First-Year and Transfer Student Seminars

First-Year Seminars (FYS) and Transfer Seminars are one of the options CU Denver offers through First-Year Experiences to help first-year students and transfer students successfully transition into university life. Courses in the First-Year Seminar (FYS) and Transfer Seminar program offer a wide range of benefits to first-year and transfer students entering their first fall semester at CU Denver. They are content-based and taught by faculty dedicated to your success.

FYS and Transfer Seminar faculty members integrate academic skills into their courses to help you become more successful in your academic career. FYS and Transfer Seminar classes are limited to 26 students, which creates an environment for strong interaction between you and your professor, who also doubles a mentor for your first semester of college. Additionally, FYS and Transfer Seminar courses introduce students to and engage them in CU Denver’s vast student resources. Overall, we find that FYS and Transfer Seminar students experience a higher overall satisfaction with the time they spend at the university.

Students are encouraged to take an FYS or Transfer Seminar course outside of their major in order to receive Core credit. While the FYS and Transfer courses are not free like the UNIV College Success courses, students will receive three credits towards a required Core Area required for their major. Check below for details on receiving Core credit and to see what fits you best. You can also read the FYE Guide to get more information on courses and learning communities. Keep in mind that students can only take one FYS or Transfer Seminar course.

Register for an FYS or Transfer Seminar Course

New freshmen first-year students and new first-time transfer students are able to sign up for an FYS or Transfer Seminar course during the registration section of New Student Orientation. FYE staff will be present at orientation to answer your questions and distribute FYE course brochures.

Questions? Email us at fye@ucdenver.edu. 

First-Year Seminar Course Offerings for Fall 2026

Below are our Fall 2026 seminar options. To navigate - click on the “+” icon to view the courses offered at the various days/times listed on this page: 

    Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
     

    COMM 1111-001: What Are You Really Saying? Power of Non-Verbal Communication

    Core Area: Behavioral Sciences, Professor: Yvette Olson

    We will analyze significant research concerning non-verbal signals such as clothing and appearance to elements of body, face, and eye movements using observation activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on engagement and distress signals applicable to the world of business and mental health.

    FITV 1111-001: Anime Goes to College

    Core Area: International Perspectives, Professor: Emilie Waggoner

    This is a first-year experiences (FYE) seminar designed to help students understand, appreciate, and analyze character development in Japanese anime. Japanese manga and anime has quickly risen in the United States as a popular storytelling format, with many large companies like Netflix and Hulu beginning to release anime titles on their streaming platforms. The purpose of this course is to provide a history to Japanese anime while focusing on character stereotypes, identities, and development in a variety of popular anime shows, and how that connects to student development theories. 

    Monday and Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

    ETST 1111-002: American Indian Experiences

    Core Area: Social Sciences, Professor: TBD

    This course examines tribal identities and the cultural retention of American Indian traditions. Course readings by American Indian scholars examine a wide range of terms and theories regarding myths about American Indian cultures and history that have misinformed multiple generations. The course emphasizes how these ideas, roles and relationships evolved and are rooted in the fears and prejudice of European settlers and in the larger political agendas aimed at acquiring Indigenous land and creating the impression of cultural erasure and disappearance.

    MUSC 1111-001: The Beatles, Popular Music, and Society

    Core Area: Arts, Professor: Storm Gloor

    Explore the impact of the Beatles and their music on popular music, our culture, and society, both in their time and today. The academic content portion of the course is an introduction to the music of the Beatles and their influence on culture. The academic skills portion of the course is designed to assist students in making a successful transition from high school to college.

    Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
     

    FINE 1111-001: Your Photographic Journal

    Core Area: Arts, Professor: Carol Golemboski

    Improve your photographic skills while creating several dynamic, personal projects. Using a camera phone, learn basic camera functions, digital formats, visual journaling, as well as fundamental principles of light and composition. Investigate photography as a mode of visual communication while examining its creative possibilities and exploring the history of the medium.

