First-year Experience as an Arts and Sciences Undergraduate

All arts and sciences undergraduate students complete a liberal arts core curriculum that is designed to develop critical thinking, clear expression, scientific understanding, an awareness of historical perspective and contemporary challenges, and an appreciation of religious, philosophical, and moral values.

We encourage you to consult our academic resources webpage, either as a glimpse of what your Fordham education will look like, or for helpful guidance on your specific questions here and now.

Transfer students, please check out our Transfer Orientation Guide.

Charting your course as a first-year student

  • Your Fordham academic journey begins just as high school ends. You will be assigned an academic advisor in the summer months to support you through registration and serve as a connection to resources across our campuses.

  • Upon your arrival, we are so excited to immediately welcome you into our community at our academic orientation. Your advisors are so excited to meet you there too!

  • You have a transition coordinator! During your transition to college life, your advisor serves as a point person for any academic concerns, sharing ideas, and as a connection point to other resources. 

  • Explore the core curriculum! It’s here to surprise you, help you develop soft and transferable skills, as well as spark new paths or confirm ones that you had in mind.

  • Encourage connections with faculty and dean's office staff, as we all want in on the joy of being with you too! 

  • Wait a second! Do you feel like your academic dreams aren’t quite covered? Please reach out to your advisor. We’ve got this! Did you know you could create an independent major personalized to your academic interests? 

  • There are so many opportunities for learning outside of the classroom here or around the world! Ask your advisor for more information about community-engaged learning, fellowships, study abroad, and undergraduate research, for example.

  • Registration Information

    All incoming first-year students self-register for their courses with extensive guidance from their summer adviser. Together, advisers and students consider students' DegreeWorks course selection guidance, drawing from responses on the required First-Year Survey and online placement tests.

    Students (excluding Dance) will register for a total of five (5) courses (labs excluded)

    Specialized cohorts will receive further guidance from department leadership. This includes Natural Science, Theatre, Dance, 3/2 Engineering, Pre-health, and Neuroscience.

     We offer a Blackboard (Bb) resource page to help students navigate the registration process and in-depth materials about course selection. Full details are found in the "Incoming Student Registration Tutorials Bb course. Please be sure to check your Fordham email account daily and connect your email account to your smartphone.

    Eloquentia Perfecta 1 Seminar (EP1)

    All first-year students take a seminar course Eloquentia Perfecta, a long-valued tradition of Jesuit education meaning “right reason expressed effectively, responsibly, and gracefully.” These seminars are offered in a variety of courses (such as history, philosophy, sociology, art, music, theology, anthropology, and theatre). Eloquentia Perfecta students develop skills in oral and written expression, which will serve them well in college and beyond.

    Each Eloquentia Perfecta class is:

    • A small class of 20 students.

    • Taught by one of Fordham’s most accomplished faculty.

    • A mix of resident and commuter students working together in teams on in-class projects and larger assignments.

    • A great way to take advantage of all the NYC campus has to offer.

    These seminars also serve as just one example of cura personalis—caring for the whole person—a Jesuit practice that assures each student is valued as a unique and multifaceted individual.

    Core Courses

    The Core Curriculum is the foundation of our liberal arts education. This set of carefully-curated courses is designed to nurture curiosity and inspire a love of learning. Students begin with a series of introductory courses, designed to acquaint them with the ideas and methodologies of nine major academic fields of study

    IMPORTANT: Students should all choose one (and only one) EP1 course and students should not select two courses in the same subject area. For example, if you choose an "Understanding Historical Change" courses as your EP1, then choose a Fine Arts or Social Science as your core course selection. Consult the list of EP1s that you were sent by email in July.

    Note: due to the way DegreeWorks is coded, if your EP1 is in ENGL 1102, PHIL 1000, or THEO 1000, the placement box for EP1 in DegreeWorks will not be checked. This does not mean you need another EP1. Scroll down to the audit area for the New Core Curriculum to make sure the Eloquentia Perfecta 1 requirement box is checked. In this case, you should choose another core or major requirement besides those listed in the placement area, to fill out your schedule to 5 courses.

