They are not designed to be the first step toward a specific career or major. Other introductory courses that students take in the fall and spring of the first year, and in the fall of the second year, allow for exploration of many possible majors. Students are encouraged to choose seminars whose topics they find appealing, and to be flexible in their choices While First-Year Seminars differ from one another in topic and in the kind of assignments they ask students to complete, they are similar in the following important ways. Faculty instructors serve as academic advisors for the students in their seminars. Students generally remain with this advisor until they are ready to declare a major in the second semester of their sophomore year.
Advisors are prepared to work with students with a variety of interests and intended majors.
I was in the first-year seminar called Violence of Everyday Life in Latin America, with Professor Glen Kuecker. Although the seminar was my toughest class, it was also my favorite. Professor Kuecker expected us to perform at a higher level than we were accustomed to in high school. He never expected less out of us just because we were first-year students. It was scary at first to have such a challenging class, but in the end everyone found it incredibly rewarding.