First-Year Program in Liberal Arts

Fall semester

A typical first-year Liberal Arts fall semester program consists of History of Art and Visual Culture I (HAVC-H101) and Literature Seminar: Design in Words (LAS-E101). There are no waivers for these courses.

A select number of first-year students will be notified during the summer that they are required to take the English placement exam to gauge their proficiency in academic English and preparedness for LAS-E101. Based on their performance, these students will either be placed in LAS-E101 or Fundamentals of Writing (LAEL-LE70). Failure to complete the exam, if asked to take it, will result in the student's automatic placement in Fundamentals of Writing until/unless it is determined that Literature Seminar is more appropriate for that student. Students who successfully complete Fundamentals in the fall will receive Liberal Arts elective credit and will take E101 in the spring.

Spring semester

A typical first-year Liberal Arts spring semester program consists of History of Art and Visual Culture 2 (HAVC-H102) and Topics in History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (HPSS-S101), which is a gateway course to all further study in HPSS. There are no waivers for these courses. Students who successfully complete Fundamentals of Writing in the fall will receive Liberal Arts elective credit and will take LAS-E101 in the spring, along with HAVC-H102. Their HPSS-S101 first-year requirement course will then be taken the following fall.

All first-year students must be registered for fifteen credits in both fall and spring unless they have permission to take a reduced course load from the Dean of Foundation Studies.

During Wintersession, courses may be taken without prerequisite.

Below are the possible first-year Liberal Arts course configurations:

Waivers/Requirements	Fall	Wintersession	Spring	Fall (2nd year)
No Waivers	HAVC-H101, LAS-E101	Studio and/or Liberal Arts elective	HAVC-H102, HPSS-S101
Fundamentals of Writing (LAEL-LE70) required	HAVC-H101, LAEL-LE70 Fundamentals	Studio and/or Liberal Arts elective	HAVC-H102, LAS-E101	HPSS-S101 and any Liberal Arts elective