Course Syllabus

Seventh College First-Year Honors Seminar (SEV 20)

Instructor: Provost Kate Antonovics

Class meeting time: Tuesdays 4-5:50 pm

Class location: Seventh College West, Building 2 - Multipurpose Room OR alternate location

Email: kantonov@ucsd.edu

Office hours: I don't have official office hours for this course, but do not hesitate to email me if you'd like to set up an appointment. I love meeting with students!

Course Description 

This course introduces students to UC San Diego’s vibrant intellectual community through weekly seminars led by UC San Diego faculty and other invited speakers, who discuss path-breaking research as well as other exciting artistic and scientific endeavors taking place on campus.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, my hope is that you will have:

• A deeper appreciation of the range of intellectual, cultural, and artistic endeavors taking place at UC San Diego
• A greater level of comfort talking to UC San Diego faculty about their research and career paths
• A greater understanding of what research looks like in a variety of disciplines
• Closer personal connections with other Seventh College students

Course Structure and Expectations

During class

For the first hour of each class, an invited guest speaker will discuss their research and/or creative pursuits. The speakers will also sometimes talk about their career paths and offer suggestions about getting involved in research. I encourage you to ask questions. After the speaker leaves, we will use the second half of class for class discussion. You are expected to be attentive during class and participate in class discussions. Laptops and other electronic devices are not allowed during class. If you need to miss class for a medical or legal reason, please email me, preferably ahead of time. 

Outside of class

Each week you will be divided into discussion groups with 4 to 5 students per group, and you are expected to find at least 20 to 30 minutes outside of class to meet with your discussion group to discuss a reflection question about the speaker for that week. As a group, you are expected post a selfie of your group meeting plus a written answer to the reflection question on the class discussion page. Please do not use AI to write your answers to the reflection questions. I want to know what YOU have to say about each speaker (not AI), and I appreciate answers that are written in your words using your voice.

At the end of the quarter, you also will be asked to complete a one-page reflection paper about your experience in the course.

There will be no class on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Grades

This is a Pass/No Pass course. In order to pass the class you must do ALL of the following:

• Attend at least 7 out of 9 classes.
• Be a part of at least 6 out of 7 posts on the discussion board. Bonus bragging points for silly or creative selfies. 
• Turn in your one-page reflection paper (typically due on the last day of the final exam period).

Academic Integrity

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.  Students are expected to do their own work, as outlined in the UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship.  All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Academic Integrity Coordinator.  In addition to the penalties imposed by the Academic Integrity Review Board, I also reserve the right to fail students found guilty of academic misconduct.

The following are examples of academic dishonesty in this class:

• Plagiarizing any aspect of a post on the discussion board.
• Plagiarizing any aspect of your final reflection paper.
• Lying about your reason for missing a class.