Honors First-Year Seminars (FYS)

First Year Seminars (FYS) are introductory courses in the Honors Program curriculum.  Most incoming Honors Program students will participate in one of these highly recommended seminars during their first semester at Baylor.  These small classes typically enroll 15-18 students, and they allow enrollees and professors to explore the theme of the course through reading, discussion, research, and writing.  The seminars often substitute for other required courses via petitions that are arranged through the Honors Program office.

Seminars are offered in a broad range of disciplines, but almost all will require careful reading, thoughtful discussion, and clear writing of papers.  Topics will vary each semester.  In the past, seminars have covered such topics as environmental health, the philosophy of C. S. Lewis, language and linguistics, the future of health care, the nature of scientific inquiry, the relationship of history and memory, American constitutional development, the literary impact of the King James Bible, and the relationship between culture and modern social networks.