Aresidential college is a division of auniversity that places academic activity in acommunity setting of students and faculty, usually at aresidence and with shared meals, thecollege having a degree of autonomy and afederated relationship with the overall university. The termresidential college is also used to describe a variety of other patterns, ranging from ahall of residence with some academic programming, tocontinuing education programs for adults lasting a few days. In some parts of the world it simply refers to any organized on-campus housing, an example beingUniversity of Malaya.[1]
A prominent model for residential colleges is theOxbridge model at theUniversity of Oxford[2] andUniversity of Cambridge,[3] where the colleges are legally independent constituents of the universities that are both residential and teaching institutions.[4][5] This model was modified atDurham University, also in the UK, in the 19th century to create non-teaching colleges that were, in general, legally part of the university, but with a few independent colleges added in the 20th century.[6] With the arrival of residential colleges in theUnited States the model diversified further. The Durham adaptation of colleges being owned by the university rather than being independent corporations is generally followed[7] and many universities, includingYale[8] andHarvard,[9] also follow Durham in keeping teaching centralised.[10]
There is also a split between fully collegiate universities (e.g.,Oxford and other British universities, where all students, undergraduate and postgraduate, are members of a college),[11] universities that are fully collegiate at the undergraduate level (e.g.,Yale andPrinceton where all undergraduates are members of a college throughout their time at university, even if they don't remain in residence)[12][13] and those (e.g.,Northwestern,Sydney orWaterloo)[14] where residential colleges are one of a mix of residential options.[15][16] Another variant at some US universities is residential colleges that do not cover all years at the institute, e.g.,Cornell University's West Campus House System, which only takessophomores and above,[17] with mostupperclass students either living off campus or in halls unaffiliated with the residential colleges. Another point of variance is whether colleges are multi-disciplinary (as at Oxford and Cambridge) or focused on certain subject areas such as atFordham University, which has dedicated residential colleges (Integrated Learning Communities) for upperclass students for various themes including global business and science, as well as separate first year residential colleges, including one for students considering pre-med or science majors.[18]
The primary difference between a residential college and a hall of residence is often considered to be that while a student lives in a hall for a year, they are a member of a college for their entire student life, even when not living in the accommodation associated with that college: "Residential colleges are collegia in the original sense: societies, not buildings, and their members may reside anywhere".[19] However, as can be seen above, this is not common to all variants of the residential college system. In addition, the members of a residential college are usually expected to eat their meals together, as a unified body. Standard halls of residence tend to have residents who move between halls every year, and who eat in dining halls largely mixed with residents of other halls. However, residential colleges can be self-catering (e.g.Josephine Butler College, Durham), yet still clearly identified as colleges.[20]
InAustralia, colleges perform different functions at different universities. Colleges at theUniversity of Melbourne,University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, University of Tasmania and the University of Western Australia provide academic, sporting and cultural programs in addition to those offered by their parent institution and each individual college has its own personality, history and traditions. However, they only serve a small fraction of the university population. By point of comparison, the colleges at theAustralian National University provide a mix of the above and a singular focus on the provision of accommodation andMonash University provides a college experience, but mostly without any academic support, the exception is the affiliated Mannix College.
St Catherine's College in Western Australia is the first residential college in Australia to have a campus at two universities - the University of Western Australia and Curtin University.
Many universities inCanada have collegiate systems similar to those in British collegiate universities. For instance, theUniversity of Toronto has a well-established collegiate system including a number of "federated colleges" and "constituent colleges". Initially, theUniversity of Victoria maintained a system of residential colleges (including Craigdarroch College and Lansdowne College) built around central courtyards, before adopting a more centralized residential system which is now made up of Permanent Halls (e.g., Ring Road Hall) and Common Rooms. Other Canadian universities with residential colleges include theUniversity of Waterloo, theUniversity of Western Ontario, theUniversity of Manitoba, theUniversity of British Columbia,Trent University and its colleges,Paton College atMemorial University of Newfoundland, andYork University. Three Canadian residential colleges are distinguished by being for graduate students rather than undergraduates —Green College, Vancouver andSt. John's College, Vancouver colleges at UBC, andMassey College, Toronto at the University of Toronto.
