faculty members called Senior Fellows and Teaching Fellows teach the foundation seminars and actively participate in college programs – both inside and outside the classroom. These seminars are designed to be fun, informative, and provocative. Whether you intend to major in English or Engineering, you will meet students and faculty who share varied perspectives on common interests.

Nearly one-third of first-year students enroll in the Residential Colleges. With 16 to 25 students in each hall group and up to 60 students in each college, you'll form friendships within your college, across colleges, and throughout the university. Students who participate in the Residential Colleges excel academically and become leaders on campus. They become involved in a wide range of campus activities - from team sports to artistic performances, demanding academic programs, and volunteer activities.

As a Residential College student, you'll have an opportunity to participate in various activities, including:

Arts College visited New York City’s newly opened Museum of Modern Art and went to see the Broadway performance of “Spamalot”.
Environmental College canoed the Susquehanna River and visited the raptor sanctuary Hawk Mountain.
Global Collegehas met with National Security Council representatives at the White House and toured the United Nations.
Humanities visited New York City to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Museum and attended cultural events on campus.
Social Justice visited the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and is instrumental in organizing the "Stop the Hate" march on campus.
Society and Technology participated in an architectural design project to propose plans for new campus buildings.