First-Year Seminar
Words and Numbers are your first-year seminar classes.
At Lewis & Clark, you’ll take one faculty-led foundational seminar per semester. These small classes (19–25 students) are designed to help you develop the reading, writing, discussion, and analytical skills you will need to succeed in college and for life. One of your two courses will focus on interpreting the meaning and significance of texts (CORE 120: Words), the other on interpreting quantitative information and models (CORE 121: Numbers). These are not simply writing and math classes; rather, these courses allow you to explore a specialized topic of particular interest with a faculty member and a small group of students.
Words teaches students to explore the meaning and significance of texts via close reading and analysis, and to express that analysis in writing.
Numbers teaches students to interpret quantitative information presented in various forms and contexts; to understand the logical structure of quantitative arguments; and to use quantitative models, theories, and data to simplify, explain, and make predictions.
Terin Trachtenberg BA ’21More about TerinI tried an introductory computer science course, and as cliche as it sounds, everything just kind of clicked. I appreciated the hands-on approach to learning, I felt comfortable around my fellow classmates, and I had an eagerness to learn more.
Hanna Varga BA ’18More about HannaI loved the material, the experiments, the real-life applications, and most of all the phenomenal faculty and cohort I had in my chemistry major.
Ryan Nguyen BA ’19More about RyanWhen I first enrolled in General Chemistry I, I had no idea that it would lead me to a degree and eventually a career in chemistry. The small size of the chemistry department also allowed me to make lifelong connections with the faculty and my fellow classmates.
