Special Living Options

Penn State Behrend offers opportunities for students interested in living with others who share common interests and goals. Special Living Options (SLOs) are open to students who have an interest in one of the themes. Students interested in an SLO can contact the Housing and Food Service Office for more information about how to request an SLO.

The following SLOs are available at Behrend for 2019-2020:

• Discover House
• Engineering House
• Global Boarders
• Honors House
• Tree House

Discover House

Discover House is a living-learning community designed by the Behrend Academic & Career Planning Center on behalf of the Division of Undergraduate Studies for students who want to make the most of their Penn State experience.  In Discover House, a student learns about the University opportunities and academic programs so he/she can make an informed choice of major and create an exciting academic plan.  Discover House students receive individualized attention from advisers and are offered special monthly programs and opportunities.  It is an ideal environment to begin university life and transition to the on-campus living environment. Discover House is in a traditional hall and is for DUS students.

Engineering House

By living in one of the Engineering Houses at Behrend, you'll have ready access to the tech you need and the engineering-focused social and academic programs you want. All School of Engineering students and first-year students interested in engineering are invited to live in an Engineering House:

Global Boarders

This international-focused special living environment in Trippe Hall offers the opportunity to build valuable cultural competency skills.  Global Boarders is an international-focused community of students seeking close interaction with peers who live or have studied abroad, hope to study abroad, or want a culturally diverse living-learning environment.  The Black School of Business will offer academic enrichment and unique out-of-class opportunities for Global Boarders participants, both first year and returning students.

Honors House

The Honors Special Living Option is available to students who share similar academic goals and are enrolled in the Honors Program. Fostering the scholars' growth through activities with faculty, the Erie Honors House is run in conjunction with The Schreyer Honors College. Behrend students also have the opportunity to participate in the Hall Council and the Community Standards Board. A majority of Honors students, both first year and returning, are assigned to Ohio Hall.

Tree House

Tree House is an Interdisciplinary Learning-Living Community centered about the Sustainability Development Goals as detailed by the United Nations. Do you care about food insecurity? Want to eliminate poverty? Interested in Green Building? Want to fight gender and racial inequality? All of these issues are components of sustainability. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment, it’s about people and prosperity, equity and the economy, too. But if you like to hug trees, protect the natural world, and save the bees, all the better!

Tree House residents:

• Must enroll in the fall semester in one of the following courses:
  • CAS 222N Foundations: Civics and Community Engagement; or
  • SUST 150N The Science of Sustainable Development; or
  • SUS 200 Foundations of Leadership in Sustainability
• Are automatically members of the Greener Behrend student club and will host the biweekly meetings in Trippe Hall.
• Will host eco-movie nights or special sustainability guest speakers once a month in Trippe Hall to discuss current sustainability topics.
• Will work in groups of 3-4 students to present sustainable practices once per semester in the other residence halls on campus (Tree House EcoReps).
• Can participate in a variety of sustainable initiatives both on campus and in the greater Erie region such as:
  • The Behrend Student Garden
  • The Waste Not program
  • The Lion’s Pantry
  • The International Coastal Clean-up
  • Winter Green Gorge Hiking and Preservation

All efforts of the Tree House will be developed by the residents of Tree House under the guidance and assistance of their Resident Assistant and the campus Sustainability Coordinator, Dr. Sherri A. Mason.