All BGInS first year students are eligible to take a First Year Seminar (FYSM). An FYSM is a small enrollment (usually 30 or fewer students) seminar course. Carleton offers FYSM courses on a wide variety of topics. In addition to their specific subject matter, all FYSM devote extensive time to introducing students to the basic research and writing skills they need in order to succeed at university. For more information on the FYSM program at Carleton, including a list of all FYSM courses, please go to the First Year Seminar website.
It is strongly encouraged that BGInS students take a 0.5 or 1.0 credit FYSM in their first year, though it is not mandatory that they do so.
With one exception, FYSM courses are elective courses for BGInS students. The one exception is FYSM 1003, Introduction to Economics, which may be used to satisfy the first year Economics requirement in the Global Development and International Economic Policy Specializations. Students in these Specializations who take ECON 1001 and ECON 1002 instead of FYSM 1003 to satisfy the first year Economics requirement are strongly encouraged to take a different FYSM course instead.
