Directors: Betty Bamberg, Ph.D.; Karen Segal, Ph.D.
The transition from high school to college involves more than a change of place and faces -- college writing and course work require students to use ideas differently, to discover their own responses to complex questions where no one answer will do for everyone. Each fall, to help committed students master this transition, USC offers selected freshman-only general education courses.
Each freshman-only course is limited to 40 students and co-registered with two sections of Expository Writing 101. Students can only enroll in a freshman-only course if they also enroll in one of its corresponding writing sections. Students receive credit for one of their general education categories and for one semester of their composition requirement for a total of eight units. Students taking an average course load of 16 units will need to choose two additional four-unit courses to complete their semester.
The common intellectual experiences students share in their general education course will extend and enrich their understanding of the topics they write about in Expository Writing 101. In turn, their writing assignments will deepen their insight and provide another perspective on the thematic concerns of the general education course. In addition, the freshman-only community will extend beyond the classroom through a fall orientation reception and other special events that bring the students and their faculty together for dinners, films and lectures.
For more information about the Freshman-Only Program and specific freshman-only general education courses, contact Robin Romans in the program office, CAS 200, (213) 740-2961.
Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995