First Year Forum
The Class
The First Year Forum is a small, seminar-like class with a professor and other students new to SU. It helps you develop closer relationships with your peers and with a faculty member and eases your entrance into the life of the University community. You'll discuss issues and readings of general interest to first-year students, requiring no special expertise beyond an inquisitive mind. You may be asked to keep a journal or write some informal essays, but there are no exams. The grade you receive for this one-credit course depends primarily on how much you participate in group discussions and activities. All first-year students in The College take the Forum (or an Honors Seminar).
The Professors
Each First Year Forum brings 15 students and one faculty member together. In many cases, the professor is also your advisor. The focus of each Forum depends somewhat on the interests of the professor, who may be a geologist, historian, or philosopher, or who may come from any of the other fields of study in Arts and Sciences. However, your First Year Forum is not tied to a specific discipline. Instead, it revolves around discussing current issues, your personal goals, the University, and the life of the mind, as well as how you can get the most from your education and grow personally at the same time.
Forums meet once a week for an hour and a half during the first eight or nine weeks of the fall semester. Class members also share one dinner together and attend a cultural event such as a play or concert.
The Milton First Year Lecture of the First Year Forum program brings a speaker of national stature to campus each fall to address the new Arts and Sciences entering class. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel, and renowned biologist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould are examples of past guest speakers. Although the topics will vary with the speakers, the event emphasizes the importance of the liberal arts to the new class each year.
"The Forum helped me adapt, motivated me to work, and let me see the cultural opportunities at Syracuse."
First Year Forum Student
"I made good friends and found an excellent advisor."
First Year Forum Student
"I was able to give my views and ask for advice on things that affect me. First Year Forum exceeded my expectations."
First Year Forum Student
"I've participated in the First Year Forum program enthusiastically every year because I value the chance to get to know a group of students. Because I'm their advisor, they continue to drop by my office after the Forum ends to chat, update me on their accomplishments, or ask for letters of recommendation. The Forum enables this kind of connection with undergraduates beyond the classroom, which is part of the satisfaction of teaching."
Professor Patricia Moody, English
"My advisees are also my First Year Forum students, so I've gotten to know them very well. When it's time to advise them, they feel comfortable enough to come right into my office, toss their backpacks on the floor, and pull up a chair. I can help them choose courses because I know their interests and personalities."
Professor Richard Grant, Geography
We are proud of the First Year Forum and know it will become a valuable part of your Syracuse University experience. For more information on the First Year Forum program, please contact Marie O'Leary, the Freshman Forum Coordinator at 315-443-1011 or by e-mail at firstyearforum@syr.edu.