First-year seminars are expected to be taught by full-time, regular Penn State faculty and, as the name implies, to be conducted in small sections, thus providing opportunities for students to develop relationships with full-time faculty and other students in academic areas of interest to them.

First-year seminars can be either one (1) or three (3) credits. Three-credit first-year seminars must fulfill the requirements of either a social and behavioral science or humanities course.

Active Learning Elements:

As defined by the University Faculty Senate, all General Education courses must include three or more of the five Active Learning Elements. The five (5) elements are:

• Active use of writing, speaking, and other forms of self-expression
• Opportunity for information gathering, synthesis, and analysis in solving problems (including the use of library, electronic/computer other resources and quantitative reasoning and interpretation, as applicable)
• Engagement in collaborative learning and teamwork
• Application of intercultural and international competence
• Dialogue pertaining to social behavior, community, and scholarly conduct

• Staff Instructions for Adding a Liberal Arts First-Year Seminar
• Faculty Responsibilities for the First-Year Seminar Submission Process