Montclair State University is committed to the integration of the academic community into the residence halls. One of the ways that this is accomplished is through Living Learning Communities. Participants of Living Learning Communities have opportunities to live together with other students who are taking similar courses or have a common college-based major. This model helps residents foster social connections by assigning them into student cohorts, ensuring residents have close contact with faculty, participate in programs and events that support the theme of the Living Learning Community, and provides opportunities for interaction with other residents across campus who share a similar interest.
Available Communities
Arts Interdisciplinary Living Community (AILC)
Comprised of students majoring in art & design, music, theatre, dance, broadcasting and/or communication studies, the AILC occupies floors in the Freeman Residence Hall on the south end of the campus – just across from the Cali School of Music and a few minutes’ walk from all of the college’s visual arts and performance facilities. But AILC is not just about convenience. It is about students with creative and multidisciplinary interests living together, sharing their passions and challenges, and discovering common ground.
Honors Living Community (HLC)
Any student who is an active member of the University’s Honors Program is eligible. The HLC is designed to provide the advantages of a small liberal arts college within the larger dynamic university community. The HLC provides a core curriculum of seminar s and elective courses that fulfill general education requirements while working to establish a lively and creative community for its students and faculty. The HLC will be housed in specific areas of The Heights, provides an environment that is intended to be conducive to learning and to promoting personal, intellectual, social and academic growth. The goals of this residential community are to promote academic success along with a sense of collaboration, discovery, and teamwork through a number of social and educational activities. There will be special opportunities for residential students to meet individually with Honors faculty, take part in special seminars, dinners, and lunches, and participate in off-campus concerts, lectures, and field trips.
Stonewall Suites: LGBTQA Living Learning Community
Stonewall Suites is Montclair State University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and allied (LGBTQA) living community. This community was established in 2010 and continues to provide students with a comfortable living and learning experience, where residents are placed without consideration of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Stonewall Suites seeks to connect students interested in supporting and educating themselves and their community about LGBTQA and other social justice issues. Those living in Stonewall Suites work to connect their experiences or theory they learn in the classroom with opportunities for student involvement through Residential Life and the LGBTQ Center. This community is located in Parker and Whitman Halls.
Global Village Living Community (GVLC)
The Global Village Living Community (GVLC) is a residential community of international and domestic students at MSU. Any student with at least 50 credits, who is interested in learning about the traditions and customs of students from a variety of countries, should think about applying to be a part of this living community in The Village at Little Falls. Domestic students in this program will be expected to assist in the transitional issues faced by international students (i.e. orientation to campus life, Montclair, and its surrounding communities). In exchange, the international students will be expected to share with the domestic students the customs and culture from their native lands. Consideration will be given to domestic students who express interest in living with an international student of a specific culture or who speaks a foreign language. Faculty/staff advisors to the GVLC will be represented by the Office of the Provost, Office of Global Engagement, Foreign Language faculty and other relevant faculty and advisors possessing intercultural living skill. For more information about living in the GVLC, please contact Dr. Tim White, Director of International Academic Initiatives, at whitet@montclair.edu.
Wellness Community
Partnering with the Office of Health Promotion and Counseling and Psychological Services the Office of Residence Life is pleased to offer a community for students to develop an understanding of mind, body, and spirit through a wide range of wellness programs. This community will house both upper-class and new students. Programs will cover areas such as nutrition, fitness, sexual health, alcohol, and other drugs. If you are interested in making healthier decisions and improving the quality of your time here at Montclair look into the Wellness Community. Substance-free means that all residents agree to keep the influences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs out of their community.
This community is also open to our residents in recovery as an on-campus living community designed to assist students in recovery from alcohol and other drugs. Students are provided with the academic, developmental and recovery support necessary to succeed in higher education while living in an abstinence-based community.
Please Note: All Montclair State University residence halls are drug and smoke-free, and all residence halls are designated as alcohol-free except The Village at Little Falls. The Wellness Living-Learning Community is in Russ Hall. For more information about living in the Wellness Living Learning Community, please contact the Office of Residence Life reslife@montclair.edu.
Apply to a Special Interest Living Community
All students interested in living within a Special Interest Living Community can complete the below process. This application will be available starting Monday, February 14, and can be completed up until the housing selection process begins.
- Log in to the Residential Management System (RMS).
- Click “Next Step” after the Housing Selection Homepage.
- Find the title for Special Interest Housing Application.
- Click “Next Step.”
- Complete the application by completing all required fields.
Once your information has been submitted, a member of our team will contact you about your housing placement!