Freshman Seminars 2024 Winter

WebReg registration begins each quarter on Monday of the 8th week of instruction. Windows open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.

University Studies

Enrollment in Uni Stu 3 will be restricted to freshmen until the day the 18-unit enrollment limit is lifted. After this date, enrollment in Uni Stu 3 will be open to all lower-division undergraduates.

For more information on the Freshman Seminars, please visit Freshman Seminar website or call the Undergraduate/Undeclared Advising Office at 949-824-6987. Students may enroll in a maximum of three freshman seminars during their entire time at UCI.

Introduction to Free Speech & Academic Freedom

In partnership with the UC Free Speech Institute, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman is teaching a new course on the principles of Free Speech and Academic Freedom with a focus on the public university context. This is an asynchronous, online course with opportunities to interact with leading experts on free speech and academic freedom. This course is designed to give you an opportunity to engage with challenging questions around free speech and academic freedom that you are likely to face in your classes, generally during your college experience, and after you graduate.

The course will provide a carefully curated journey through materials that include:

• Videotaped lectures with associated PowerPoints (30 minutes per lesson)
• Supplementary video and audio resources provided by the UC National Center on Free Speech and Civic Engagement and other national organizations
• Readings (including caselaw, essays and articles, and relevant university policies)
• Multiple synchronous online gatherings with for supplemental information, questions-and-answers, and supervised online discussion boards via Canvas for additional opportunities to interact on the assigned topics

Expected total workload obligations per lesson is 2.5-3 hours weekly.

Gentle Introduction to Robot Motion Planning

The objective of this seminar series is to introduce UCI freshman students to the world of robot motion planning. A robot’s ability to plan its movement without explicit human guidance is a basic prerequisite for robotic autonomy. The objective of motion planning algorithms is to enable an autonomous mobile robot to determine its movements in a cluttered environment to achieve various goals while avoiding collisions. This seminar series cover deterministic classical motion planning algorithms, including sensor-based planning, decomposition and search-based planning. The course intends to expose undergraduate students (Engineering and Computer Science) to solution approaches to problems that they may encounter in emerging technologies and disciplines such as autonomous driving and transportation, smart manufacturing, and general mechanical and aerospace robotic applications.

Drugs

The majority of individuals in modern society will use drugs at some point in their lives. Most drugs will be taken for legitimate medical purposes, while some are used recreationally. In a very basic manner, this course will introduce students to human physiology, how drugs work and where they come from, some common health issues and the drugs used to treat them, and some well-known recreational drugs.

Be Divergent: The Practice & Process of Creativity

The creative thinking skills necessary in today’s fast-paced workplace require deeper exploration in the 21st century academy. This interactive curriculum offers a rich, inventive, stimulating environment to explore divergent idea generation and reflective response to problem solving. We will engage in creative exercises and games during class, opening each student to their own creative instincts.

Art, Collaboration and Decision Making

The Art of Collaboration and Consensus Decision Making is a course where the process of working together and learning how consensus building can be used by a group of people to come to an agreement and create an experience or product together. Students will explore collaboration and consensus decision making by participating in class exercises that support all students in the course. Working in pairs and small groups, students will have opportunities to increase their communication skills via storytelling, describing, listening, analyzing, providing feedback, etc. Opportunities for personal interaction, reflection and recognizing the impact of their contributions will emerge from working with peers and the professor through, writing, drawing, brainstorming, new creative and physical activities.

Creating documents in STEM with LaTeX

There are many pitfalls when creating documents in STEM. LaTeX is a powerful tool to prepare such documents, but it is not always easy to get familiar with its syntax. One can become much more efficient by setting up the document appropriately at the beginning and by avoiding some common pitfalls.

Quantum Lotus

What is the true nature of time and space? What is the ultimate essence of all phenomena? Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy and Modern Physics are both on quests for answers to these fundamental questions. We will explore the key concepts in Modern Physics, including Einstein’s Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and the speculative idea of String Theory, as well as those in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy, including Interdependence and Emptiness. Through this journey, we will discover striking similarities in some of the underlying notions in these two frameworks. We will analyze how these underlying notions lead to the mirages of reality, and discuss the implications from the points of view of both disciplines.

Introduction to Health Professions

An introductory health professions course that features a thought-provoking exploration of nursing, physician, physician assistant, pharmacy, occupational therapy, dentistry and other professional health programs. Guest presenters with expertise and experience in these areas will share trends and innovations in their respective fields.

Photography Techniques

This seminar will discuss the physics of modern-day digital cameras and lenses and will discuss different photography composition techniques for portrait, landscape, and other types of photos. The seminar will also explore analysis methods including software such as Lightroom. This seminar is part technology and part creative applications. A genuine interest in photography and an access to at least an entry level DSLR is essential to get the most out of this seminar series.

Succeeding in Biomedical Sciences, Allied Health, or Healthcare for First Generation and/or Minority Students

Healthcare/medical research is supported by Federal funding to improve society, and should be evidence-based and color blind. How is biomedical research actually conducted? Are women and minorities treated equally? Students who’s parents have a college degree already have a general idea of how academia works. We will explore Impostor Syndrome, study habits, & how much volunteer work is enough for various careers. We will also discuss how 1st Gen and URM students can be successful while at UCI.

UROP Research Discovery Program

This course is designed to assist incoming first years (freshmen and transfer students) in their understanding of research opportunities at UCI and how to get involved with faculty-mentored labs and creative projects. Students will learn the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources regarding undergraduate research and to their future goals and aspirations. *NOTE: Students must be part of the Research Discovery Program (RDP) to register for this course. Please contact UROP with any questions. urop@uci.edu

Anteater to Antrepeneur

Through a curated lineup of talks from industry experts, thought leaders, and accomplished start-up founders, this course will provide students with actionable insights, practical skills, and a proven framework crucial for entrepreneurial and career success. The course will be highly interactive with guest speakers and opportunities to network. The homework materials for the course are videos from Y Combinator (one of the most successful start-up accelerators in the world that has launched more than 4000 companies valued at over $600 Million).

Unaffiliated

DROP: The deadline to drop courses is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Drops can be made in WebReg.
CHANGE: The deadline to change grade option or variable units is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Changes can be made in WebReg.
ADD: The deadline to add courses is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Adds can be made in WebReg.