First Year Seminars

Require participation in a first-year seminar

A required first-year seminar (FYS) sets the tone for the undergraduate experience by providing students with a shared introduction to the intellectual life of the university life and the opportunity to work closely with full-time faculty as they explore scholarly topics.

Progress

• KSAS ran 60 discussion-based FYS pilots from Fall 2020 through Spring 2022, experimenting with credit weight, grading schemes, and other aspects of curricular design.
• KSAS launched its FYS requirement for all first-year Krieger students in Fall 2022, with all students enrolled across 75 seminars. Each seminar is unique to the faculty member teaching it, but all share common learning goals.
• WSE will launch design-based FYS pilots in Fall 2023. These courses will introduce WSE students to a learning process focused on designing solutions and realizing prototypes. Additionally, WSE piloted over 20 discussion-based seminars from spring 2022-spring 2023 and will run approximately 12 such seminars in fall 2023.
• WSE intends to implement a FYS requirement for WSE students entering in Fall 2024.