蹤獲扦

Make the Most of Your First Year

蹤獲扦's First-Year Seminar offers students unique, small classes taught by fantastic faculty and instructors from across the university.

A First-Year Seminar lets you take a class in a specialized topic, taught by an expert in the field, while also learning about campus resources to help you have a more successful experience at 蹤獲扦. 

All new-to-university students are required to take an FYS class.*  But no worries, we have something to fit your interest!

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Recently in FYS...

students sitting with seniors

Jacie Green and students at Larksfield Place

In Connecting Generations FYS class, students work with senior citizens to create printed biographies of their lives.   
WWII class meet vet

World War II veteran Richard Martin visits Sam Corcoran's FYS on technologies created during the 1930s and 40s.

 First-Year Seminar Learning Objectives: 
General Education Outcomes
  • Have acquired knowledge in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences
  • Think critically and independently
  • Write and speak effectively
  • Employ analytical reasoning and problem solving techniques
Student Success Outcomes
  • Understand the expectations of higher education and how they differ from secondary education
  • Develop skills and habits that promote deep learning and long-term retention of knowledge
  • Develop life and study skills in areas including time management, note taking, test taking, and personal finance
  • Capitalize on university resources and extracurricular experiences designed to promote your success
FYS Classes for Fall 2024:
FYMG 102A Dare to Care: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Issues for Frontline Workers

This course introduces students to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, specifically focusing on recent trends and current events among frontline employees those who provide some essential service to the public.  Students consider equity and inclusion issues from the perspective of diverse and underserved populations.

FYMG 102B Uncommon Sense

This course introduces students to knowledge and facilitates building skills needed for adulting.  It covers topics such as identity and cultural self-awareness, financial literacy, business etiquette, basic negotiation techniques, communication protocols, organizing, planning, and career management.

FYMG 102D Introverts in Society

This course provides an in-depth analysis of the construct of introversion and what it means to be an introvert in society. Students explore a variety of theories from psychology, social psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and organizational behavior as they relate to interactions between individuals in their social lives, at school, and at work.

FYED 102A Superheroes Go to School
 

This course includes examinations of common superhero attributes and narratives, specifically in school or educational settings.

FYSP 102A My Community and I

This course encourages students to carefully analyze their leadership styles, develop their sense of community, and recognize their responsibilities and commitments in the context of leadership for the common good and for purposeful change.

FYAP 102A Introduction to Technology and Innovation

This course uses instruction and hands-on projects to guide first-year freshman through the design thinking process to develop innovative and creative problem-solving skills. The design thinking process is a methodology for innovation that combines creative and analytical approaches and requires collaboration across disciplines and diverse backgrounds.

FYAP 102B Innovations of World War II

The women and men of World War II banded together to create one of the biggest innovation/invention booms of our time, but how did they pull it off? This class examines many of the inventions that are still in use today radar, penicillin, the precursors to Bluetooth and WiFi, and more and their impact on modern society.

FYMU 102A Music Really Does Make You Smarter

This course provides students with an opportunity to articulate a current music advocacy philosophy while developing leadership skills for a variety of music activities and scenarios.

FYMU 102C The Marcussen, Widemann, and You

Discover through the great Marcussen pipe organ in Wiedemann Hall the multiplicity of tools and skills needed to make this giant instrument/machine function on multiple levels.

FYMS 102F Medical Laboratory Scientists: Healthcare Detectives

This course provides an overview of the role that the medical laboratory plays as a vital member of the healthcare team. In this course, students focus on the role that the medical laboratory plays in healthcare, the personnel who work in the laboratory, the different areas of the medical laboratory, and how lab results are interpreted and correlated with various conditions and diseases.

FYPH 102B Leadership and Self Discovery

This course explores leadership through self-discovery, using Gallups CliftonStrengths Inventory. As students prepare their college journey, and ultimately the working world, this course helps them identify and embrace their leadership potential.

FYPH 102G Connecting Generations: Sharing Life Stories with Shockers

This course introduces basic knowledge and concepts of aging through engaging activities with peers designed with older adults in mind. Students gain new insight on the importance of connecting with each other and the older population through interactive activity both in the classroom and beyond.

FYHN 102D Discovering Humanity

This course is devoted to discovering humanity by placing personal and fictional narratives about justice, anger, and identity in dialogue with classic texts and historical contexts. Students in this course must be honors students or have permission of the Cohen Honors College.

FYHN 102E Me and My Place in the World
 This course invites students to explore their own roots and the experiences that have shaped who they are today. Students engage with others who have different stories from their own and examine shared interests and concerns about issues facing the world today.
FYHN 102F Facts, Opinions, and Why They Both Matter

By learning to critically read contemporary news headlines and articles, this course provides a path for students to explore the factors that influence the formation of ones opinions and the ways in which facts can be used to support them.

