Freshman Seminars in the Residential Colleges

During your four years at Princeton you will discover new ideas, whole new fields of knowledge, and, above all, the adventure of learning. The freshman seminar program is designed to introduce you to the excitement and challenge of working in a small setting with a professor and fellow students on a topic of special interest to you. The seminars present a unique opportunity to test your ideas, learn from others, and get to know a faculty member in formal, and at times informal, settings. Almost universally, students say that their freshman seminar was one of their best academic experiences at Princeton and that they form their most enduring intellectual friendships with fellow students in the seminar.

This year we will offer approximately 70 freshman seminars, each one hosted by a residential college. Due to classroom space limitations, some colleges offer fewer seminars than others, but all seminars are open to all freshmen, regardless of residential college affiliation. The residential college serves as the “home” of the seminar, and the seminar, in turn, contributes to the intellectual life of the college. Discussions started in the classroom can continue over meals or in other informal college settings. The seminars and the colleges frequently cosponsor special events such as film series, guest lectures, museum trips, or field excursions.

Freshman seminars count as regular courses. Most of them fulfill a distribution requirement, indicated by the letters in the right-hand corner of the course description (EC = Epistemology and Cognition; EM = Ethical Thought and Moral Values; HA = Historical Analysis; LA = Literature and the Arts; QR = Quantitative Reasoning; SA = Social Analysis; STL = Science and Technology, with laboratory; STN = Science and Technology, without laboratory).

Unless specifically indicated in the description, freshman seminars do not assume prior knowledge or advanced placement in the subject. The seminars depend for their success on the expertise of the professor and on the hard work and enthusiasm of all the participants. Emphasis is on discussion, papers, and in-class presentations rather than on quizzes and exams.

As you may know, you will take a writing seminar in either the fall or spring term of your freshman year. The director of the Writing Program will soon write to let you know which term you have been assigned. Like freshman seminars, the writing seminars are small and have specific topics, but there the similarity ends. Freshman seminars are focused on the subject matter; the reading, papers, presentations, and class discussion are all centered on the specific content of the course. Writing seminars are instead focused on the process of writing; the topic serves as a springboard for writing exercises and essays. Reading is held to a minimum, and most of class time is devoted to writing instruction.

Because these two programs are so different, you should not hesitate to take a freshman seminar in the term you will be taking your writing course as long as your schedule permits. In fact, most students who took both a freshman seminar and a writing seminar in the same term said that they would recommend taking both simultaneously. However, if your schedule is filled with other courses, then you may want to consider applying for a freshman seminar in the term you won’t be taking your writing course. Either way, you should try to take advantage of the opportunity to take two or more small seminars in your first year at Princeton.

If you would like to take a freshman seminar in the fall term, you should apply online. The deadline for fall applications is 5 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, August 15, 2011. (If you do not have Internet access over the summer, you may complete and mail the application form at the back of this booklet, but we must receive it before the deadline noted above.)

Indicate your top three choices and write one short essay in which you describe your interest in the seminars you have ranked and how these seminars relate to your academic interests and/or your curiosity about the world. While the University has gradually increased the number of freshman seminars offered, demand for these seminars still exceeds the number of spaces available. Seminar assignments are at first made at random in a fashion that seeks to accommodate the largest number of students while at the same time working to place students into one of their top choices.

If you are assigned to a seminar, the faculty member will read your essay before the start of the term to get a sense of your background and interest in the material. Where demand for spaces in a particular seminar exceeds the number of spaces available, faculty members have some latitude to shape the final class roster on the basis of the student essays. Given the high demand, some students will find that the luck of the draw means that they are not assigned to any seminar. To assist in the assignment process, please rank only those courses that you would definitely take if you were offered a place in the seminar.

You will be notified of your seminar placement by e-mail to your Princeton University e-mail address before Freshman Orientation. You may apply for freshman seminars in both terms; you will be notified about applying for spring term seminars in October. If you are not admitted to a fall term seminar, you will receive some preference for spring term seminars should you apply.