Propose a Seminar

Faculty Discuss Teaching Strategies

 

DOWNLOAD FYSP PROPOSAL FORM FOR 2024-2025

Submission Deadlines

The Committee will meet periodically during the spring term to review proposals for the following academic year, 2024-2025.

 

SUBMISSION DEADLINES  
Weds, February 14, 12 Noon Weds, March 6, 12 Noon Weds, April 10, 12 Noon
GUIDANCE FOR FACULTY DESIGNING & TEACHING FY SEMINARS

designing your syllabus, best practices, tips & strategies from FAS & OUE

Syllabus Design
AI-GPT Usage

Academic Integrity


Instructor Eligibility Requirements

All First-Year Seminar instructors must hold an active Harvard University teaching appointment. Instructors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences must hold a teaching appointment at the rank of Lecturer or above. Faculty from other Harvard schools must hold an appointment of Assistant Professor or above, including Clinical Professor. Emeriti Faculty and FAS Visiting Professors are also eligible to teach seminars. At this time, Preceptors, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Visiting Fellows, Adjunct Faculty, and other research (non-teaching) appointments or supervised (non-faculty) appointments are not eligible.

How to Propose a First-Year Seminar

Download the First-Year Seminar Proposal Form and return to us by email, firstyearseminarprogram@fas.harvard.edu, before the deadlines listed below. Please contact us if you have any questions. Sample syllabi below. Please contact the director, Ofrit Liviatan, for guidance, oliviatan@gov.harvard.edu.

If your appointment is pending, please provide details on your expected date of appointment and your current status at Harvard.  Please attach a current C.V. if you are an FAS Lecturer, Non-FAS Faculty, or Visiting Faculty and edit it to 5 pages if possible.

Funding for Seminar Activities

Seminars receive a budget of $500 for course-related expenses.
Instructors may also apply for funding from the Division of Arts and Humanities, see their website for more information. Please note that the application deadlines for Arts & Humanities funding differ from First-Year Seminar proposal deadlines.

Sample Syllabi

Syllabus Statements: please include the following on your syllabus:
Academic Integrity-Honor Code Statement
Disability Access Statement

Humanities

Carolyn Abbate, Music and Film (MSWord, PDF)

Karen Thornber Global Crime Fiction: Tackling Crime, Corruption, and Social Disintegration (MSWord, PDF)

Jay Harris, Who Do You Think You Are: The Ethics of Identity
(MSWord, PDF)

Peter Der Manuelian Digging Egypt's the Past: Harvard and Egyptian Archaeology (MSWord, PDF)

Natural Sciences

Miaki Ishii GeoSciFi Movies: Real vs. Fiction (MSWord, PDF)

Cumrun Vafa Physics, Math, and Puzzles (MSWord, PDF)

Craig Hunter It's a Mystery: Understanding the “Impossible”
(MSWord, PDF)

Social Sciences David Armitage Advice to Young Leaders (MSWord, PDF)


William Fash Clash of Titans, Seats of Empire: The Aztecs, Toltecs, and Race of Giants in Ancient Mexico (MSWord, PDF)

Benjamin Friedman, Americans at Work in the Age of Robots and Artificial Intelligence (MSWord, PDF)

Mary Waters, Social Science and American Social Problems
(MSWord, PDF)