Freshman and Sophomore Introductory Seminars
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DRAMA 11N Dramatic Tensions: Theater and the Marketplace, a freshman seminar offered by Drama Department's artist-in-residence Amy Freed.
HUMBIO/MED 87Q Women and Aging with Dr.. Carol Winograd is a Community Based Learning seminar.
Freshman Seminars
Goals
Freshman seminars provide first-year students the chance to work closely with faculty and to develop an intellectual community with other students around a shared area of interest.
Course Structure
Freshman Seminars are offered by departments in exchange for support in the form of billets or funding on an annual basis. Freshman Seminars count as part of the normal teaching load for all participating faculty. With a few exceptions, each seminar conforms to the following guidelines:
- a minimum of two class meetings per week, for a minimum of three contact hours per week
- 3–4 units of credit
- enrollment maximum of 16 students
Sophomore Seminars and Dialogues
Goals
Sophomore Seminars and Dialogues aim to personalize education for students considering a major, encourage a spirit of mentorship between students and faculty, and provide a small-group introduction to a specific area of a department’s or program’s curriculum.
Course Structure
All Stanford faculty are eligible to propose a course, with preference given to members of the Academic Council. Individuals proposing courses must have a Stanford appointment independent of the Introductory Seminars program. It is possible to teach both a Freshman Seminar as part of one’s normal teaching load and a Sophomore Seminar or Dialogue as an add-on course in the same academic year.
Sophomore Seminars and Dialogues are somewhat more flexible in format than Freshman Seminars. They may have minimal prerequisites, though they are still targeted at an audience of non-specialists.
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Special Seminar Types
Write-2 Certified Seminar
Introductory Seminars may be certified as fulfilling the second quarter Writing and Rhetoric requirement.
WRITE-2’s are Introductory Seminars which faculty members have reconfigured to include special emphasis on writing and multi-media. Once the courses pass the PWR Governance Board, they are certified to fulfill the second part of the PWR Writing Requirement.
In the five years since they became available, WRITE-2s have become very popular with both students and faculty. Students seek out WRITE-2s as an opportunity to write and talk extensively about areas of particular interest to them and to engage with a faculty member in a seminar setting, while completing the second part of the writing requirement. Faculty members get to choose from an unusually deep pool of students (application numbers for all WRITE-2s are large) with students who are extremely enthusiastic; WRITE-2s have available additional writing, oral communication, and multimedia support, and funding.
WRITE-2 courses aim to develop further students' skills in writing and, increasingly, in oral and multimedia presentation, emphasizing the ongoing development of content, organization, and style. These courses:
- carry at least 3 units of credit
- give writing and oral presentation assignments appropriate to students who have competed the first-level requirement
- emphasize students' development of clear, effective, and appropriate written and oral presentations
- offer students consistent opportunities for practice and revision of written assignments through such means as videotaping and peer review
- give students opportunities to present the results of scholarly inquiry in varying forms, including writing and speaking
An honorarium for a WRITE-2 seminar is available.
How To Apply
Participation of faculty is entirely voluntary, and the student selection process is exactly the same as for all introductory seminars. If you are interested in learning more about this option, or the process involved, please contact: Joyce Moser, Associate Director, Stanford Introductory Studies, moser@stanford.edu .
Community-Based Learning (CBL) Seminar
Community-Based Learning (CBL) Introductory Seminars combine service and study in ways that enhance undergraduate student learning while illuminating and informing community service experiences. CBL activities may be either the focus of an entire course or one discrete (but significant) part of a course. The service may include traditional hands-on volunteer activity, internships at local organizations, class projects, community-based research, or policy-related work. Regardless of the form of service, structured student reflection on the service experience should be part of the course. Faculty who have taught a CBL Intro Sem report they experience increased student engagement in academic inquiry, invigorated classroom discussions, and deepened student interest in further study and research. The Haas Center for Public Service will provide support for these courses. Please see this PDF for more details.
An honorarium for a Community-Based Learning seminar is available. In the case of Sophomore Seminars, this funding is in addition to the usual honoraria for those classes.
How To Apply
For more information, contact Ellen Woods, woods@stanford.edu
Residential Seminar Support
We encourage faculty to consider basing their introductory seminars in a student residence such as an academic focus house, ethnic theme house, or language and culture theme house. With a shared thematic focus, both seminar and dorm can benefit from joint programming activities. Theme or focus assistants in the dorm may be enlisted to support mutual activities, and house residents provide a ready-made audience for presentations, research, or other programming. Introductory Seminars provides additional funds to support joint house/seminar activities and for meals in the residence for all participating students and the instructor. Students living elsewhere are encouraged to apply and participate, although admission preference will be given to dorm residents for a portion of the available spaces in the class.
An honorarium for a Residential seminar is available. In the case of Sophomore Seminars, this funding is in addition to the usual honoraria for those classes.
How To Apply
For more information, contact Ellen Woods, woods@stanford.edu.