  • Once on campus, first-year students at our Lincoln Center campus take part in an integrated organic education—an education that doesn’t distinguish between living and learning, and treats every experience as an essential part of personal and communal growth. This is learning in a distinctly Jesuit way. Fordham College at Lincoln Center’s integrated learning community ensures that learning occurs inside and outside the classroom.

    The First-Year Experience is for residents and commuters alike. First-year commuters are partnered with mentors, who provide nonresident students with a support system to help balance their home lives with the new and exciting challenges of college. Through event programming and individual meetings, mentors help foster a sense of community and inclusion for commuters.

    Our Integrated Learning Communities are housed in our impressive high-rise residence hall. Dedicated in 2013, McKeon Hall provides the most up-to-date amenities and comforts of a college residence hall fit for midtown Manhattan. All first-year students will participate in a number of academic and social programs in McKeon, while appreciating the incredible views which include, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Hudson River, Central Park, Columbus Circle, the George Washington Bridge and much more.

    Check out this video of what it is like to wake up and arrive at our beautiful campus — in the center of “The Capital of the World!”

  • Whatever your residence hall, you'll have a scenic academic home at Fordham. And your education doesn't have to end after class each day. FCRH students can apply to live in Integrated Learning Communities, or ILCS—residence halls designed to help develop conscience, character, and intellect in the Jesuit tradition through special programming. Students who receive housing are guaranteed accommodations for four years.

    First-Year ILC

    The Manresa Program in Loyola Hall
    The Manresa Program features specially designed seminar courses, writing workshops, weekend excursions, and family dinners, creating a close-knit, supportive community that explores intellectual interests together in the Ignatian spirit.

    Queen’s Court ILC
    Queen’s Court takes advantage of its elegant common lounge to provide in-hall classes, community-building events, evening discussion and debate, and other programming that develops new ideas and strong friendships.

    The Science ILC (SILC) in Jogues Hall
    Specifically designed for science majors and pre-health students, SILC offers customized academic tutoring, advising, and peer mentoring as well as science-related programming, fostering a support network among peers with a passion for the sciences.

  • Incoming students who intend to take French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, or Spanish to satisfy the language requirement must take an online placement exam. Information regarding the language placement exam will be sent from the Office of Academic Records during the month of May. Students who intend to take Arabic, modern Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, or Ancient Greek will be placed appropriately by the Office of Academic Records and the Languages and Cultures Department. Your Degree Works guidance will inform you of which level you should take.

    All entering arts and sciences students who intend to major in a STEM field (biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, integrative neuroscience, mathematics, physics, engineering physics, psychology, or any other closely-related science program) as well as all students who are interested in a pre-health program of study (regardless of intended major) must complete the math placement test.

  • Transfer students and incoming students who wish to receive credit for AP and IB exams should ensure that official scores are sent to Fordham as soon as they are available. Transfer students must have a separate AP/IB score report sent directly to Fordham by the testing institution. Fordham's College Board CEEB code is 2259.

    Students who have taken college courses while in high school should 1) review the criteria Fordham uses to accept them on the First-Year Registration Survey, 2) ensure that official transcripts and supporting documentation are sent directly to [email protected] as soon as possible.

  • Students who plan to participate in the Pre-Health Program (pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, pre-optometry, pre-physical therapy, pre-physician assistant, etc.) should specify their interest in this program in the First-Year Registration Survey. Pre-Health Program participants will be given the appropriate Degree Works registration guidance, which includes majors-level biology and chemistry courses, as well as the Pre-Health Symposium.

    Pre-health is not a major and students who are interested in pursuing this program are encouraged to major in the subject of their choice while completing pre-health studies.

    Students participating in the Pre-Health Program are strongly encouraged to consider living in the Science Integrated Learning Community (SILC) inside Alumni Court South.

    Learn more about Pre-Health Advising at Lincoln Center and at Rose Hill.

  • Academic Orientation will be held on Monday, August 26. We are excited to share more details soon! On this day of welcome to our academic community, there will be many opportunities to connect with arts and sciences faculty and staff.

    Students in special academic programs will also have the opportunity to meet with faculty and advisers of those programs in a series of mid-morning meetings.