A liberal arts education provides students with skills that will enable them to think critically and creatively. We encourage you to explore new intellectual realms by taking a broad range of liberal arts courses during your first year at Lang. In your
first year, you will not take more than two courses in one area of study in the same semester.
First Year students have three advisors, all of whom help the students plan their first year and beyond at Lang:
- A Student Success academic advisor
- A First Year Fellow
- A faculty member who teaches their First Year Seminar
Throughout your academic journey, you will continue to meet with Student Success advisors and faculty advisors as you design your academic journey, search for engaged learning opportunities, and prepare for life after Lang. Also be sure to consult our
4-Year Lang Career Pathways Map (PDF) for helpful steps and resources to link your academic journey to your
future plans.
First Year
Lang’s First Year seminars and writing courses provide incoming students with support and guidance vital to their overall academic success.
Writing the Essay I and Writing the Essay II: All First Year students enroll in these topic-based courses. We see these topics not as arenas for mastery but as a way into writing and community, offering shared texts and interests,
and nurturing engagement. These courses create the conditions for transformative learning and offer tools and support for students that enable them to discover who they are as writers and thinkers. We encourage wild play with language, intellectual
risk taking, generative messiness, and revision as exploration and pleasure. We see First Year writing students at Lang as writers discovering the source of their own creativity and knowledge as they hone skills essential to them through the
year and beyond. Explore WTEI and II offerings for spring 2025.
Writing the Essay III: This writing-intensive class is designed for students transferring to Lang who have already taken some writing courses at the college level. Students pursue paths of creative inquiry, taking as subject matter the
process of research itself as they embark on individual semester-long writing projects. Explore spring 2025 WTEIII courses.
Craft-Lesson Lunch Series: Each semester, First Year writing students engage in a series of weekly lunches (search for "Lang Craft") at which faculty and
guests present dynamic interactive readings and lessons on the craft of writing. These lunches bring writing students and faculty together for both in-depth discussions of writing fundamentals and advanced lessons on what it takes to create
convincing and arresting writing.
First Year Seminar: In their first semester, Lang students take a seminar that draws on professors' expertise in particular areas and topics while addressing pressing questions designed to engage students with a wide range of interests
and academic goals. Every fourth class session is led by a First Year fellow and is designed to help students develop critical thinking skills around social justice and liberal arts and other skills. Explore First Year Seminar offerings by
searching LNGC 1400 and selecting the term you are interested in in the university course catalog.
Sophomore Year
Sophomores are encouraged to look into study abroad, internship, and civic engagement opportunities as well as learning a new language. (We recommend beginning in the fall semester.) The internship advisors at Student Success will assist you through one-on-one counseling, group workshops,
and internship events, and we encourage you to take advantage of the Career Center's workshops and events. Sophomores also begin to focus their academic interests. In the second semester (before completing 60 credits), students are expected to declare
a major. Transfer students admitted with junior standing have a grace period of one semester in which to declare a major. As a sophomore, you will meet with the departmental faculty advisor for your declared major and continue consulting your Student
Success advisor as you consider educational and career choices.
Junior Year
In your junior year, you will take upper-level courses in which you will engage in more in-depth study of your areas of academic interest. During this year, you will determine which requirements remain to be satisfied in your major, including prerequisites
for courses you wish to take in your senior year. You will also explore how your academic path fits into your post-graduation plans and continue participating in experiential programs such
as internships, study abroad, and civic engagement.
Students in their junior year often conduct preliminary research for their senior capstone project. Starting in their junior year, students admitted to the BA/MA program can
begin earning credits that apply to both their Lang degree and their graduate degree from one of the university's graduate schools, allowing them to save time and money.
Senior Year
All students at Lang complete a senior capstone requirement in their major or interdisciplinary program. This requirement can be satisfied with an individual project, a collaborative project, or (in some programs) a special seminar. You will continue
to meet with your Student Success advisor and departmental faculty advisor as you explore job opportunities and graduate programs. Take advantage of career planning workshops, panels, and resources, including help writing a résumé and cover letter,
finding an internship or job, and preparing for graduate school and life after Lang.