A select group of students may be invited to participate in residential and academic Learning Communities. Students will live with, take classes with, and study with a core group of fellow Learning Community students; their professors work together to coordinate core coursework, as well as serve as their advisors for their first two semesters, helping to solve problems, select courses, and choose a major. Movies, trips, dinners, lunches, and informal parties will be planned to help students get acquainted. The transition to campus life is made easier because students are able to make friends with whom to socialize, discuss assignments, work on papers, and study for exams.

Freshman Year Experience Program with a Faculty-in-Residence
Conover Hall

Rider’s Freshman Year Experience (FYE) gives first-time freshmen residents a bridge between the University’s formal academic programs and our rich out-of-classroom learning and development activities.

The presence of a Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) helps to create a living/learning environment that promotes academic achievement and scholarship. Residence Life staff — in conjunction with the Faculty-in- Residence — plan social and academic programs specifically to help new students in their transition to University life.

Science Learning Community
Switlik Hall

The Science Learning Community promotes academic achievement and collegiality among students enrolled in the sciences. Its residents include majors in biology, biochemistry, biopsychology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, marine science, and math and physics. The faculty of the science departments work together with staff members from Residence Life and the Rider Learning Center to provide a variety of academic and social programs ranging from tutoring, supplemental instruction, peer-led team instruction, special lectures and student research talks to movie and game nights, spaghetti dinners, field trips, picnics and other gatherings. These activities give science majors a chance to interact with faculty outside the classroom, and develop a sense of community among other science majors who share demanding and rigorous academic lives — two key factors that have a proven record of dramatically increasing students’ probability of success in a science career.

The Baccalaureate Honors Program
Freshman Learning Community
Ziegler Hall

The Freshman Learning Community, located in a dedicated wing of the Ziegler Residence Hall, fosters intellectual growth and a social community among students who accept the invitation to enroll in Rider’s BHP-100: Great Ideas I (a substitution for CMP-120 in the core) — the gateway course in the Baccalaureate Honors Program (BHP). Instructors in the five team-taught, interdisciplinary sections of BHP-100 collaborate on syllabi and activities and serve as BHP advisors to their freshman students.

Freshmen who live in the honors wing of Ziegler share challenges and opportunities with classmates who are studying the same texts, doing similar assignments, and participating in some of the same co-curricular events, thus building a strong foundation for long-lasting friendships.

Learn more about the Baccalaureate Honors Program

College of Business Administration

In this learning community, College of Business Administration (CBA) students live together for the first semester while they are enrolled in a cluster of common classes. The courses include: MSD-10: Quantitative Methods I, CBA-110: Introduction to Business, CIS-185: Introduction to Computing, NCT-010: Freshmen Seminar, an English course and a liberal arts elective. While living, learning and socializing together, members of the CBA learning community are taught by premier College of Business Administration faculty. Mentoring opportunities and tutoring programs are available for specific courses on an as-needed basis.

Wellness Floors
Olson Hall

Wellness Floors are available to students who desire an environment focusing on health, wellness, fitness and recreation. Residence hall staff members work with students to create programs and community development opportunities that focus on a wellness lifestyle.

All-Female Residence Hall
Wright Hall

Wright Hall is an all-female residence.  It provides an opportunity for women to reside in a hall that has a mission specific to their needs.  This community promotes empowerment for women through programming and community service  directly related to women’s issues in  health, beauty, safety, media,  history. politics, and culture. The building is an integrated community with the specific goals of fostering women's personal growth. We envision a learning community where women students can share their experiences while learning about issues that affect the lives of women everywhere.

The International Community
Gee Hall

The International Community offers a cultural exchange experience. By living together, international and domestic students learn about each other’s cultures and customs, improve their foreign language skills, and promote respect and friendship among individuals of all nations and backgrounds.

Fine Arts House
Lake House

This residence hall is designed for students enrolled in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, which is part of Rider’s Westminster College of the Arts. Students and staff collaborate to provide activities and experiences that support the arts and encourage individual creativity within each student.

A keyboard lab and practice rooms complement this living experience.