First-Year Program

Program Objectives

The First-Year Program at Manhattanville College is a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students entering the College with fewer than 30 approved transfer credits (those entering with 30 or more transfer credits are exempt). The goals of the First-Year Program are:

To provide students with foundational instruction in critical thinking.

To provide an introduction to the liberal arts curriculum.

To provide intensive foundational instruction in academic writing.

To build close faculty/student relationships during the first college year.

Program Structure

The First-Year Program comprises both the Fall and Spring academic semesters. The 9-credit curriculum includes a First-Year Seminar (3 credits) and 6 credits of First-Year Writing.

The First-Year Seminar (3 credits)

First-Year Seminars are participatory introductions to the study of the liberal arts and count towards the fulfillment of the Humanistic Reasoning Capability of the College’s General Education degree requirements. Completion of the First-Year Seminar with an earned grade of at least C- is an undergraduate degree requirement at Manhattanville College.

The following courses fulfill the First-Year Seminar requirement:

FYP 1001 First-Year Seminar I: First-Year Seminars are topical or thematic, reflecting faculty interest and/or expertise. Seminar topics and themes are diverse and reflect the broad spectrum of the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. First-Year Seminars are not survey or introductory courses in any particular discipline, but rather are seminar-style and participatory.
FYP 1100 Principles vs. Prejudices: This seminar supports first year students in their transition to Manhattanville College through the development of critical thinking skills as well as introducing them to the liberal arts. Through collaborative, experiential learning and an investigation of the college's mission and history of social action, the course will foster a sense of belonging to the Manhattanville community. Activities, texts and assignments will encourage students to investigate the theme of principles versus prejudices and support them in working to clarify the purpose, meaning and direction of their academic careers.
CSCH 1030 The Power of Prejudice (honors seminar): Using Gordan Allport's classic book, The Nature of Prejudice, as a focal point, this course explores religious texts and other readings as a way to understand how prejudice influences intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and intergroup dynamics. In particular, the course will provide opportunities for students to analyze racism and sexism in this regard. Throughout the course, consideration will be given to Manhattanville College's mission to "educate students to become ethically and socially responsible leaders for the global community".
CSCH 1100 Principles vs. Prejudices (honors seminar): This first-year honors seminar investigates the origins, natures and impacts of our prejudices. Why and how and with what consequences do individuals and groups differentiate themselves from "the other?" How can we develop and practice principled lives in our college community and in the world beyond? We will explore these questions in readings, research projects and learning activities; and students will be encouraged to examine and develop their personal understanding of living by principles vs. prejudices.

First-Year Writing (6 credits)

Within the First-Year Program, Academic Writing faculty instruct students in the foundations of academic writing, including grammar, style, and structure, as well as strategies for written analysis, persuasion, and argumentation. First-year writing continues for a full year; the second semester course is devoted to the development of techniques for research and critical composition that will foster success throughout students’ educational programs.

Students are placed in and must successfully complete two of the following 3-credit first-year writing courses:

ENC 1001: College Writing I

This course provides an overview of critical thinking strategies and writing skills that are essential to successful, meaningful academic work at the college level and that facilitate informed citizenship in college and beyond. Students will be guided to develop critical literacy skills, including textual analysis, and formulate cogent arguments through frequent drafting and revision. To ensure students are writing accurately and coherently, they will focus on grammar, word usage, sentence structure, paragraph coherence, and rhetorical modes.

ENC 1002: College Writing II

This course will build on the skills developed in College Writing I or Advanced College Writing I. Students will review critical thinking skills and writing skills related to analysis, persuasion, and argumentation, and will also review key concepts of grammar and style. Students will receive continued instruction in analysis and synthesis, as well as in research and documentation. Emphasis will be placed on writing as a process, and the connection between writing and research. Through primary and secondary research, focused revision based on peer and instructor feedback, and development from proposal through multiple drafts, students will produce a long-form, bibliographic essay.

ENC 1101: Advanced College Writing I

This course provides an intensive study of critical thinking strategies and writing skills that are essential to successful, meaningful academic work at the college level and that facilitate informed citizenship in college and beyond. Students will examine strategies for written analysis, persuasion, and argumentation; hone critical literacy skills, including astute textual analysis of complex texts; formulate cogent arguments through frequent drafting and revision; and grapple with difficult concepts that are central to vigorous academic inquiry. Students are presumed to have working knowledge of grammar and syntax, and will receive instruction in advanced sentence structure, word usage, paragraph coherence, and rhetorical modes.

ENC 1102: Advanced College Writing II

This course will build on the skills developed in College Writing I or Advanced College Writing I. Students will review strategies for written analysis, persuasion and argumentation, and continue to hone critical literacy skills, including astute textual analysis of complex texts and synthesis of ideas from various texts with their own thinking. Students will review sentence structure, paragraph cohesion, and rhetorical modes in connection with their personal writing projects, and an emphasis will be placed on writing as a process closely linked to research and thoughtful, intensive revision based on peer and instructor feedback. This course will provide focused instruction on research and documentation, and students will formulate a thoughtful set of research questions to guide their creation of a nuanced, sophisticated argument in the form of an extended bibliographic essay based on primary and secondary research.