A First-Year Seminar ordinarily brings together one instructor with twelve students to study a topic of keenly shared interest for 4-college credits. It frees its participants (instructor and student) from the usual constraints of lecture courses such as letter-grades and exams. Instead, students in a seminar undertake readings, discussions, essays, and presentations toward a SAT/UNSAT grade.
Seminars also feature special instructional activities such as guest speakers, concerts, exhibitions, studio or lab work, and field trips that enhance the learning experience for first-year students. Students often cite a First-Year Seminar as their best learning experience at Harvard, not only in the First-Year Survey, but in the Senior Survey as well.
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