First-Year Seminar (FYS100) Course Information

• Living on the Edge: Organisms in Extreme Environments 
• Is My Midwest Showing: The Myth and Reality of Place 
• Psi-Files: Science Examines the Paranormal 
• Doctors, Shamans, Bonesetters: Patients & Healers Around the World 
• Pseudoscience in Food: Trends without Scientific Basis 
• Gender and U.S. Sport: Reproducers, Resistors, and Disruptors 
• Serious Comedy: Humor as Empathy, Therapy, and Protest 
• How to Watch a Movie: The Language of Cinema 
• Freshwater: the most important natural resource on Earth 
• Terrorist or Freedom Fighter?: Violence around the world 
• Ancient Mysteries, Modern Controversies: Archaeology & Pseudoscientific Ideas 
• Micro Machines: Can Germs Save the Planet? 
• God and Gigabites: Religion in the Digital Age 
• It's OK to swallow your gum!: Health myths that will shock you 
• The Genius of Women:  Innovators, Artists, Disruptors 
• Mindfulness in Nature: Restoring Health in a Busy World 
• The Real Toy Story: How toys influence our view of the world  
• Gossip, Rumors, & Lies: How Our Words Affect Others 
• Irresistible: The Psychology of Addictive Technology 
• Tweets, Memes & Live Streams: Celebrity Politics and Communication 
• Booze, naps, and bacon: Advice for living from the world’s oldest old 

You can search for current sections and topics of FYS 100 in WINGS by using the instructions in this document.

The First-Year Seminar (FYS) at UWL is a required course for all first year (entering) students, and transfer students with 12 credits or less. FYS students explore a specific topic while learning information and resources that help them with their transition to UWL.  

Classes are designed to engage students. They discuss meaningful questions that help prepare them for college level work. First-Year Seminars also fulfill several of the purposes of General Education by developing group work skills, critical thinking and learning, and reflecting on their experiences as a first-year student.  

First-Year Seminars encourage students to consider the value and purpose of General Education, as well as their college education as a whole. FYS sections are usually small, between 25-28 students per section, allowing students to connect with their classmates and instructor.  

Each FYS section will consider an interesting research question to explore academic and career opportunities, as well as larger questions related to the college experience, including:  

• What does it mean to learn?  

• What is college trying to teach?  

• What factors will lead to increased success? 

UWL students take FYS to help adjust academically and socially during their first year: 

• FYS combines academic content with resources/skills to adjust to college which helps students stay at college and graduate in a timely manner (Jamelske, 2009). 

• 90% of universities offer FYS courses and 50% require them because they help students succeed in college (Permzadian & Crede, 2016). 

• Our FYS classes focus on promoting social and academic belonging by building relationships between students and their instructors through discussion, activities, and collaborative projects.  

• FYS courses provide a consistent place for students to ask questions about adjusting to campus life that might not fit into other general education courses.  

• Recent UWL students cite in course evaluations that they like the size and structure of the class as a place to make friends and get more comfortable as college students 

• 25% of new UWL students are first generation college students – FYS helps students who need additional support get adjusted to college.  

• Many UWL students are coming to campus with more general education credit – taking FYS in the first year helps students get adjusted to college with other first year students.  

The 3-credit First-Year Seminar course counts towards the 42 credits required for General Education and fulfills the First-Year Seminar requirement.

Jenn Taylor, FYS 100 Course Coordinator - fys@uwlax.edu