What is a First Year Seminar? It is the student’s first college-level introduction to the intellectual life of the university and to the values that sustain a community of learners.  It is a course that allows the university’s best instructors to focus on material tied to his or her research, scholarship, and creative interests and to share that excitement with a small group of students.

While the FYS topics may differ according to the instructor’s interests, the goals of every FYS are the same.  A First Year Seminar is discussion and not lecture-based; it is skills (critical and creative thinking, reading, writing and speaking) rather than content-based.  At its best, it is inter-disciplinary.  At its best, it has the cutting-edge excitement of a senior-level seminar.

For more information, take a look at all the documents that define and describe the learning outcomes for the First Year Seminar at Butler.   Take a look at the sample syllabi and links.  Enjoy your summer!

Susan Neville

First Year Seminar Director