UNIV 190 is a first-semester course required for all incoming first year students at Clarkson. It is part of Clarkson’s Common Core. It has two central aims:
- Hone student sophistication in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
- Provide an opportunity for small-sized, discussion-based classes on big-picture themes important to our daily lives outside the classroom.
Seminar classes are thematically structured, and themes are interdisciplinary in nature. This is not an English class. UNIV 190 is taught by professors who specialize in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences, including literature, film, history, political science, sociology, and anthropology.
The specific assignments in different UNIV 190 sections will vary, but all sections will follow the following guidelines:
- In keeping with the requirements with a C2 course, written and verbal communication assignments will total approximately 20-40 double-spaced pages of writing or equivalent combination of written and oral work. (Oral communication assignments might include presentations, posters, podcasts, videos, etc.)
- Students will submit at least 10-15 double-spaced pages of assessed expository writing on which the instructor will provide feedback.
- Students will have a chance to revise and resubmit at least one essay.