What is a Residential College?
The best way to understand a residential college is to think of it as a small college experience inside a large university setting, with the advantages of both available to you. Whether online or in person, here at the RCs you are part of a community of about 150 students. In addition to taking regular UNCG courses, in the RCs you take classes in the residence hall where you live. Even if your classes are online, you will be taking small classes taught by RC faculty who work (and in some cases live) in the residence hall, which provides a way for you to get to know faculty and for faculty to get to know you, encouraging intellectual and social growth.
Each Residential College has a distinctive focus with its own set of Core courses taught in the residence hall by RC faculty. The innovative RC classes that you get to take meet General Education requirements, too, so each class you take in the RC helps you make progress toward graduation. No matter where you live, you participate in our community activities. Rich in traditions, the Residential Colleges each maintain a series of annual signature events and unique academic and social programs. The three Residential Colleges are all a little different, and we encourage you to find the one that fits you best!
Who can attend a Residential College?
Residential Colleges are open to students in their first and second years at UNCG and include students from across the University. Open to every major on campus, the Residential Colleges help you develop a strong foundation in critical inquiry, writing, speaking, and problem solving, as well as personal and social responsibility. Any major is welcome in any of the three RCs, and you are encouraged to bring your unique experiences to each of your courses within the Residential College.
What does it cost to be in a Residential College?
There is an annual Residential College activity fee of $50 which helps to fund the programs and events you will experience when you join one our three Residential Colleges. Otherwise, the cost is the same as living in other comparable residence hall buildings on campus.
Where can I learn more?
Visit our website at http://residentialcolleges.uncg.edu or e-mail us at residentialcolleges@uncg.edu, and we’ll help you navigate all your options. Or better yet, take a tour!
What RC options are available at UNCG?
You can choose from three RCs, each with its own focus. Ashby College explores Social Justice and Contemporary Media Literacies, Strong College expands issues of Sustainability and hands on research, and Grogan College focuses on developing Future Professionals through project-based learning. Having three options means you can find an RC that is the right fit for you.
What is Ashby College?
At Ashby College you and your fellow students explore issues of Social Justice and Contemporary Media Literacies. In your Ashby classes you will expand your understanding of the larger world and how we interact and communicate in that world. Your Core courses are designed to include and interrogate new ways to understand your experiences, using traditional verbal, written, and oral literacies, forms you already know well. But, you will also explore how to communicate through the more contemporary forms of digital communication that have emerged, such as sounds, images, and videos that we see on the web every day. This approach helps you think about your education as an intersection with social concerns and how we not only consume information and ideas, but also how you interpret and create information and ideas. Ashby College is over 50 years old and is (still!) located in Mary Foust Residence Hall. Click for more info about Ashby.
What is Strong College?
At Strong College you will join students who are interested in Sustainability and hands-on research. In Strong College Core courses, you will engage with the broader questions, challenges, and possibilities of sustainability that expand beyond the environment to also include social, cultural, ethical, political, and economic systems. Core courses are designed to generate a new understanding of your community through a variety of approaches to learning and fieldwork experience, including your observations of the world around you, interviews with people who know or understand the parts of the world you want to explore, analysis of the findings, and reflection on what those findings mean to you personally and culturally. These ways of engaging with ideas will help you make sense of all your courses. Strong College is located in Guilford Residence Hall.
Click for more info about Strong
What is Grogan College?
Grogan College provides a vibrant academic community for future professionals. In Grogan College Core courses, you will follow your curiosities to explore important social questions alongside your peers. You will work in teams to understand and address these questions from diverse perspectives and come to understand the impact you can have on the world around you. And you will create a portfolio of your most meaningful learning experiences. In the process, you will develop foundational professional competencies and transferable skills needed in many different types of careers. Recognizing the changing nature of the world, in Grogan, we encourage you to imagine opportunities, take initiative, and create futures that best fit your individual aspirations. Grogan College is located in Grogan Residence Hall. Click for more info about Grogan.