Foundations

All-college seminars

The First-Year Seminar cannot be double-counted with other requirements. First-Year Writing Seminar and Second-Year Seminar can also count toward an elective in a major/minor and/or as meeting an Explorations requirement.

First-Year Seminar: How do we know what we know?

(Block 1)

All students with less than 7 credits will enroll in a First-Year Seminar. Credits granted to students from examinations cannot be counted towards the total credits needed to exempt a student from a First-Year Seminar.

This First-Year Seminar (FYS), which has a common syllabus across sections, encourages creative and critical thinking about works from a variety of disciplines and provides students with a shared foundation for their educational experience at Cornell College. This course will focus on cultivating opportunities for growth with the support to achieve this growth.

First-Year Writing Seminar—1 credit

The first-year writing seminars are topically based courses, with some common elements, taken in a student’s first year, and focused on the further development of academic writing skills. Through  informal and formal writing, students will focus on the process of writing, explore writing techniques and strategies, reflect on their work, and use the revision process to develop and communicate ideas more effectively. Students are only allowed to earn credit for one first-year writing seminar.

Second-Year Seminar: Citizenship in Practice (Block 1)

All students with less than 14 credits will enroll in a second-year seminar. Credits granted to students from examinations cannot be counted towards the total credits needed to exempt a student from a Second Year Seminar.

Second-year seminars are topically based courses that encourage citizenship in practice by focusing on informed and creative problem-solving of real-world issues through disciplinary or multidisciplinary approaches. These courses may include community engagement and/or hands-on experiences such as field trips, service learning, simulations, performances, installations, exhibits, or lab work. SYS courses do not have prerequisites.