About the Program
The College of Communications' First-Year Seminar Program is designed to engage incoming students in active discussion-based learning and to orient them to the scholarly community at Penn State from the start of their undergraduate studies in a manner that will bridge to later experiences in the College. To satisfy these goals, all first-year seminars in the College of Communications not only have academic content related to an aspect or aspects of communication, but also introduce students to University study, the academic community, and their responsibilities as members of that community. Students are introduced to University resources like libraries and advising.

The seminars deliberately expose students to a wide variety of learning methods that they may encounter throughout their years at Penn State. For instance, seminars may entail group projects, in-class presentations, written reports, library and online research, journal entries, and in-class examinations. Faculty members individually tailor the learning methods to fit the particular needs of the seminars they teach.

The Courses
The College offers a variety of courses during fall and spring semesters as well as selected offerings during the summer. Each seminar focuses on a specific substantive area related to a field of communication, such as journalism, media studies, or advertising. Although course offerings vary each semester, past seminars have focused on such topics as investigative journalism, freedom of speech, popular culture, online and new media, and talk radio.

Some courses are book-based, meaning that they focus intensively on the writings of a particular media or communications scholar. In addition, case-based seminars may be offered that employ a case-study method of learning and analysis. Each seminar in the College of Communications is a one-credit course. Some seminars are offered once each week for fifty minutes throughout the semester, while others may take place over five or six weeks with either longer class meetings or several meetings each week.

Full-Time Faculty
All first-year seminars in the College of Communications are taught only by full-time faculty members, including tenured and tenure-track faculty. What's more, faculty individually select the particular topic, theme, or book around which their seminars revolve. Faculty often select topics that address their current areas of research. This offers students an early opportunity to learn about the relationship between teaching and research scholarship. Faculty maintain office hours and are available for meetings with students. Students are encouraged to meet with faculty to discuss their course work and other aspects of their academic plans and goals at Penn State, such as student clubs, organizations, and extracurricular activities.

Small Classes
Each first-year seminar in the College of Communications is limited to 20 students. This small-group, active learning environment maximizes interaction and discussion among students and between faculty and students.