Now that you're a part of the Arts & Sciences community at Washington University, you have an array of special first-year programs to choose from that best match your academic interests. The programs and freshman seminars are optional, but strongly encouraged. All of the courses in the programs and the freshman seminars fulfill distribution requirements.
Limited Spaces Available!
Open Freshman Programs:
Text and Tradition
China in the Global Context
Open Focus Programs:
The Exodus in the Jewish Experience
Souls of Black Folk
The Theatre as a Living Art
Theaters of Knowledge: History & Controversies of Museums
To view the course descriptions for the above courses, please click:
Registration Part I: Selecting Your First-Year Program (PDF)
To sign up for one of the above courses, please click here.

“I’m a counselor in the Leadership Through Service pre-orientation program, where we do a lot of different service events throughout St. Louis so new students can see what the service opportunities are.”