What are First Year Experiences?
The University of Iowa’s First-Year Experiences (FYE) are a comprehensive suite of courses, initiatives, and support services designed to foster first-year students’ academic confidence and sense of belonging as they transition to college life. FYE aim to facilitate learning, academic achievement, and personal growth in supportive communities where students lay firm foundations for success, both during their time as undergraduate Hawkeyes, and beyond.
Introduction to Programs
First-year experience programs are designed to enhance the transition from high school to college. The University offers incoming students a wealth of new experiences, such as clubs, organizations, and other enrichment activities promoting student success. Because FYE are all course-based, they stand out from other opportunities. By design, FYE provide classroom settings where first-year students build key academic and co-curricular skills together. Read below for more about some of the exciting First-Year Experiences on offer!
College Transition
The College Transition (CT) program supports your adjustment to college-level academics and campus life, preparing you to thrive as a student. CT is taken either as a 1 s.h., discussion-based seminar, or as the seminar bundled with specially reserved sections of selected lecture courses and associated study workshops. Under valuable guidance from a peer-leader, you will practice foundational academic skills, as your group collaborates to master the shared course’s content. Taken alone or bundled, the CT Seminar tackles issues that first-year students often face: how to study effectively; how to manage your time and stress; how to connect with all campus resources; and how to invest in your plans to get the most out of your college experiences.
What students say:
"This course helped me get transitioned from high school academics to college academics. We learned many useful tools from motivation, time management, and different ways to study. These tools along with many others will benefit me immensely as I continue college."
Courses in Common
The Courses in Common (CIC) program links two academic courses so that the same group of about 20 students takes both courses together. Seeing the same classmates in two courses each week can help make a large campus feel more manageable by creating opportunities to meet people and form study groups. Students may also notice that discussions in the linked courses overlap in interesting ways, supporting deeper learning and stronger connections across the subjects they are studying.
Each Courses in Common bundle includes Rhetoric, Interpretation of Literature, or Creative Writing as one of its courses, ensuring that every student is enrolled in at least one small, discussion-based class. The courses paired with these options vary widely, but all fulfill General Education requirements.
First-Year Seminars
First-Year Seminars are 1 s.h., small, discussion-based courses offered exclusively to first-year students. Taught by faculty and staff who especially enjoy working with first-year students, seminars focus on topics related to each instructor’s research specialty or area of interest.
What students say:
“I like learning about new things and about things that we use every day and learning without much stress behind it.”
“This class is so much fun, and it truly helps me grow as a person and I feel like it will help me figure out what I want to do with my life.”
First Gen Hawks
First Gen Hawks provides First-Generation Hawkeyes a way to enhance the college experience within and beyond the classroom. Courses in the fall and spring are designed to help students understand what it takes to be a successful student, now and in the future, though use hands-on projects, discussions, and activities that align with professional and personal goals. Other parts of the program include peer mentorship, academic coaching, community events, and scholarships.
What students say:
“The First Gen Hawks seminar has greatly helped my transition to the University of Iowa. It's provided me with a lot of resources to keep in mind, as well as people I can always rely on if things get tough or confusing. Joining the program has been amazing.”
Honors
The University of Iowa Honors Program encourages students to meaningfully engage through courses, experiential learning, and community. After application and admission to the Honors Program, participants complete the program curriculum of 12 honors credits in coursework and 12 credits in experiential learning. Students choose from a menu of unique options to complete these requirements, as well as engage in a myriad of other enriching opportunities. University Honors is denoted on students’ transcripts and diplomas once complete.
What students say:
“My favorite thing about the Honors program is it gives students access to professor-led discussion sections in some classes, which is a great way to form close relationships with your professors.”
Living-Learning Communities
Living Learning Communities (LLCs) give students the opportunity to live and study with a collection of other students who share a similar major or interest. Students are placed in smaller-residence hall communities, paired with on-campus academic departments, and enroll in a common course. Students are connected with initiatives that are unique to the LLC.