The University of Michigan has a few programs that help create smaller communities within a very large university. One of them, the Residential College, is reputed to be somewhat like a version of Oberlin College or Beloit College but is actually part of the school of Literature, Science and the Arts. Do similar programs exist at the University of Wisconsin? If not, how do students find smaller living and academic communities? (I’m not interested in hearing about the Greek system.) Thanks.
Smaller programs within University of Wisconsin (like Residential College at University of Michigan)
Chadbourne Residential College
Try exploring http://housing.wisc.edu, there are many learning communities in the dorms. There are also FIGs (first year interest groups - google it).
This is a good question, OP. The short answer is, absolutely, yes. FIGs, which other people here have more experience with, are a good one (they were initiated after my tenure at UW). Hopefully other posters will chime in.
The honors program(s) will offer possibilities. CALS could offer some. It depends if you are looking for purely academic small community experiences, or other types. Also depends on proposed major(s) to a degree. I say this because many of the smaller departments or disciplines become your “community” in the advanced classes / years. You’d be surprised how specialized and collegial they can become – it can be a very positive experience both for career and beyond.
I was in a very intensive musical community, but this was technically off-campus. There is also the Madison community co-op system to live in, if that’s your thing – this could be in some ways a bit like an Oberlin experience. I also participated in that and it was positive.
Parent of current student here – our experience was that FIGS, residential learning communities, and Honors program each offered ways to create a small community for new students. My kid did a FIG and still considers it the best intro to his college experience he could imagine: seminar with a great prof, 2 other thematically linked courses with discussion section with his FIG mates, and a ready-made study group and group of friends to go to meals with, go out with etc. He is also in Honors program which could be an opportunity to shrink the experience, if a student participated in the talks, outings etc. Learning communities are another one, he looked at Chad but wanted to be in Sellery/Witte for the full freshman experience. About half the kids on his floor (so 20 out of 50 students) became his core group of friends.
So, while there is no separate school within a school program at UW, there are structures which create a smaller community.
Thanks very much. What are FIGS and CALS?
See Post #1 for FIGs
Ditto on the above. For some students the interest groups of FIGs or Learning Communities provide the experience. For others taking Honors classes provide a smaller group of students to share interests with. The freshman physics, chemistry and calculus Honors sequences can do that. There are so many different places to live on campus that help make campus life more manageable- such as choosing a smaller building instead of a high rise for your dorm. There are so many differences in classes, activities and housing that everyone who choose UW can find a niche. Talk to alumni and you find many different impressions of the campus. Reminds me of the tale of the blind men and the elephant.
CALS is an acronym for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is a relatively smaller school compared to some of the large natural science departments. Again, better if other posters chime in with their CALS experiences too, because that wasn’t my specialization. I did take some excellent botany courses, which may have been housed within CALS. I honestly can’t remember the college designation.
What is nice about CALS is that, from what I’ve read, it offers a smaller, tighter-knit community with peers and professors. One may pursue some very similar tracks within the biological sciences, for example, as compared to those in the larger, separate bio-sciences.
In other words, don’t let the “agriculture” name throw you if some of the life sciences may interest you as a potential major. Of course, agriculture and soil sciences are a traditional stronghold of this land-grant university, but they are by no means limiting factor (and their high ranking at Wisconsin can be a draw). Also, CALS seems to offer some nice smaller scholarships and incentives to high-performing students.