The College Seminar Requirement
NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the First-Year Seminar page. The information below pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.
About College seminars
Students take two different first-year seminars: a College Seminar in the fall and a First-Year Writing Seminar in either the winter or the spring. Both are small, discussion-oriented classes in which students explore a single topic or theme. The College Seminar, however, also foregrounds the differences between high school and college and introduces students to skills such as time management and help-seeking that are necessary to thriving at Northwestern. College Seminar instructors also serve as their students’ first advisers in the College. The First-Year Writing Seminar (the first part of the written and oral expression requirement) pays special attention to the process of writing and revision.
College Seminars may not be counted toward Weinberg College’s foundational discipline requirements, and most departments and programs exclude them from counting toward major and minor requirements.
Learning objectives
In College Seminars, students gain skills in:
- Setting and evaluating academic goals
- Communicating effectively, both orally and in writing
- Studying effectively
- Thinking critically
- Understanding standards of academic integrity
- Knowing when and how to ask for help
Fulfilling the College Seminar requirement
- Students take a College Seminar in the fall quarter of their first year. If the College seminar is not completed with a grade of D or higher, an approved substitute course must be taken. One option is to take an extra First-Year Writing Seminar if it is possible to complete one in winter quarter and one in spring quarter. If that is not possible, consult a College Adviser about options.
- Students who are admitted into the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences program complete the College Seminar requirement as part of their first-year MMSS coursework.
- Students who begin their studies in another school at Northwestern before inter-school transfer to Weinberg College are exempt from the College Seminar requirement.
- Students who transfer to Northwestern from another college or university are exempt from the College Seminar requirement.
NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the First-Year Seminar page. The information above pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.
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