First-Year Program
The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts is all about exploring, expanding your knowledge base, and applying what you are learning.
Our First-Year Program (FYP) lets you explore a common theme from different perspectives, while also going outside of class for experiential learning. You’ll take three related classes with one group of students, giving you an easy way to make your first friends at Wagner. You’ll engage in real-world problems and fieldwork directly linked to your coursework.
Coursework
A first-year LC, taught by two professors in different disciplines, combines two General Education courses with a third course called the Reflective Tutorial (RFT). LCs are linked together by a single theme and share a common set of students. The faculty plan their LC courses with overlapping assignments, common readings and joint problems so that courses share common ground. Writing instruction takes place in the RFT, which is designed to be small — usually 12-14 students per tutorial. View the fall FYP courses.
Experiential Learning
The Wagner Plan links the LC’s directly to field experience, as small groups from the LC are placed in carefully selected field sites. This experiential learning component includes service learning, field trips, participatory learning and/or community research. Students typically spend three hours per week at the designated site observing the organization, its practices and its dynamics.