First-Year Seminars

The First-Year Seminars are the signature element of Occidental's Core Program.

The mission of the FYS (First-Year Seminar) is to prepare all first-year students for success at �鶹��Ƶ. In FYS courses, students engage in shared intellectual experiences that develop effective college-level writing and enhance critical thinking. FYS courses also assist students with the transition to college and include an introduction to scholarly inquiry and information literacy.

Students are required to take two FYS courses: one in the fall semester of their first year and another in the spring. (Transfer students are exempted from the FYS requirement.)

Most FYS courses are stand-alone courses that earn 4 units. For context, students typically enroll in 16-18 units per semester, so your FYS will typically be one of four classes you take. We also offer special FYS courses that are part of special "immersive" programs. These seminars are connected with other courses in order to allow students to explore a topic in more depth. The immersive programs have special enrollment procedures which are detailed below.

FYS Registration opens on Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9am.

There are two immersive programs being offered this semester that have special enrollment procedures. Students interested in Life on the Edge or Computing IRL should sign up by Wednesday, June 11, using the interest forms linked from each program's web page.

Most First Year Seminar (FYS) courses meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:45-12:40. A few have two sections—the content is the same, but you can decide whether to sign up for the 11:45-12:40 class or the 12:50-1:45 class. All FYS courses also meet during a weekly Common Hour on Wednesdays from 3:00-3:55pm. FYS courses are only open to first-year students.

When looking at class times on this page or on , keep the following abbreviations in mind:

M	Monday
T	Tuesday
W	Wednesday
R	Thursday
F	Friday

Immersive FYS Courses for Fall 2025

Immersive: Life on the Edge

Open only to first-year students, Life on the Edge is a special program that consists of two connected courses that will give students the opportunity to explore environmental and geological issues with a special focus on southern California. Students will get to go on a weekend-long trip to Joshua Tree National Park to get hands-on experience exploring the natural environment.

Student who participate in this 8-unit program will take both a First Year Seminar and one of Oxy's most in-demand science courses:

FYS 1: Life on the Edge: How Geology Shapes Our Lives in Los Angeles and Its Environs (4 units)
GEO 105: Earth Our Environment (4 units)

By participating in this program, you'll fulfill both your Fall FYS and also the Core Labs Science requirements.

FYS 1: Life on the Edge: How Geology Shapes Our Lives in Los Angeles and Environs

MWF 11:45-12:40 + W 3:00-3:55

Are we ready for the Big One? How have water issues shaped the growth of California? Where has our energy come from and where will we get it from in the future? And can we move towards a more sustainable future? In this seminar, we will explore societally-relevant issues. Topics will include earthquakes, water, and issues related to energy and climate. These topics will then be expanded upon with scientific focus in the Geology 105 course.

Visit the course web page for more information!

Immersive: Computing IRL

Taught by Prof. Brian Bartell, Prof. Chris Cianci, and other Computer Science faculty

The Computing IRL ("In Real Life") immersive program consists of a connected set of courses in which students will see how computing techniques and ideas inform and are informed by their interaction with the real world. Student who participate in this 12-unit program will take three connected courses:

FYS 11: Social Difference and the Politics of Technology (4 units)
COMP 131: Fundamentals of Computering Science (4 units)
COMP 295: Computing IRL Internship (4 units)

By participating in this program, you will fulfill your Fall FYS and Core Lab Science requirements.

FYS 2.1: Social Difference and the Politics of Technology

Prof. Brian Bartell
MWF 11:45-12:40 + W 3:00-3:55

"Technology" is often thought of as being neutral and at its best providing solutions to problems without human bias. Despite this, contemporary developments in predictive policing and algorithmic racism, to give only two prominent examples, suggest that this is not the case. In Social Difference and the Politics of Technology we will discuss contemporary issues like AI, automation, and environmental technologies, and a longer history of technology dating to plantation slavery and European colonialism. The course will ask students to think about the ways that technological development has never been neutral and has always been connected to histories of race, gender, sexuality, and hierarchical conceptions of what it means to be human, as well as economics and labor, and ecological issues. In doing so we will look at a wide array of texts and media to examine these histories, to imagine worlds otherwise to them, and as a foundation for developing writing skills in order to ethically engage with technological change on an increasingly unequal and unstable planet. Open only to first-year frosh.

Visit the course web page for more information!

Standard FYS Courses for Fall 2025

All of the seminars listed below earn 4 units.

Check back soon for the full list of Fall 2025 First Year Seminars!

FYS Grade Mode

All FYS courses are graded on an Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (or S/U) basis. Grades of S/U do not factor into a student’s term or overall GPA and students will receive a grade of S if their work is considered to be of passing quality as defined by the course syllabus. This is intended to encourage students to focus on gaining knowledge and skills required to meet college-level critical thinking and writing expectations. The grade mode emphasizes the growth represented by students’ work throughout the course.

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