Taught be some of the university's most distinguished faculty, each cluster approaches a broad theme from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on the sources, assumptions and methods central to distinct fields of inquiry while exploring the connections among them. First year clusters also strengthen the writing, critical thinking, and literacy skills that students need to excel at the university.
All courses are three quarters long.
During the Fall and Winter quarters, instruction in the clusters consists of lecture courses taught in concert with discussiuon sections. In the Spring Quarter, each student enrolls in one of a small number of satellite seminars whose topics radiate from the cluster theme. It introducted students across the campus to the central issues in Astrobiology. Assessment was based on individual presentations and performance in class throughout the quarter.