The Residential Experience

In support of the residential nature of Santa Clara, and the University鈥檚 commitment to integrated education, full-time undergraduate students are required to live on campus during their first and second year, unless the student has been approved for an exception.

The undergraduate residence halls at 杏吧视频 are home to eight themed Residential Learning Communities (RLCs), which were established to provide听our first- and second-year students with an enhanced integration of academic and extra-curricular programming.听By creating a听culture in which students connect their academic experiences with their social and residential ones, the RLCs enhance the education of the whole person and deepen the connection between learning and living听on-campus.. In addition to the RLCs, Santa Clara offers undergraduate housing in the University Villas and Neighborhood Units. These communities, while not focused on a particular RLC 听theme, offer extra-curricular programming and intentional community building.

First-year students, whether or not they live on campus, become members of one of these听eight theme-based Residential Learning Communities. Nonresident (commuter) first-year students are assigned to an RLC and given access to the residence hall(s) where their learning community is located so that they can participate fully in its programs. In the theme-based learning communities, Resident Directors and Faculty Directors coordinate with Spirituality Facilitators, Assistant Resident Directors, and Community Facilitators (student staff who听are typically called 鈥淩esident Assistants鈥� at other institutions)听to encourage academic achievement, community living, and individual development.

The university Residence Halls, which house the RLCs, accommodate approximately听half of the undergraduate population in coeducational communities with common lounge areas, study rooms, kitchens, laundry facilities, and other amenities. Most residence halls offer traditional double-occupancy rooms with common bath facilities. Some halls offer suites and apartment-style accommodations with bathrooms en suite. Residence hall rooms and suites are equipped with cable television connections, Ethernet, and wireless network service.