FYE (First-Year Experience)

Have you ever thought about how Christianity relates to our current environmental concerns? Or how chemistry relates to the Mona Lisa? You can engage with such questions in creative ways in the First Year Experience programs. Each FYE program is an integrated introduction to a liberal arts college education. Programs are designed around courses from two different disciplines focused on a common theme, such as ecology and scientific practice. 

While you’re involved in these unique course pairings, you’ll also be developing key skills essential for success in a liberal arts curriculum such as: writing, analytical reading, information literacy, and critical thinking. Each program will combine three different courses: two content-area courses and one skills course. Some FYE programs will also have a quantitative reasoning component.

In choosing a program, you are choosing a set of three courses taught by a team of two professors who are interested in discovering the various connections between their two disciplines—for example, math and art history; film studies and cultural history; or computer science and geology.

Read about this year's programs here. 
 

How to Sign-Up for an FYE program:

• Registration for FYE programs opens June 10 at 9:00 am CST. All incoming freshmen and non-exempt transfer students* are required to register for an FYE using the online form. The form is posted on this page. 
• Registration for programs is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• FYE programs vary in semester hours (SH), so please note the number of semester hours.
• When you have decided on your program preferences, please complete the online form. When the Registrar receives your form, your request will be processed in the order it is received. If the program you select is closed, you will be registered for your second choice, and so on. Once your form has been processed, you will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office letting you know what program you received. You should receive this response within one week of submitting your request.
• If you want to change your FYE program once it has been assigned, you will need to contact the Registrar’s Office via email to make the request.

We look forward to working with you at Principia! Welcome!
 

*Transfer students will receive a letter from the registrar's office letting them know whether or not they are exempt from the FYE program. To contact the registrar's office directly, please call 618-374-5100.