Faculty First-Year Seminars
Listed in Spire as Faculty First-Year Seminars, these courses are designed by faculty whose research spans the curriculum, these courses showcase an instructor’s big ideas and passions, and also draw on an instructor’s knowledge of their field. Faculty come from different colleges and schools, and range from scientists and musicians to film studies scholars and journalists. Their course topics are as inventive and thoughtful as they are.
Not only do these faculty bring research savvy, they also bring a wealth of experience about the UMass campus. How can you balance work and play? Where can you find solitude? How can you make the most of your study time? These people have seen it all. Many had their own struggles in college, and they are ready tell you what they have learned along the way.
Faculty-Based Seminars for Fall 2023:
- Sustainability of Water Resources
- The Social Life of Your DNA
- Do you know your legal rights? Exploring the law through an equitable and inclusive lens.
- Strumming and Singing: Participatory Music Making on the Ukulele
- The Politics of Friendship
- Principles of Social Influence
- The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease
- UMass for All
- Art in Society
- Radical America: the History Left Out
- Undocumented Immigration Into the United States
- Chinese Americans: A Forgotten History
- Deep Looking: Reading Photos, Reading Texts, Reading Ourselves
- What is Ideology?
- Learning to Learn: Unlocking the Power of Metacognition
- Don’t believe everything you think: How to make your brain work for you, rather than against you.
- The Past, Present, and Future of Veterinary Medicine
- Youth Organizing for Policy Change
- Youth Organizing for Policy Change
- Creative Writing for Everyone
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Class
- Listening to Music
- Pop Poetry for Young Adults
- Learning to Learn: using the neuropsychology of learning to succeed in college.
- The Neuroscience of Success
- Art and Culture at UMass
- Being Well and Doing Well
- Time Management and Time Literacy
