All entering undergraduate students take a First-Year Seminar (FYS) in the fall and spring of the first year. A wide variety of seminars are available, drawn from every school and many departments across the university. First-Year Seminars introduce students to academic inquiry and the modes of expression that lie at the heart of a liberal arts education.

First-Year Seminars offer the opportunity to explore varied interests in small class settings with close faculty contact. More than 30 seminar topics cover a wide range of interests, from bioethics and math, to art history and English. All seminars provide opportunities for critical reading and thinking and establish a foundation for effective written and oral communications skills, information literacy, and library research skills.