Learning Community
Start getting connected in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies through a learning community. If you are an incoming freshman, the HDFS learning community will help you meet new people, plan for your future, and make meaningful connections with your peers and faculty.
The goal of the HDFS learning community is to facilitate an easy transition from high school to university life by helping students make important connections with peers and faculty during their first year at Iowa State.
About the Community
- The HDFS freshman learning community provides new students with a core group of peers in similar classes.
- The Learning Community Orientation course addresses adjustment to college life, developing strategies for successful learning, and career awareness.
- Learning community members get opportunities to interact with peers, peer mentors, advisers, and faculty outside of class.
The following HDFS majors are automatically members of the HDFS Learning Community and are included in the Learning Community Orientation class in the fall of their first semester:
- child, adult, and family services
- early childhood education
- financial counseling and planning
- family and consumer sciences education and studies
Components of the HDFS Learning Community include:
- The Learning Community Orientation course (HDFS 110)
- HDFS student peer mentors
- Reserved space in common courses such as:
- HDFS 102, Individual & Family Life Development
- RELIG 205, Introduction to World Religions
- Lib 160, Library Instruction
- Study sessions
- Social activities
- Service and volunteer opportunities