Transition to College is a very important moment in your life and the years you will spend at university will change you in many different ways. College is about getting an education but it is also much more than that. It is about creating lifelong bonds, challenging your thoughts and beliefs, finding your passions and what makes your heart sing. College is also about belonging. It is an experience you will never forget and that you will carry with you wherever you go and in whatever you do.
AUR’s First Year Program includes a signature, one-semester course, FYS 101: Explorations in the Liberal Arts. It is required of all new students, regardless of major. The course will help you transition into university, build friendships, and learn to study and understand a topic from different angles – the strength of a liberal arts education.
You will find the course to be intellectually stretching and personally transformative.
It is team-taught by four professors, drawn from AUR’s distinguished full-time faculty, from different fields of study. This interdisciplinary approach will teach you creative and critical thinking skills and an approach to learning that you will use throughout your studies at AUR and beyond the classroom.
Communal learning —where all First-Year students encounter the same questions, experiences, and texts—and the critical discussions that emerge from small seminars make AUR’s First-Year Program distinctive and stimulating.
FYS is part of the General Education program, which has the following goals:
- to develop and strengthen basic skills which will prepare you for a modern working environment, adaptable to a rapidly evolving economy;
- to cultivate an awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural diversity and its importance in personal and professional decision making;
- to achieve a broad knowledge base, drawn from multiple disciplines, typical of an American Liberal Arts Education;
- to use Rome as a classroom and as an invaluable learning resource;
- to encourage active and responsible citizenship through knowledge of the forces shaping the actions of individuals and societies and through the development of critical thinking.
Student Mentor team
During your First-Year, you will be supported by a great team of Peer Mentors. They will give you a lot of tips about AUR, Rome, and life in Italy. The team will be a great asset for you and will surely contribute to make your university experience a wonderful one!
