The seminars are small classes of up to 16 students taught by faculty from a wide-range of disciplines across the University. The small class size is important because the class serves as a social and intellectual support group during the student’s transition into college life. A Residential Colleges (RESC) course counts as a Foundation Seminar and is available to all incoming first-year students.
Another important element of a Foundation Seminar is that for students in the College of Arts & Sciences, the instructor also will be the student’s academic adviser for a minimum of the first semester. If you are in the bachelor of arts program, the seminar instructor will continue as your adviser for the first two years. If you are in the bachelor of science program in the College of Arts & Sciences, your Foundation Seminar adviser serves for the first semester, and you will have a second adviser in your intended major program to serve as your official adviser for curricular requirements. Your adviser will get to know you personally.
The focus of the Foundation Seminar is as much how you learn as what you learn. Each seminar has a different topic. Many courses are interdisciplinary, but all share the goal of cultivating the attitudes and skills necessary for students to make the most of their Bucknell education. You will be encouraged to become an active, independent learner, to participate in collaborative learning experiences and to develop your critical thinking and communication skills. You will learn how to use the resources in the library, along with technological skills, simulations, use of databases and data analysis, according to the topic of the seminar.
Each first-year student in the College of Arts & Sciences and the Freeman College of Management is required to enroll in a Foundation Seminar. Engineering students may enroll in Foundation Seminars connected to Residential Colleges.