First-Year Odyssey Seminars

Next week, incoming freshmen begin a new chapter in the momentous journey that has brought them to UGA. One of the great new experiences awaiting them on campus is the First-Year Odyssey seminar program:

an exciting time to engage, experience and explore the opportunities available to you at the University of Georgia. The First-Year Odyssey seminars are designed to introduce you to the academic life of the University. These seminars will allow you to engage with faculty and other first-year students in a small class environment to learn about the unique academic culture the University offers. Faculty will share their passion for research, teaching and service as you begin your academic journey at UGA.

The journey of the FYO program itself began in the Franklin College in the late 1990's, where it was initiated as a freshman seminar program for arts and sciences students. As part of the SACS re-accreditation of the University in 2010, the program was embraced, approved and funded as a university-wide program, which it is today. The range of courses imagined and taught by many of our best faculty members represents an astounding diversity of interdisciplinary engagement: from animation to animal forensics to broad societal questions like "What are those people gonna eat next week?" and the legacy of freedom of expression. The small-class seminars provide students with an opportunity to venture into enlightening, provocative and challenging discussions that introduce the liberals arts learning environment perhaps unlike any singular discipline or class can. It's a rich intellectual experience for very fortunate students. Food for thought. Thought for living, Living mindfully with greater knowledge, compassion, understanding and creativity.

Image: Cynthia Ward, a professor of internal medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine and chief medical officer for small animal medicine, points out part of the college's Veterinary Teaching Hospital to First-Year Odyssey students. Photo by Paul Efland