Sophomore LCs

Create Your Own Experience

In your first-year, the Learning Community experience is largely defined for you.  Learning Community Mentors work with your community to plan programs and events and faculty plan activities for your classes.  In your sophomore year, you have the opportunity to create your own experience.  Sophomore Learning Community students take on their own leadership roles and work with their resident assistants and LC staff to create the types of experiences they are most interested in.  For example, if your community is interested in a civic engagement experience, you can identify what you want to do and, with support from staff, make it happen.  If you are interested in a trip to a museum or the opportunity to explore a neighborhood in Chicago together, you can take the lead and create the experience for your own community!

Live with Friends

First-year learning communties create very tight bonds.  Many of you refer to your LC as your second family or your home away from home.  LC students often enjoy the feeling that the LC gives them a comfortable safe space where people truly care about and support them to come home to every night.  At the same time, former LC students often lament losing that close community in their sophomore year.  Now, the new sophomore LCs are your opportunity to enjoy this tight nit community experience in your sophomore year.  The apartment buildings you will live in will give you a bit more independence and privacy but will allow you to enjoy the connections and community when you want or need them.  All of the sophomore LCs will live in buildings that offer lounge areas for gathering so that you are still able to come together as a community for exciting programs or a simple game of cards or xbox. 

The Academic Experience

We understand that now that you will be a sophomore you have refined your academic interests.  The academic experience is still a very important part of the LC because it allows you to connect with each other, learn more about the theme of your community, and engage with faculty.  Sophomore LC students take one three credit hour CORE class in the Fall semester only.  It is required for all members of the sophomore Learning Community.  For information on the specific classes being offered in each community, please visit each LC's website and scroll to the bottom of the page.

If the class being offered in your Learning Community does not meet a curricular requirement for your degree program and you do not have room for any electives in your curriculum; or if the required LC class meets at the same time as a major or minor required class that must be taken in the same semester and is only offered at that time; or if the required course is a Tier II course and you have not completed the Tier I requirement in that Knowledge Area, you may contact your Academic Advisor to request an exemption from the class.