First-Year Requirements
Policy - During their first year at Duke all students (including sophomore transfer students) must meet two specific requirements:
- First-year writing requirement. Writing 20 is the only course required of all Duke undergraduates, and it must be taken within the first year of enrollment. If you fail to take Writing 20 in the fall or spring, you will be required to enroll in the course in the second summer session. (Transfer students entering as juniors need not satisfy the Writing 20 requirement, and sophomore transfer students who have completed an equivalent writing course at their previous college or university may be granted a waiver of this requirement.)
- First-year seminar requirement. Within the first year of your enrollment, you are required to complete at least one seminar (marked by the code "S" after the course number). You may fulfill this requirement through participation in the Focus Program or by taking a first-year seminar (49S), a 20S-series seminar, or any other seminar for which you are qualified. If you fail to take a first-year seminar in the fall or spring, you will be required to enroll in a seminar during a summer session. (Transfer students entering Duke with three or more semesters completed at the previous institution are not obliged to satisfy the first-year seminar requirement, and sophomore transfer students who have taken a seminar at their previous institution may be granted a waiver of this requirement.)
These first-year requirements must be fulfilled before the start of the second year. If you fail to do so you may be dismissed for academic reasons for a period of two semesters.
What classes are suggested for first-year students besides Writing 20?
In addition to Writing 20, you must take at least one seminar in the first year. Seminars generally are marked with an "S" next to the course number. Beyond the requirement that you take Writing 20 and a seminar in your first year, you are free to take any courses that interest you. At least two of these courses should probably be in areas of potential interest to you as a major, so that you can get some exposure to them early on. You also have general education requirements to complete and should work steadily on fulfilling them. Above all, be sure to take one or two courses that particularly interest you, as you are likely to do well in such courses and therefore get off to a good start at Duke.
See Also:
- First-Year Seminars, Current
- First-Year Seminar Program
- Graduation Requirements
- Small Group Learning Experiences
- Seminars