The First-Year Experience is a central, foundational element of the Arts & Sciences Curriculum.
All Trinity first-year students participate in a cohort-based First-Year Experience (FYE), a central element of the new Arts & Sciences Curriculum that emphasizes connections, curiosity, and humility. The FYE introduces students to an intellectual community from the moment they arrive, reflecting these core values in all its activities.
- Connections: Duke is a big place. Being part of a cohort allows new students to build connections – with their peers, with faculty, and across ways of thinking and experiences – that provide a firm foundation for their entire college careers.
- Curiosity: By addressing some of today’s most pressing questions through an interdisciplinary lens, the First-Year Experience fosters an openness to new ideas.
- Humility: The First-Year Experience encourages students to recognize the limitations of their own knowledge and cultivate a growth mindset. Developing the skills necessary to engage with others’ viewpoints in a constructive, respectful manner is key to students’ success at Duke and beyond.
Students may complete the First-Year Experience through participation in either Constellations or the FOCUS program. Each option offers a wide range of themes for students to explore through a set of three interconnected courses spanning multiple disciplines. Within each program, students take three of their first-year courses in their Constellation or Cluster alongside other first-year students in the same Constellation or Cluster.
