Collegiate Seminars offer select freshmen the opportunity to be in a small, intellectually stimulating class taught by a distinguished faculty member. These seminars aim to introduce students to demanding and challenging standards of analysis and argumentation, oral as well as written, by means of intensive discussion, papers on focused topics, and readings that emphasize critical interpretation rather than absorption of information.

An additional feature of this program is that it gives students the benefit of mentoring by the Collegiate Professor, not only during the semester of the course but throughout their entire undergraduate careers, and of working with fellow students and the faculty member to create special enrichment and reunion activities. Except where noted, the seminars do not assume any specific course or background on the student’s part. Enrollment is usually limited to 16 students.

The seminars are given only in the fall semester, and the offerings change somewhat from year to year. A brochure describing all the fall courses and their instructors appears in late spring. Below is a sampling of recent seminars.

Faculty

Collegiate Professors:
Burbank, Carrasco, Chaudhuri, Clements, Farrar, Gerety, Gilligan, Hamilton, Miller, Mincer, Richardson, Schieffelin, Scicchitano, Serrin, Waley-Cohen, Young