To enhance the student’s scholastic and co-curricular experience while at UCR, Housing Services has implemented a number of cultural and academic-based special interest communities. Participating in these communities offers a resident the opportunity to experience college life with a smaller group of students who potentially share similar majors, similar cultures, or an interest in learning more about either topic. The following is a list of Housing Services’ current special interest communities.
CHASS Connect is an exciting program designed exclusively for first-year students in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Residents of this hall must be enrolled in the CHASS Connect program through CHASS. The CHASS Connect community provides you with social activities that will help you to get to know other students in the program who can identify with and share your college experiences. The Resident Advisor for the community is also enrolled in CHASS. CHASS Connect is located in Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.
Enginuity is a special interest housing option designed exclusively for first-year students enrolled in the Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE). The hall is a part of a BCOE initiative known as the “Engineering Learning Community.” As such, learning and the development of close academic and social relationships are fostered on this hall. Proximity to the BCOE, access to Residence Hall academic and social resources, as well as available mentoring by Engineering upperclassmen are elements included specifically to help Engineering students excel in their program. Enginuity is located at Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.
Gender-neutral housing allows same-gender roommates, opposite-gender roommates, or other gender-identity roommate pairings, regardless of physical sex. To clarify, gender identities are numerous and include man, woman, and transgender, among many others. Thus, residents of gender-neutral housing may request any roommate whosoever.
This community is not a traditional theme hall with staff-initiated programming and formal interaction with campus departments and student groups. However, all gender-neutral housing will be located in the same Pentland Hills building as Stonewall Hall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and allies theme community (which also provides gender-neutral housing). All residents of this building, like those of any other UCR residence hall, must adhere to common standards of civility and respect regarding diverse gender identities/expressions, and sexual orientations.
Students admitted to the University Honors Program are qualified, though not required, to live on the Honors Hall. To learn more about the details of application to the University Honors Program please visit http://www.honors.ucr.edu or call (951) 827-5323. Honors Halls are located in Pentland Hills and A-I and all rooms are same gender.
The Increasing Science, Technology, & Engineering Participation (InSTEP) Hall is intended for majors in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) and the Bournes College of Engineering (BCOE). It provides an environment that is conducive to informal study groups with suite-mates and neighbors, formal study groups organized within Pentland Hills via the Learning Center, and other science and technology social and academic activities. This community is recommended for campus science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors, especially those intending to participate in academic clubs associated with CNAS and BCOE. Resident Advisors on this hall are all CNAS or BCOE majors. InSTEP Hall is located in Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.
The Pan-African Theme Hall welcomes all students with similar goals and expectations of expanding and developing the consciousness of students in the area of Pan-African culture and its relationship to other cultures of the world. PATH offers a number of resources and networking opportunities including academic workshops, guest presentations, hall dinners, social functions, field trips, along with a multitude of cultural events designed to enlighten and expand ways of thinking of African students. PATH is located in Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.
The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences’ Pre-business program is designed to prepare students for the rigors of the Business Administration major. The Pre-Business community will introduce students to other business-oriented classmates and provide them with the opportunity to develop the key networks necessary to be successful in business. Alumni and community speakers will visit the Pre-Business community to provide experience, insight, and mentoring. Academic support and resources will be made available through advisors and peer mentors. The Pre-Business community offers students the space to explore the possibilities of the business world with like-minded peers in a supportive environment.
Stonewall Hall welcomes students of all gender identities and sexual orientations who wish to join an intentional living community. Stonewall Hall celebrates and affirms the cultural experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and questioning students, as well as their allies, while welcoming the diverse and complex identities of every resident. Working closely with Housing Services, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, and Transgender Studies Minor, and UCR student groups, a community of respect and a sense of family for all residents has been created. Staff-initiated programming reaches out to all Residence Hall students with cultural, educational, and social programming throughout the year. Stonewall Hall is located in Pentland Hills and is a gender-neutral housing community.
The Transfer Hall helps provide the type of educational living environment in which new UCR Transfer students can prosper. This community is composed of peers making a similar transition to the University, engaged seriously in their academic pursuits, and desiring to take advantage of the exhaustive resources and unparalleled access to campus that the Residence Halls offer. The Transfer Hall is located in Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.
Mundo Hall was established by students seeking to help Latino/Chicano peers transition smoothly to UCR life. The Mundo experience is mental and emotional: it fosters an awareness of culture and self, as well as cultivating strong emotional bonds with peers. In conjunction with the Chicano Student Program, Mundo is committed to expanding academic success, as well as educating students to Latino/Chicano culture and building a sense of comunidad and familia. Unete a Mundo is located in Pentland Hills and all rooms are same gender.