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Northwestern University

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:

Fulfilling 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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