The First-Year Academic Experience

The First-Year Experience is part of Barnard’s Foundations requirements. It involves three classes students must take during their first year at Barnard. These include First Year Writing, First Year Seminar, and one semester of physical education. The physical education requirement is meant to encourage students to be aware and mindful of their health and well-being during their time at Barnard. This credit can be fulfilled by a variety of different traditional fitness classes (I took Core Strength, which I loved), or by taking a dance class or participating in a sports team. 

First Year Writing and First Year Seminar are both small, seminar-style classes meant to prepare students for their next four years at Barnard. Students will take one of these classes during their first semester, and the other during their second. First Year Writing helps students improve their writing skills and introduces them to college academic writing. Students can choose to take Legacy of the Mediterranean, The Americas, or Women & Culture. 

First Year Seminar is very similar, except the focus is more on improving verbal communication skills through discussion with classmates and presentations. There are many options for First Year Seminar classes that center around many different subjects/fields. The classes include Reacting to the Past, as well as interdisciplinary special topic classes designed by professors. One example of this is America’s Social Divides, the seminar class that I took during my spring semester. During the fall semester, I took Legacy of the Mediterranean as my First Year Seminar. Both classes encourage critical reading and analysis, and help students communicate their ideas both verbally and through writing. The First Year experience classes also help give students a glimpse into what many of their Barnard courses may look like. 

In my experience, these classes were especially helpful for understanding what would be expected of me at Barnard. The small classes allowed me to quickly become comfortable with my peers and professors, and our discussions were always engaging. I found that my First-Year Writing and Seminar professors were incredibly open and supportive in my academic transition from high school to college. The First-Year Experience curriculum overall, along with other First-Year Focus programs at Barnard, are designed to provide students with the support and resources they need during the oftentimes stressful adjustment to college life and academics. 

- Zaynab Sulaiman