Political Science, English, History, Journalism, Open Option, Psychology, Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Economics.
Program description
The PLUS (Public Leadership for Undergraduate Students) learning community develops skills essential for leadership in public service through knowledge about the public sector and developing strong written, oral, visual, and electronic communication skills. Students will participate in linked assignments between an introductory Political Science course (POL S 111) on American government and an English writing course (ENGL 250), and will share small-group experiences including field trips to public sector agencies, discussions of current events and literature related to public service, and presentations by student support staff focused on student success, health, and resiliency.
Living Options
None
Signing Up
Students will have an opportunity to register for this learning community during orientation and class registration times.
All Data Science majors and students in Open Option are eligible to join.
Program description
The Data Science Learning Community is designed to assist Data Science majors in their transition to Iowa State University by providing a support framework of knowledge, resources, and people. All Data Science majors will enroll in the same DS 110 orientation course and will have other clustered courses with members of the learning community. Students have close connections with a Data Science peer mentor in the orientation course and other meetings designed to assist in learning about data science, group interaction skills and academic problem solving in order to increase success and retention.
Living Options
None
Signing up
Students will have an opportunity to register for this learning community during the class registration portion of summer orientation.
First-year students majoring in Advertising or Public Relations, and Open Option students
Program description
This
learning community serves first-year students who plan to major in advertising or public relations. It will help them become better
consumers, creators, and brand storytellers, and it will promote connections with
other students in the major, as well as with faculty and staff in the
Greenlee School. A second learning community in the Greenlee School
serves students planning to major in journalism,
and the two Greenlee learning communities will have opportunities to
interact, especially through social events.
All students will be
enrolled in one of two sections of JL MC 110 set aside for the learning
community. Most will also find themselves in class together in JL MC 101
and ADVRT 230 or PR 220.
This learning community will also introduce
participants to opportunities for working with student media, clubs, and
other organizations that will foster and showcase their skills during
their four years in the Greenlee School.
This learning community is for new Linguistics majors as well as any student who is interested in language and how it works, seeking especially students in World Languages and Cultures, International Studies, U.S. Latinx Studies, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, and Open Option.
Program description
The Science of Language Learning Community is a non-residential learning community for students who are interested in languages, linguistics, and language science. The goals of SOL are to foster community among undergraduate linguists, develop critical thinking skills around language, broaden linguistic understanding of language as a science, and to help students become aware of possible future directions in these fields. As part of SOL, students will take three linked courses together: LING/WLC 119 Introduction to World Languages, ENGL 214 Introduction to Technical Communication, and LING 101 Introduction to the Study of Linguistics. SOL fulfills multiple LAS requirements including up to 6 credits towards Arts and Humanities requirements as well as International Perspectives.
Living Options
None
Signing up
New students will have an opportunity to register for this learning community during orientation and class registration. Transfers and Change of majors can sign up during fall class registration by contacting the coordinator.
Majors Eligible to Join: All Open Option, Pre-Health, Pre-Med, and Pre-Law students are eligible to join.
Program Description:
The HOME Learning Community is a first-semester program designed to support exploring students. The program provides a structured process for students to explore majors and careers while creating a home at Iowa State. Students receive support from connections with peer mentors, academic advisers, and faculty.
Benefits of HOME include:
Provide you with a structured framework through which you can successfully explore three majors or careers.
Connect you with information, resources, and people that can support you through the exploration process.
Give you opportunities to practice and therefore develop confidence in your ability to make decisions.
Living Options
No residential options are affiliated with the program
Signing Up: Students will sign up during Orientation. Please ask your advisor for more information.
”Students who join learning communities have a special opportunity to connect with classmates---form study groups, serve as sounding boards for one another, and even develop lasting friendships throughout their four years at ISU. Seeing the same familiar faces in two classes every week creates a comfort level many college first-years don't experience, and finding comfort in the classroom setting inevitably leads to smoother learning and more permanent retention of vital communication skills that translate to the workplace."
Majors eligible to join
Students of any major (including Open Option) who register for English 214 and English 250.
Program description
Students will learn about the background, practical application of, techniques of, and demand for technical writing and web design/usability in the U.S. and worldwide. Through written, oral, visual, and electronic communication skills, they will complete summaries and rhetorical analyses related to topics in technical communication. They will also delve into visual website design and rhetoric and learn to analyze and evaluate visuals both in terms of their messages and in their creation as TComm deliverables. Finally, they will master argumentation, acting as mediators in debates centered around technology, its use/misuse in the workplace, and its presentation in writing and multimedia. Because all students enrolled in this section of English 250 will also be taking the same section of English 214, this will encourage a sense of community and create shared learning opportunities. Within this single learning community, students can satisfy an Arts and Humanities requirement and an ISUComm Foundations requirement! Students will also gain a greater understanding of technical communications as a field, potentially adding it as a major, second major, or minor. Tech Comm was recently rated the 14th best job in the U.S. by Career Cast and other sources, meaning that majors in English and related fields are becoming more and more lucrative as the demand for strong communicators rises!