    ***Global Voices: Living and Learning Across Cultures

    Core Area: International Perspectives, Professor: Soumia Bardhan

    This seminar introduces students to the rich and complex ways people live, learn, and communicate across cultural boundaries. As an interdisciplinary course rooted in International Studies, it draws intentionally from communication, history, modern languages, political science, and related fields to help students understand how global forces shape everyday life. Students will explore how culture, identity, and power operate across local and transnational contexts, and how these dynamics affect the world they inhabit.

     

    ***Students must be living in the “Global Voices” LLC in order to enroll in this course.***

    For more information on Living Learning Communities, please visit the Housing website.

    Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
     

    PSYC 1111-001: How to Think like a Psychologist 

    Core Area: Behavioral Sciences, Professor: Mitch Handelsman

    We will explore how psychologists apply critical, empirical, and ethical thinking to a variety of issues. We will develop and apply thinking skills and will assess learning by participating in class discussions, graded exercises, writing papers, and collaboration with one another to address complex problems.

     

    ***HSPC 1111-001: From Cells to Selves: What Makes Us Human? 

    Core Area: Humanities, Professor: Jeffrey Golub

    Who controls your body—and why does it matter? This course dives into the ethical and philosophical questions surrounding medicine, identity, and power. From reproductive rights and organ donation to pandemic policies and immigration, we’ll explore how bodies are governed, valued, and contested in today’s world. Using real-world case studies and philosophical texts, students will examine how race, gender, disability, and citizenship shape access to care and autonomy. We’ll also unpack the concept of biopower—how institutions subtly control populations through health, surveillance, and policy. Expect lively debates, critical thinking, and a fresh look at the ethics behind everyday decisions. Come with curiosity and a willingness to challenge assumptions. 

    ***Students must be living in the University Honors and Leadership LLC in order to enroll in this course.***

    For more information on Living Learning Communities, please visit the Housing website.

    Friday Only 9:00am-11:45am

    ETST1111-002: Food Culture and AAPI Identity

    Core Area: Social Sciences,  Professor: Sothary Chea

    This course provides a better understanding of the historical, social, and cultural aspects of the AAPI community specifically through food culture. Students will be able to investigate the politics and address critically, AAPI foodways by examining social habits, rituals, private versus public venues, and the connections to the AAPI identity. The AAPI community have always been intimately connected to food practices and institutions in the American imagination.

    This course is hybrid, meaning some weeks it will be in-person and other weeks it will be hosted on Zoom.

    ***LDAR 1111-001: The Place of Food

    Core Area: Humanities, Professors: Jody Beck and Jenna Smith

    In this highly experience-focused class, we will explore the place of food in culture, in the city, in the global economy, in history, and - most importantly - in our lives. Activities will include farm and food industry tours, growing and cooking food, and traditional academic research focused on the students’ lived experiences.

    ***Students must be living in the “In the Place of Food” LLC in order to enroll in this course.***

    For more information on Living Learning Communities, please visit the Housing website.

Transfer Seminar Course Offerings Fall 2026

Our transfer seminar course is only open to incoming transfer students for Fall 2026.

    ETST 3111-001

    Ethnicity and Race in Contemporary American Culture

    Core Area: Cultural Diversity, Professor: Angie VanDijk

    This course introduces students to creative works by people of color, including African American, Native American, Latino, and Asian Americans. This class explores theoretical concepts about racial and ethnic identities and encourages students to think critically about the construction and representation of race, class, and gender in modern American life. 

    This class is hybrid and meets on Zoom on Mondays and in-person on Wednesdays,

    Students must be transfer students in order to enroll in this course.

Confirming Core Status for First-Year and Transfer Seminar Courses

Beginning in fall 2009, the CU Denver Core Curriculum Oversight Committee (CCOC) approved using one FYS course towards Core curriculum requirements. Each FYS course is individually reviewed by the CCOC for the knowledge area content, critical thinking, and writing requirements of the Core. FYS courses may only be applied toward a specific Knowledge Area of the Core, which excludes using a FYS course towards writing or mathematics proficiency in Intellectual Competencies, International Perspectives, or Cultural Diversity areas of the Core. The table below outlines all FYS courses by department/program, title, and instructor for official Core status.

First-Year Seminar Core Curriculum Table