Freshman Seminar is designed to bridge the gap between high school and college learning. One of the first courses that Millikin students take, IN140 Freshman Seminar, introduces freshman to academic inquiry. Students also make important connections with faculty members and other students, providing students with a stronger sense of community. Covering the breadth of the college experience, students examine orientation issues as well as strategies for academic success. They begin to question their assumptions and to practice communicating with diverse groups. The University Seminar classroom is intended to be a place of community, shared learning, and intellectual growth.

Critical Reading, Writing and Research I, a cohort to Freshman Seminar, more fully explores student entry into academic inquiry. Students examine the connection between critical reading and writing and the opportunities such an exploration creates for academic success. Spring semester students continue to grow their intellectual inquiry in Critical Reading, Writing and Research II. The class emphasizes vital skills for academic and professional success. Students investigate and research a topic of their choice. Through the two semesters in CWRR, students learn to (1) read and critique texts actively, deliberately, and carefully, (2) write polished, informed essays for personal, public, and/or specialized audiences, (3) conduct research to participate in academic inquiry, and (4) reflect on the uses of reading and writing in their public and personal lives to better understand themselves, their communities, and the world.

U.S. Studies, or IN 250, offers students a multi-disciplinary approach in some issue of diversity on a deeper level. Students can choose from a wide variety of issues in their exploration of multiple cultures living in the U.S. IN 250 further students’ respect and appreciation for differences among cultures and institutions. Topic choices range broadly, from historical or sociological perspectives to contemporary popular culture studies.

IN 350, the Global Studies course, provides an opportunity for students to explore the fundamental diversity and interconnectedness of the world beyond the ethnocentric paradigms of dominant cultures. Global studies courses satisfy the following criteria: (1) There is a substantial culturally comparative dimension to the course. (2) Students gain substantive understanding of how the diversity of the world affects their everyday lives. (3) A significant portion of the course reaches beyond the geographical boundaries of the United States. (4) Students are exposed to primary sources (texts, music, artifacts) coming from multiple cultures. And (5) There is a significant research component which pushes students to explore culturally diverse points of view. The final goal of all global studies courses is to assist Millikin students to step outside their pre-conceived cultural perspectives and stereotypes and to look at the world from other perspectives as well as to see the interconnected nature of the contemporary world.