Living Options
None
Signing up
Students will have the opportunity to register for this learning community during spring registration and June Orientation.
Primarily for Biology and Genetics majors, but open to all students interested in exploring careers in the life sciences, including Biochemistry, Environmental Science, and Open Option.
BIOL/GEN113X is taught in the Spring to students in their first year at ISU (freshmen or transfer students).
BIOL/GEN114X is taught in the Fall to students in their second year at ISU (sophomores or recent transfer students).
Note: students are not required to have taken BIOL/GEN113X in order to enroll in BIOL/GEN114X.
Program description
Do you want to:
Get to know new friends in a small classroom setting (40 students or less) while exploring careers in the life sciences?
Make connections with peer mentors who are knowledgeable and who remember what it was like to be new at Iowa State?
Develop academic and professional skills that will enable a successful Iowa State experience now and launch you into your future?
Have the ability to shape your learning community experiences based on your own interests and goals?
Participate in small group activities that engage you with students and professionals who are already pursuing careers that interest you?
You can achieve all these things and more by meeting for just two hours per week throughout the spring and/or fall semester in these low-effort, high-reward, one-credit, pass/not pass (P/NP) courses!
BIOL/GEN113X – 1cr, P/NP, Spring:
This course will help you discover where your interests lie within the life sciences, with a particular focus on Biology and Genetics. It will provide you with opportunities to explore different career paths through interactions with more senior students, faculty, and leaders outside academia. Activities will include workshops to develop professional skills, visits to labs on campus and conversations with the faculty, graduate students, and staff, and field trips to facilities both on and off campus (e.g. the ISU Research Park). It is also a great way to find study buddies for first-year life sciences courses and create long-lasting connections with other students who share similar interests with you.
BIOL/GEN114X – 1cr, P/NP, Fall:
This course is split into four sections, each of which gives students the opportunity to explore and get hands-on experience in a specific topic within the life sciences. Options include:
Save Planet Earth. An environmentally-themed section where students learn and connect via hands-on sustainability and conservation projects, as well as field trips to research sites around Ames.
Helping People: The Health Care Career Spectrum. Learn about the myriad of healthcare-related career options and meet with practicing professionals.
Exploring the Secret Life of Cells. Learn how basic cell biology research in different organisms can help us improve our world in areas such as medicine, agriculture, and technology. Experiences include hands-on lab activities and visits to research labs around campus.
Decoding the Genetic Mechanisms of Metabolism and Aging. Obtain authentic research experience and learning opportunities using cutting-edge genetic and cell biology approaches. Interrogate cellular metabolism, aging, and age-related diseases.
Bonus: Join study teams for Principles of Genetics and Organic Chemistry I
Living Options
None
Signing up
Students will have an opportunity to register for this learning community during class registration.
“The learning community not only provided me with a family, but also gave me the courage to talk to professors more and to branch out more with the different subjects of mathematics,” Kelsey Christensen
Majors eligible to join
Mathematics, Statistics, and Actuarial Science.
Program description
Mathematics and Statistics Learning Community members will work to build community by taking classes together, forming study partnerships, and getting to know one another via supplemental activities.
This learning community will provide supplementary activities outside class aimed at easing the transition to campus, exploring campus resources, investigating major-related organizations, interacting with university faculty and staff members as well as opportunities to meet professionals visiting from other mathematics and statistics institutions and organizations.
As the group matures, students may further develop their professional skills by organizing events for their peers to attend or by engaging in service projects.
Members will experience educational, professional, service-related, and social benefits.
Living Options
Non-residential
Signing up
First year students who have declared their primary major as statistics or mathematics will automatically be signed up in the learning community. Transfer students in mathematics and statistics and first semester freshmen in LAS open option may sign up for the learning community during orientation.
First-year students majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication
Program description
This learning community serves first-year students who plan to major in journalism and mass communications. It will help them become better consumers and creators of news, and it will promote connections with other students in the major, as well as with faculty and staff in the Greenlee School. A second learning community in the Greenlee School serves students planning to major in advertising or public relations, and the two Greenlee learning communities will have opportunities to interact, especially through social events.
All students will be enrolled in one of two sections of JL MC 110 set aside for the learning community. Most will also find themselves in class together in JL MC 101 and JL MC 240.
This learning community will also introduce participants to opportunities for working with student media, clubs, and other organizations that will foster and showcase their skills during their four years in the Greenlee School.
Students participating in the Earth, Wind and Fire learning community will have the opportunity to develop stronger connections with fellow students and the faculty and staff in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences. The main goal of the Earth, Wind and Fire learning community is to build a community of students and faculty and to increase students’ retention to and recruitment into the programs by providing strong interaction with faculty, upperclassmen (peer mentors), study sessions and supplemental instruction. Students will be required to take the two orientation courses MTEOR/GEOL 112 and 113 that will provide the environment for the community-building activities.
We look forward to welcoming you to Iowa State University.
Living options
None
Signing up
Freshmen/first semester students in the LAS Open Option may sign up for the learning community during their summer orientation. Students who have declared their major as meteorology, geology, or Earth science will automatically be signed up for the learning community.