FYHN 102I Community and Cultural Connections

This course empowers students with an understanding of how urban institutions and local communities are reciprocal stakeholders and share the civic and reciprocal responsibility of empowering one another, while assisting students with understanding how to better engage in this conjoined relationship both as current students and potential future citizens of this community or similar communities elsewhere.

FYID 102A WUtopia The 15 Minute City

Welcome to WUtopia! Working in teams, and in collaboration with international industry experts, students design a human-scale 15-minute city that has all the basic needs within a short walk or bike ride. This course is an opportunity to think critically about a large complex issue impacting the planet and systematically apply a process to creating an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable city.

FYCJ 102Q Criminalistic Methods: What Would Sherlock Holmes Do?

This course encourages students to explore the use of analytical thought and scientific methods in their daily lives. Students examine how bias affects perceptions, decisions, and outcomes of events. Using the concept that every contact leaves a trace, students learn to assess, perceive, and base philosophical decisions with an open mind.

FYCM 102D Cross Cultural Communication

This course teaches students to appreciate the cultural diversity located on the Wichita State campus. Students meet people from other cultures to help the students understand the world perspective of those other cultures. In addition, students learn speaking and writing skills to improve their own communication with people from other cultures.

FYCM 102R Exploring 蹤獲扦 in Your Photos and Words

This course explores much of what 蹤獲扦 has to offer and documents the students experiences using photographs and words to create an illustrated journal. Learn about the helpful people, places, and policies for thriving in college.

FYHS 102AE Facts, Opinions, and Why They Both Matter

By learning to critically read contemporary news headlines and articles, this course provides a path for students to explore the factors that influence the formation of ones opinions and the ways in which facts can be used to support them.

FYHS 102M History and Rock n Roll

This course investigates the emergence and development of rock n roll in the Anglo-American world through a variety of different lenses and disciplinary perspectives by examining how political, economic, social, and cultural trends have informed the production and consumption of popular music-making from its origins in the 19th-century until the present day.

FYML 102N World Food and Foodways

This course analyzes food and foodways of the world, paying attention to how cultural components work for each society and how they influence our perception of others. Students will analyze literature, films, art, and overall food representation.

FYPL 102A Law

Students in this course take a broad interdisciplinary approach to U.S. law. Domains of law such as constitutional law, tort law, and criminal law are introduced. The course covers legal procedures, argumentation, and reasoning. Cases and current events are used to illustrate basic concepts and raise philosophical issues.

FYPL 102B Critical Reasoning About Weird Things

This course focuses on critical reasoning, in which students focus on learning and practicing the tools required to understand and critically evaluate weird and extraordinary claims. Students work on understanding how arguments work, how to reconstruct them, and how to critically reason about both everyday arguments and arguments about unusual or extraordinary topics.

FYPS 102A Myth-Busting the Model Minority: Asian American Experiences

This course critically examines the ways in which the U.S. Census categories individuals and populations in the U.S. from various national origins such as Asian Americans. Students critique/deconstruct the model minority myth and explore various topics.

FYSW 102A Get Involved: The Power of Collective Behavior

This course focuses on various forms of collective behavior. Involvement in these is as much a part of who people are as it is about their passions in life. Materials are presented through the theoretical lenses of sociology and social work. Topics of study include conformity, crowd/group behavior, rumors, public opinion, propaganda crazes, fads, fashions, mass hysteria, riots, mobs, disaster behavior, social protests, social movements, and social advocacy.

FYSW 102T This Is Us, Who Are You? Family in Modern America

 This course helps students critically examine how family is a fundamental part of American life and society. Students look at the diversity of families in American. Family is defined broadly to include, but not limited to, blood, marriage, adoption, and the desired connection among people to form a close familial bond.

FYSO 102Y The Sociology of Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series has captured the love and imagination of youth and adults across the world. This course considers what a sociological view of the Wizarding World can teach students about their own culture.

FYWS 102J Fundamentals of Diversity

This course is designed to facilitate students success particularly in understanding the basics of diversity its construction, perception, and possibilities. Students learn the meaning of diversity in terms of being different and special according to societal norms.

*As a member of Kansas Public Institutions of Higher Learning, 蹤獲扦 University is dedicated to helping students graduate within four years while still maintaining rigorous career preparation and academic standards.  Therefore, students who have earned an Associate Degree or 30 credit hours prior to high school graduation and before starting classes at 蹤獲扦 as a degree-bound student, may be exempt from taking a First-Year Seminar course.

Contact Us

1845 Fairmount St.
Wichita, Kansas 67260

brett.bruner@wichita.edu