About the Program

The First-Year Program (FYP) at St. Lawrence is one of the oldest living/learning programs for first year students in the country. Over the past 36 years, the program has evolved in ways that make us confident that the program helps students make a successful transition from high school to college, both academically and socially. The program consists of two parts: the First Year Experience (FYE) in the fall, and the First Year Seminar (FYS) in the spring.

Residential colleges are the heart of the FYE. In their first semester, students live in one of 32 residential colleges with all of the other students enrolled in their FYE course. This interdisciplinary, often team-taught, course focuses on a topic of broad interest and is one of the four courses that first year students take in the fall. FYE courses help students develop the writing, speaking, and research skills that they will need during and after college.

A student’s academic advisor is one of the faculty members in their college. Additionally, the residential staff and faculty work together to help build a community in which students can develop friendships and succeed academically. In the spring semester of their first year, our students continue to work on developing their communication skills by completing their FYS in their second semester. Although these seminars are not residentially-based, they are small, thus allowing students to build close relationships with another group of students and with another faculty member. The spring courses cover a wide range of topics, whether through interdisciplinary or disciplinary study.