Frequently Asked Questions
Living-Learning Programs (LLPs) are a great way to enhance your on-campus experience. In these communities, students with similar interests live together and participate in activities that cater to their academic, social and personal needs. Virginia Tech has two different types of LLPs: 1. Residential Colleges and 2. Living-Learning Communities.
- Quick place to find community: Virginia Tech has over 9,400 students who live on campus. LLPs are a great way to make a large campus feel small and develop a quick network of friends when you get to Tech.
- Mentorship: All LLPs have some ratio of upper-division students so you can learn from sophomores, juniors and even some seniors who have been in your shoes before.
- Faculty interaction: LLPs have greater levels of faculty and staff support who can be helpful in your academic success and in learning the ins and outs of the classroom experience at Tech.
- Space: LLPs have spaces renovated specifically with the intersections of living and learning in mind. Some of the spaces include community kitchens, libraries, studios, maker spaces, and classrooms.
Residential Colleges consist of 300+ first-year through graduate students from a wide variety of majors, across all academic colleges. Each Residential College is led by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who lives in the residence hall with their family. In addition to this live-in faculty member, there are also associated faculty members from various colleges who commit to mentoring and interacting with students on a regular basis. The strong faculty presence and strong multi-generational nature of the Residential Colleges create an intellectual environment where culture and tradition are continually passed down. Residential Colleges have events that happen in the community on a weekly basis and rely very heavily on student governance for the direction of the community.
Living-Learning Communities generally have between 70-225 residents, although Galileo & Hypatia LLCs are slightly larger. First-year students make up the largest chunk of each Living-Learning Community, but there are a select number of upper-division students who help lead the community. Some Living-Learning Communities are made up of students with the same academic college, while others have students who come from different colleges, but have a common interest – like art or well-being for example. Each Living-Learning Community is led by a Virginia Tech faculty or staff member, known as Program Director. While the Program Director does not live in the residence hall, they are very involved in the life of the community and help plan events and activities that relate to the focus of the Living-Learning Community.
Absolutely! A little over a third (so, roughly 3,300 students) participate in LLPs. Not only does this give you the Tech on-campus experience, but it is enhanced because you have greater access to resources in LLPs, like more social events, faculty, and professional development, you might not have otherwise.
Some, but not all. The three Residential Colleges have a 2-year live-on requirement for incoming first-year students to promote multi-generational learning. Our Living-Learning Communities have a 1-year commitment with the option to renew in subsequent years.
Some, but not all.
Applications for Living-Learning Programs can be completed once an incoming student has accepted their offer of admission from Virginia Tech and paid the matriculation fee. At that time, a housing contract will be made available to eligible students through the StarRez Portal. A component of the housing contract is expressing interest and applying to Living-Learning Programs. More information can be found here.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from December through June. Find out more information about timelines here.
Feel free to send us an email at livinglearning@vt.edu. We are more than happy to help!