First Year Seminar is an introduction to the humanities. Our Fall theme, Composing the Self, was chosen to focus some of the most fundamental questions of the human condition through the multi-faceted lens of the concept, “self.” FYS is also the course in the Mercer curriculum charged with setting the bar for writing standards in the College of Liberal Arts and, de facto, the other four traditional, residential undergraduate programs in Macon. Instruction in writing is central to the program's mission.

Dee Bratcher, Dean of the Commons, articulated the goals of FYS in this way:

To model how to go about learning in college through reading, conversing, researching, and writing in discussion-centered classes with active mentoring by professors and preceptors studying questions we think are important questions.

Writing Standards
Each student should write no fewer than 5 major graded essays during the Fall Semester (FYS 101) and 4 during the Spring Semester (FYS 102). These papers should total a minimum of 20-24 graded pages of writing in each course.

The Fourth Hour
All sections of FYS are scheduled for a fourth hour (although some instructors may choose to list their fourth hour time as TBA). The fourth hour should serve to help you have time to do all the myriad things required of this course. Instructors may use this time as they see fit. Popular options are writing seminars and time for attendance of campus events.

Preceptors
An upper division student (or two) is assigned to assist each section of FYS. Preceptors should never grade or see graded work. They may comment on ungraded work and participate in all other aspects of the course.