TheUniversity of Otago inDunedin has a particular strong set of colleges modelled on the Oxbridge system. Each of Otago's 15 colleges has its own distinctive 'personality', history, and traditions.
Collegiate structures in theUnited Kingdom andIreland follow a variety of models. InOxford andCambridge, a residential college combines both the residential and part of the academic aspects of the university in one location. "Tutorials" (Oxford) or "supervisions" (Cambridge) are generally given within the college, but lectures are organised by the wider university. In most universities in the UK with residential colleges –Durham (from the 19th century) along withKent,Lancaster andYork (from the 1960s) – formal teaching is carried out only in academic departments. Their colleges are primarily residential and the focus for social and sporting activities, as well as for student welfare. In these universities, the colleges are (with the exception of two early 20th century colleges at Durham) owned by their parent university; this is also the case for three of the newer colleges at Oxford, which are formally "societies" of the university.[21] TheUniversity of Roehampton has four colleges (all founded in the 19th century) that joined to form the university. The teaching of the university takes place within the colleges, with academic departments being associated with a particular college. Roehampton colleges are, therefore, both residential and academic, but with the academic organisation on very different lines from Oxford and Cambridge. TheUniversity of London and theUniversity of the Highlands and Islands are federal universities whose colleges are independent teaching institutes (some, in the case of London, being universities in their own right) rather than residential colleges. TheUniversity of the Arts London is similarly organised, with six constituent teaching colleges, except that these are all owned by the central university rather than being joined in a federal structure.
TheUniversity of Dublin (founded 1592) inIreland has only one constituent college,Trinity College Dublin, which is thus effectively the whole university rather than a residential college. Occasionally, unsuccessful proposals have been made for the university to expand by incorporating the existingUniversity College Dublin as a second college.
TheUniversity of St Andrews in Scotland contains three colleges, but these have neither a teaching nor residential role. However, the university announced plans to create afourth college in 2022.
In the United States, as in many collegiate universities in the UK, the academic and residential functions of the residential college system are normally separated, with the colleges primarily as residential and social units. Although residential colleges in some universities offer some classes, these offerings supplement the offerings of the major academic which have separate facilities. Other US institutions not mentioned above that have residential colleges includeBinghamton University,[22]Furman University,[23]Murray State University,[24]Rice University,[25]Washington University in St. Louis,University of Miami,Central Michigan University,[26]Southern Methodist University, theUniversity of Oklahoma,[27] theUniversity of California, San Diego, and theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.[28] Many other institutions use the system as well.[29] At theUniversity of Virginia, students may apply to live in one of three residential colleges; acceptance rates vary widely. In 2001Vanderbilt University decided to convert to a residential college system. Since that time, Vanderbilt has built and renovated residential facilities to suit this program, including The Commons for first-year students and several colleges for upper class students.[30] At UC Santa Cruz and San Diego, all majors are available to students of any college, but each college has its own curricular requirements, especially with regard to general education.[31][32]
Although the historical roots of collegiate organisation are to be found inOxford andCambridge universities, the corporate independence of Oxbridge colleges is not likely to be reproduced elsewhere. But there is a growing trend in US higher education to create decentralised residential colleges more along the lines of the colleges at Durham University than at Oxford or Cambridge, and this trend holds great promise for the improvement of student life.
Yale's residential colleges have nothing to do with majors or academic interests
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)All incoming undergraduates are assigned to one of Yale's fourteen residential colleges. Students remain affiliated with their residential college for all four years (and beyond).
All first- and second-year students live in one of the residential colleges. In junior and senior year, you will have the option of continuing to live in the residential college or moving into the upperclass dormitories. Whatever choice you make, you will remain affiliated with your college