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Scribner Seminars

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Your first Skidmore classroom 

Every first-year student takes a Scribner Seminar. These interdisciplinary courses introduce you to the reading, writing, research, discussion, and creative thinking expected at Skidmore.

Your seminar might explore artificial intelligence, global music, environmental action, memory, mathematics, food, or film. Whatever the subject, you’ll approach it from several directions and begin making the kinds of connections that define Skidmore’s liberal arts curriculum.

Before your first semester, you’ll receive that year’s seminar options and rank your preferences. Your seminar assignment will arrive before you register for classes.

Fall 2006 Seminars

The Class of 2030 can choose from courses exploring Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Walt Disney, manga, podcasting, dystopian fiction, nuclear fallout in popular culture, and more.
Explore fall 2026 seminar descriptions

Who will you learn with?

Students work together outside on a beautiful day.

Your peers

Scribner Seminars bring first-year students together in a welcoming place to exchange ideas, contribute, and build connections.
Two students sit in a private study room working together on a project.

Your mentor

A trained sophomore or junior helps you navigate academics, campus resources, and everyday life at Skidmore.
A faculty member works outside with a student observing pollinators

Your advisor

Your professor also serves as your first advisor, helping you explore courses, interests, and possible academic paths.

What will you learn?

Scribner Seminars help you build skills you’ll use throughout college. You’ll learn to:

  • Ask questions through different academic disciplines
  • Read critically and evaluate evidence
  • Recognize complexity and question assumptions
  • Connect ideas across subjects
  • Draw conclusions supported by evidence
  • Communicate clearly in writing and conversation
  • Connect your work to your academic goals
A student stands outside in a wildflower garden on a sunny day, with their hand extended with a vile in it to conduct research.

Explore past seminars

Scribner Seminars grow from the research, questions, and creative interests that excite Skidmore faculty. Offerings change as professors develop new ideas and invite first-year students into their work.
Explore the seminar archive

In their own words

See how students and faculty have turned first-semester questions into research, projects, relationships, and new academic interests.

Contact FYE

Office

Starbuck Center 201
518-580-5070
fye@skidmore.edu

Director

Rachel Roe-Dale
Professor of Mathematics
rroedale@skidmore.edu

Team

Marla Melito, Associate Director
mmelito@skidmore.edu

Christy Brown, Coordinator 
christybrown@skidmore.edu