First-Year Seminars

First-Year Seminars are focused on a professor’s personal interest, presented in a way that invites discussion.

These seminars offer the benefits of an experience often reserved for college seniors to students beginning their college career.

These courses, designed for and offered only to students in their first semester at Gettysburg College, provide an opportunity to work closely with a faculty member and a small cohort of peers to explore a topic that they all find interesting. First-Year Seminars employ and develop a variety of skills including writing, speaking, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and the use of technology or instrumentation.

First-Year Seminars may include field trips, films, guest speakers, workshops, and community service projects. Many of these opportunities are designed for a specific seminar or group of related seminars.

First-Year Seminars at Gettysburg College

A performer standing on stage holding a guitar in front of audience members

Did you know...

  • Class size is limited to 16 students
  • Seminars emphasize the active participation of students
  • All students in a First-Year Seminar live in the same residence hall
FYS 187-4 – Games and Computation

FYS 187-4 – Games and Computation

Bob Iuliano at the CAFE Symposium

What can you achieve in your First-Year Seminar?

First-Year Seminar Course Descriptions

New course descriptions are available at the start of each academic year.