Prospective
Students & Families 
Faculty & Staff Information about ISU's Learning Communities
What is a Learning Community?
At Iowa State University, learning communities are small groups of students who generally take one, two, or three courses together and may live in the same residence hall. Other characteristics are listed below. Since learning communities often have several of these characteristics, be sure to explore all the possibilities to find the right choice for you.
Contact with students who have similar academic goals - Common courses
- Common place of residence
- Career exploration
- Introduction to university resources
- Peer mentoring and/or tutoring
- Faculty mentoring
What types of Learning Communities are offered?
There is a wide variety of learning communities to choose from... some are focused on a specific major while others include people from many different majors... some have their members live together (or near each other) in a residence hall and others do not. Learning communities appeal to a wide variety of students and their interests!
What types of activities do Learning Communities do?
- Study groups -- informal or formal gatherings with your classmates
- Career exploration -- field trips, guest speakers, etc.
- Hands-on experience and service-learning -- applying classroom learning to real world situations
- Social activities -- attend sporting events, plays, or speakers on campus; have dinners with each other and professors; just hang out with each other
- Community service projects -- get involved and help the community
LC Student Profile: Brandon Kennedy
Classification: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Learning Community: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community
Brandon signed up for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation learning community because he wants to eventually run his own business. One of his best learning community moments was completing the high ropes course at a 4-H camp. He feels he has gained a lot of knowledge from the faculty, staff, students and guest speakers involved with his learning community.
What do students appreciate most about being in a learning community?
Stephanie, a student in Agricultural Engineering, shares her learning community experience.
How much time does it take?
Being in a learning community should not take any more time than you would
expect to spend as a successful student at ISU. It can help you manage your
schedule and time by providing you built-in opportunities for study groups
and building connections with your classmates.
Check out the list of Learning Communities & descriptions