Residential Curriculum

The Residential Curriculum guides the programmatic and philosophical efforts of our office. We strive to create a lived experience where every resident feels safe, connected and supported.

Educational Priority: The Residential Experience at Wellesley College will immerse students in an inclusive and exuberant community that inspires the pursuit of wonder, interpersonal connections, and life-long learning.

Learning Goals: By living in residence, Wellesley College students will: 1) Develop a greater awareness of self and their role in the larger world. 2) Be embraced and empowered to become their authentic self in community with others. 3) Understand the value of engaging with others who hold different identities and perspectives.

Learning Goal #1: Self Awareness By living in residence, Wellesley College students will develop a greater awareness of self and their role in the larger world.

Narrative: Before we seek to be understood, we must first seek to understand. Therefore, an awareness of self is predicated on the purposeful and productive engagement of others. From the embedded culture of a community to everyday interactions, students in residence will contend with who they are and how they impact the larger world by seeking to understand the frame of those around them. In doing so, students will develop the social and emotional resilience to navigate complex spaces and contexts in an independent and resourceful manner.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will develop a growth mindset and resilience in their interpersonal experiences.
Students will clarify and articulate their personal and professional values and passions.
Students will recognize the value of an empathetic and civically engaged worldview.
Students will practice ways to appropriately and effectively advocate for self and others.

Learning Goal #2: Sense of Belonging By living in residence, Wellesley College students will feel embraced and empowered to become their authentic self in community with others.

Narrative: Living in an affirming and celebratory space where one is seen and valued encourages the capacity of individual residents to embrace their peers in dialogue, radical candor, and meaning-making experiences. By feeling valued as members of their residential community, students will be empowered to be the architects of their lived experience, unencumbered by the pressure to be performative or to arrive as experts. In residence, students will be embraced for their idiosyncrasies, supported through transitions, and encouraged to practice and iterate towards becoming their fullest expression of self.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will work to achieve greater rapport with their roommate(s) and neighbors, allowing them to feel more open to genuinely express themselves.
Students will understand the value of finding, connecting to, and engaging with a residential community.
Students will learn how to manage interpersonal conflicts.
Students will engage in social and reflective experiences with their peers.

Learning Goal #3: Inclusive Excellence By living in residence, Wellesley College students will understand the value of engaging with others who hold different identities and perspectives.

Narrative: To stay true to the principles of a liberal arts education, students must be encouraged to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue that explores a variety of thoughts and ideas. Our residential community is strengthened when students learn to communicate across differences and are encouraged to openly share their lived experiences with others. By synthesizing diverse interpersonal perspectives, students hone their capacity to reason, their ability to articulate their values to others, and their commitment to caring for people from all walks of life. These intentional, meaningful connections create flexible, innovative thinkers who possess the skills and courage to pursue their intrinsic passions while navigating the complexities of an evolving global society.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will engage in meaningful and difficult dialogue with others.
Students will collaborate, socialize and celebrate, with friends and neighbors whose subjectivities may not mirror their own.
Students will move along their continuum of cultural competency towards developing an intercultural mindset.