First-gen FYS courses are taught by first-generation instructors and designed specifically for first-generation students, with the intent to foster affinity and a sense of belonging through shared lived experiences and curiosity.
Interested in Teaching? Here's How!
STEP 1: Start your course proposal and submit by the seminar proposal deadline
STEP 2: FYS will promote your First-Gen Seminar to all incoming first-gen students at each summer orientation and throughout the academic year!
The UC Davis First-Generation Initiative and First-Year Seminars have teamed up to create First-Generation Seminars. First-Gen Seminars pair faculty and students who come from a household where neither parent earned a four-year degree. This shared affinity fosters a small, supportive classroom and degree completion.
First-Gen Seminars provide important opportunities for first-gen students to:
- Share personal first-gen journeys
- Discuss the challenges they encounter as they learn to navigate the university
- Build upon the cultural wealth they possess to enrich our campus community
- Be introduced to an academic topic of faculty interest in a small-seminar setting
First-Gen Seminar Faculty Resources
Resources
To support you in teaching a First-Gen Seminar, the First-Gen Initiative has developed a library of resources including scholarly articles, news articles, and videos on topics like academic engagement, retention, breaking down barriers, cultural wealth, and social support. We are also creating videos of campus first-gen faculty, and a Canvas module. These resources can help you facilitate discussions about challenges first-gen students face and how they can overcome them.
Things to Keep in Mind
The two most important elements of a First-Gen Seminar are that:
- You are excited about introducing students to an engaging topic worth thinking about and
- You are able to touch on some of the issues that first-gen students face - your own experiences and/or those of students.
Ready to Propose a First-Gen Seminar?
If you are interested in teaching a First-Gen Seminar (Fall, Winter, or Spring), please contact FYS Associate Director Kate Andrup Stephensen at kstephensen@ucdavis.edu in advance. We will then reach out to you to help you create or review your syllabus. To aid you in designing your First-Gen Seminar a sample syllabus is linked below. While you do not need to follow this example, it can give you a sense of what a First-Gen Seminar might look like.