Themed First-Year Studies Courses

This course focuses on educating and elevating first-generation college students’ experiences. Through the use of the Model of Strategic Learning, Teach Yourself How to Learn book, and a variety of online and in class activities, students will work to enhance the skills they already possess and identify their strengths as students and individuals. The course will require students to think critically about the skills they possess, their motivation and goals, and their self-awareness.   

This course will provide students the opportunity to explore, practice and integrate mindfulness and wellness techniques into everyday life, such as basic meditation, breathing techniques, gratitude and positive mindset exercises to assist with student transition and success at The University of Tampa and in everyday life.  Students will also learn about the eight different dimensions of wellness:  emotional, physical, spiritual, occupational, environmental, social, intellectual and financial. Students will participate in various discussion and reflection exercises as well as experiential opportunities to incorporate understanding and election of positive behaviors for overall wellbeing. Students will participate in mind, body and spiritual practices such as meditation, yoga, journaling, breath work and nutrition

In addition to learning the Spartan Ready skills designed to make first-year students feel confident and prepared for a successful transition to college life, this First-Year Studies course also recognizes the importance of financial literacy. The course supports a complete financial literacy understanding including topics such as budgeting, credit and debt, saving and investing, taxes and salary negotiation.  

This class will explore the different health professions, discuss how to utilize resources to gain information and plan what needs to be accomplished during college to become a competitive applicant for a health professional graduate school.  

This course uses the deliberate and captivating nature of film to illustrate a number of economic concepts, to help students develop their critical and abstract thinking skills and to begin to think like researchers in the social sciences. The course will touch on a number of subfields of economics such as economic history, labor economics and the economics of crime. Students will learn how research in these subfields is undertaken and will be able to relate it to the movies discussed in class. The course will make use of clips and entire films to motivate in-class discussion, to promote interest in economics research, to increase retention of the concepts and theories discussed, and to illustrate the significance of economics in the “real” world. Movies featured will include The Grapes of Wrath, Scarface, The Wizard of Oz, Boyz n the Hood, Friday and October Sky.    

Are you one of the hundreds of millions of fans of forensic television shows, movies, video and board games? Ever wonder how much is fact and how much is fiction? This First-Year Studies course will explore that theme with students with an expressed interest in criminology or criminal justice related field (e.g., forensics, policing). Students will attend lectures and presentations on real-life forensics and crime scene investigation from faculty and criminal justice professionals in order to apply that knowledge in an out-of-class experience that features several mock crime scenes. Working in teams, students must decide which forensic techniques they will utilize, select the necessary tools needed (e.g., powder, brush and tape to remove a fingerprint) and physically demonstrate them at the various scenes. In addition, there will be an opportunity to visit the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Lab in Tampa.