Freshman Honors Seminars offer select freshmen the opportunity to be in a small, intellectually stimulating class taught by a distinguished faculty member or an eminent visitor.

These seminars aim to introduce students, at the beginning of their college careers, to demanding and challenging standards of analysis and argumentation, oral as well as written. They do so by means of intensive discussion, papers on focused topics, and readings that emphasize critical interpretation rather than absorption of information. 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.