First-Year Seminars prove transformational to new students

Mention First-Year Seminars to UC Davis students and alumni and you’ll most likely hear a positive recollection. 

Recalling his time in a Sports Law First-Year Seminar, attorney Scott Judson '09, J.D. '12, said he still remembers his experience 18 years ago.

“In my seminar I built a relationship with the professor, had dynamic discussions with others and developed skills that helped shape me into the attorney I am today,” said Judson, immediate past president of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.

A 2016 study led by UC Davis researchers found First-Year Seminars free “students to do their best by taking the concept of writing and using it to help students build community and develop critical and analytical thinking.” 

UC Davis offers over 200 First-Year Seminars on various topics with options that align with all four colleges. Seminars aren’t limited to a student’s field of study, but instead an opportunity to participate in a small class — limited to 19 students — engage in dialogue and build relationships with UC Davis faculty members. With courses such as Could a Robot ever be Conscious, How Wars End and Pyramids of the Ancient World, options abound to find something that sparks an interest.

New, incoming first-year and transfer students receive the first opportunity to register during their first and second pass times throughout August. After Aug. 28, registration opens to all undergraduate students for those seminars with available space.

Edward Pugh, a distinguished professor for the UC Davis School of Medicine, said he teaches first-year seminars because it allows him to turn the educational process on its head. 

“It forces engagement in every class, develops communication skills and helps students understand why they need to learn to better understand and change the world,” he said. 

Pugh begins by asking students about the five biggest problems in the world, the country and the state at the start of his seminar Aging, the Gray Tsunami: Cellular and Molecular Basis of Aging and its Mitigation. He said this question usually leads to intense dialogue and sets the tone for the quarter.

“First-Year Seminars provide high-impact opportunities for students,” said Angela Taylor, director of experiential and site-based programs for Undergraduate Education said “Seminars open doors to conduct research as an undergraduate, access to internships and build relationships with students and faculty in like-minded academic areas.” 

Gavin Pasillas, a rising second-year student studying pharmaceutical chemistry, advises new students to register for a First-Year Seminar. He completed Dr. Pugh’s seminar on aging.

“Don’t miss this opportunity,” he said. “My seminar provided a unique and more interpersonal discussion on the scientific classifications of aging and different methods, current and experimental, to mitigate its effects and causes. With Dr. Pugh serving on the School of Medicine faculty, this course provided me valuable experience and mentorship on my future journey to medical school!”